The Rundown: Commentary on every Kentucky driver

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Brad Norman

Driver-by-driver news and notes from Saturday’s Quaker State 400

1. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Team Penske had the top two cars at Kentucky Speedway, and Brad Keselowski’s was the best. The 2012 series champ led 199 of 267 laps and became the first Cup driver this year to record a perfect 150.0 driver rating. For Keselowski, it was the 12th win of his career and the first from the Coors Light Pole. "Yes, yes, yes. This feels like championship form to me," he said after taking the checkered flag. After a performance like that, who could argue? See his highlights here.

2. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch, like most drivers at bumpy Kentucky, had a few outbursts over his radio Saturday, but he also displayed a high level of maturity. After one particular nasty comment, Busch paused for a few minutes and came back with an apology: "Didn’t mean to kill you there," he said. "Looking in the mirror is driving me nuts at the moment." That ability to cool off quickly was key in his second-best finish of the year. To hear in-car audio, click here to subscribe to RaceView.

3. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman recorded his first top-five of the season on the strength of a solid car and an outstanding performance in the pits. Newman spent the least amount of time on pit road throughout the race among all drivers, and mixing in two-tire calls with four-tire stops allowed the veteran to continually gain track position. Sign up for RaceView today to get advanced statistics on pit road.

4. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The story for Kenseth was in the pits. He had to make an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 122 when a tire went down, and then was served a pass-through penalty following a stop on Lap 153. He gained more than 20 spots the rest of the race, though, to give Joe Gibbs Racing two cars in the top five for the fourth time this year. See Kenseth’s highlights here.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The last caution of the race nearly ruined Junior’s night. The No. 88 team was on pit road when the yellow dropped on Lap 214, but the team completed the pit stop and beat the leader to the start/finish line, which allowed Dale Jr. to stay on the lead lap. That put him third on the ensuing restart, instead of being a lap down. "This feels like a win to me," Junior said after his second career Kentucky top-five. See his full race highlights here.

6. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon’s shot at challenging for a win ended on a pit stop that saw him fall from seventh to 24th when the team’s air gun malfunctioned. "Been a rough deal at this place this weekend," crew chief Alan Gustafson quipped. Still, the veteran rallied for his 13th top-10 this year and increased his points lead over Jimmie Johnson to 24. See his race highlights here.

It was another rough night in the pits for the No. 4 team.

7. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Another bad night on pit road led to more pointed comments from Harvick over his radio. Falling from second to 16th after one such stop led to this sarcastic barb: "Any advice on how to race mid-pack?" Later, he was even more pointed after reporting a possible loose wheel: "This is not fun to drive like this. And it happens a lot." To hear in-car audio as it happens during the race, click here to subscribe to RaceView.

8. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne’s car was dinged in a wreck on Lap 153, but you couldn’t tell by the way he drove it through the field. Something seems to have clicked for the No. 5 team, which has three consecutive top-10s for the first time this year. Kahne is also now 15th in the standings and on the cusp of joining the Chase Grid. See the updated driver standings here.

9. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. It was both a disappointing and outstanding ninth-place effort for Logano. He led 31 laps and appeared to have a car second to only teammate Brad Keselowski … yet he also dropped a cylinder late in the race and fell from second to ninth in the final 25 laps. Logano showed enough mettle to keep the car from blowing up for good to maximize his points. For Logano’s race highlights, click here.

10. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The No. 48 team looked for little victories Saturday. Here was one, courtesy of spotter Earl Barban: "You’re gonna get the trophy for the most passed cars, Bubba. Looking good today." And Barban was right on the money. "Six-Time" led all drivers with 34 quality passes. Click here to subscribe to RaceView at a reduced price.

11. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. ‘Smoke’ hasn’t had a top-10 in the past four races, but he’s had two 11th-place finishes during that time. His 66 green-flag passes Saturday led the field.

12. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch’s strong finish — including a three-car pass during the closing laps — allowed Stewart-Haas Racing to finish with three cars in the top 12 for the first time this season. It’s also Busch’s second consecutive finish in 12th place.

13. Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Ambrose completed his best back-to-back stretch of finishes this season with Saturday’s result. He took home eighth last week at Sonoma and has gained three spots in the standings over that two-week stretch.

Greg Biffle started slow, but the loop data shows he picked it up late.

14. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Through the first 25 laps, Biffle had not gained one position after starting 24th. "Damn thing feels like it’s going to flip over," he muttered over the radio. Things got better, though. In fact, Biffle was the top closer of the race. He gained a race-high four positions over the final 10 percent of the race — in this case, 27 laps.

15. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard’s two-race streak of top-fives ended, but not due to a lack of creativity. At times, he took two tires when everyone else took four. He stayed out on the track while others pitted. It was a strategy that kept Menard in the top 10 until a caution threw his strategy out of whack.

16. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress. Dillon ran in the top 10 at times and recorded his best finish since another 16th-place showing at Charlotte more than a month ago. His performance capped an RCR effort that had all drivers raving about the team’s gains.

17. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Edwards’ 50 green-flag passes tied him for fifth in the race, and his 17th-place finish was his best at the track since 2011. Still, it was a race devoid of highlights as the 34-year-old had his worst finish on a 1.5-mile track this year.

18. Michael Annett, No. 18 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Saturday was Annett’s second-best finish of 2014, and his best finish on a non-restrictor-plate track. He was one of the highest movers after finishing 14 places ahead of where he started.

19. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. The No. 78 crew completed a rare pit stop with the car facing the wrong direction after it was bumped heading into its stall. The damage from that incident also forced the team to take an extra pit stop, which ruined any shot of a top-10.

20. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears continues to plug along this season, with Saturday’s result notching him 24 points and keeping him 24th in the points standings. At least one driver, however, thought Mears’ night might end early. "Danica is going to dump the 13," Jamie McMurray called on Lap 260, although that didn’t happen.

21. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. When following a race via RaceView, Patrick is always one of the best drivers to monitor. Her best gem Saturday came after contact from team owner Tony Stewart. "If my (expletive) boss is hitting me down the backstraight, either I cut him off and didn’t know it, or he’s going off the deep end!" For in-car driver audio, subscribe to RaceView.

22. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger had a car he called the program’s best on a 1.5-mile track this year, and he was running in the top 10 as late as Lap 200. So what happened? ‘Dinger pitted when he thought he felt a tire going down, then the caution came out and put him a lap behind. "Gutted," is how the driver described the feeling on Twitter.

Although he didn’t get the performance he wanted, Bowyer was — as always — entertaining on the radio.

23. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer spent time during his pre-race interviews discussing how consistent his team has been over the past month. That’s what made his worst showing since Richmond in April (although he also finished 23rd at Kansas) so difficult to take. "I’m not worth a (expletive)," he called out at one point.

24. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier finished better than the numbers say he should have. He spent just one lap in the top 15, his average running position ranked 28th in the field and he had a driver rating that ranked 29th. His finish is a sign of the rookie’s progress.

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Although the Roush program struggled in qualifying, its three cars all closed strong — with Stenhouse in position to possibly sneak into the top 10 for the first time since Bristol. A missing lug nut was a devastating penalty that not only ended those thoughts, but also sent the driver from 15th on Lap 210 to 26th on Lap 225.

26. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers lost nine spots throughout the race after qualifying 17th, continuing a brutal five-race stretch in which his average finish is 28.8. He’s fallen from eighth in the standings to 19th during that time, and it looks like his Chase hopes rest on getting to Victory Lane.

27. Reed Sorenson, No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. A 17-point day may not seem like much, but it’s Sorenson’s second-best showing in the past 11 races. Finishing two laps down is his best result on a 1.5-mile track this year. It’s the little things.

28. Cole Whitt, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. Whitt kept it nice and steady Saturday — in the past seven races, his average finish is 27.9. He was the highest finisher for BK Racing.

29. Josh Wise, No. 98 Chevrolet, Phil Parsons Racing. Recording a top-30 was the best result for Wise in the past month. He wasn’t fast on restarts (his average speed ranked 37th in the field), but he made up lost ground during long runs.

30. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. This was a slip in performance for the No. 38 team, which hadn’t finished outside the top 20 in four consecutive races. The bad weekend started in qualifying — coming off the grid 41st was Gilliland’s worst starting position of 2014.

31. David Ragan, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. The Quaker State 400 was the third time this season the Front Row duo finished in consecutive order. As for Ragan, he’s finished outside the top 30 in 10 of the past 11 races.

32. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Ford, Hillman Racing. This is progress for Cassill and the No. 40 team. Saturday’s result was the program’s best finish on a 1.5-mile track this year.

33. Ryan Truex, No. 33 Toyota, BK Racing. After an 11-point day and his best showing on a mile-and-a-half this season, Truex remained 37th in the points standings for the fifth consecutive week.

34. Travis Kvapil, No. 32 Ford, FAS Lane Racing. In Kvapil’s 12th start for the No. 32 team this season, the result was certainly far better than his last one, when he only finished 23 laps at Michigan. On Saturday, he completed 259 of 267 circuits.

35. David Stremme, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Stremme has qualified for six Sprint Cup races this season and tied for his best finish with a 35th-place showing. Watch on Race RePlay as he makes a nice save while spinning and bringing out a caution.

36. Alex Bowman, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. The 21-year-old Bowman has yet to break into the top 20 in any race this season, and Kentucky was no different as he finished 36th. Watch on Race RePlay as Bowman gets loose, and the smoke from his tires causes a wreck.

37. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. McMurray got a glimpse of the smoke show (not Tony Stewart) Saturday night. A spin by Alex Bowman had McMurray and Aric Almirola blindly driving through his exhaust, and they collided. Because McMurray’s teammate, Kyle Larson, was already out of the race at the time, the No. 1 team had twice the number of crew members as usual working on his car, which enabled him to get back onto the track and finish the race.

38. Joe Nemechek, No. 66 Toyota, Jay Robinson Racing. Nemechek has qualified for nine Sprint Cup races this season, all in the No. 66, but he has yet to post a finish of better than 32nd (Fontana). At Kentucky, he completed just 239 of the 267 laps as he spent time in the garage but ultimately ended the race still running.

39. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola’s first wreck came on Lap 153 when he was caught up in somebody else’s business. The second came on Lap 214, when a tire went down and he went hard enough into the wall to radio his team "(Expletive, that hurt)." He’s finished outside the top 20 for four consecutive races. Watch video of all the wrecks here.

40. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson summed up his night as only a 21-year-old can. "It sucks," he succinctly said after a hard crash on Lap 77 ended his night. Larson lost two spots in the points standings after last week’s 28th-place showing, and he lost two spots this week and is down to 12th — dangerously close to the Chase bubble.

41. Mike Bliss, No. 93 Toyota, BK Racing. The first Sprint Cup Series start of 2014 for Bliss ended after 30 laps. A late addition, Bliss was the fourth car for BK Racing in Saturday night’s race.

42. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. "We’re done, guys," an obviously upset Darian Grubb told his crew once the No. 11 came behind the wall early Saturday. An up-close look at the damage incurred when the Toyota blew a tire and crushed the wall on Lap 29 revealed a car far too mangled to fix. It led to Hamlin’s first last-place result of the year — he’s also missed one race due to injury — and he now has three consecutive finishes outside the top 25. Watch video of his wreck here.

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Posted on June 28, 2014 by

2012 premier series champion has won two of last three at Kentucky

MORE: Full race results | Updated series standings
RELATED: Keselowski injures himself celebrating

SPARTA, Ky. — Sometimes the fastest car doesn’t always win. Tonight, at Kentucky Speedway, it did.

Battling back from varying pit stop strategies, Brad Keselowski climbed six positions over the final 47 laps to pick up his second win of the season in dominating fashion in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts. By winning, Keselowski guarantees himself a berth into the Chase and also becomes the first two-time winner at the 1.5-mile speedway in three years.

"Our car was awesome," said Keselowski, who earned his 12th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. "The team did a great job and I’m just really thankful to have a car this good. I don’t know how else to put it. The Miller Lite Ford Fusion was hauling and I just can’t wait to get deeper in the season and the post-season. I think this is where we need to be to have a shot at another championship, so I’m just real proud of everyone right now."

Coors Light Pole Award winner Keselowski led the opening 27 laps until Denny Hamlin wrecked in Turn 4. The first yellow flag of the night would also serve as the scheduled competition caution.

Keselowski brought the field down pit road, where teams tried varying strategies. The top-10 cars elected for two tires, while the others took on four tires.

The Lap 34 restart kept Keselowski in control and by Lap 60 he had extended his lead to 3.5-second over Kevin Harvick. The gap would close on Lap 77 for Kyle Larson, who lost a right-front tire and slammed the Turn 2 wall.

Under the yellow, everyone took four tires, with outside pole sitter Joey Logano beating his teammate off pit lane ahead of Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

Logano set the field back into racing conditions, but Keselowski was determined to put his Ford Fusion back at the helm, moving past the No. 22 on Lap 88 and by Lap 104 had extended his lead to 2.7 seconds. By Lap 125, Busch had knocked a chunk out of his lead, but a lap later, the yellow flag waived for debris in Turns 3 and 4.

Pit road became a very busy place and for the second time of the night, Keselowski lost the lead on pit road to Logano with Newman, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. leading the parade back onto the racetrack.

The race resumed on Lap 132, but 15 laps later, Keselowski took the lead back from Logano.

A three-car incident on Lap 154 for Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman and Jamie McMurray brought out the fourth yellow of the night and sent the lead lap cars to pit road, where Keselowski and others took two tires and fuel. Once again, Logano had the better stop and grabbed the lead from Keselowski.

While Logano led for the Lap 161 restart, Keselowski didn’t waste any time and reasserted his control on Lap 163 and led until a Lap 177 caution for a solo spin by David Stremme. Pit road opened with the leader deciding to stay out, as did much of the top 10.

Eighty-six laps remained when the green flag flew, with Keselowski fumbling, which allowed Logano to take advantage, but not for long as the ‘Blue Deuce’ quickly pedaled back to the point.

The Rochester Hills, Michigan native led through Lap 215, when Almirola lost a tire and hit the Turn 1 wall. The sixth yellow flag of the night was a welcomed sight for the lead pack, as they were within a few laps of having to pit under green flag conditions.

Kyle Busch, Newman, and Earnhardt Jr. remained on the track as they pitted before the caution waived and became the top-three leaders. Meanwhile, a two-tire stop allowed Paul Menard to beat Matt Kenseth off pit road and they restarted fourth and fifth respectively. Keselowski was sixth.

The Lap 220 restart saw Busch trying to fend off Ryan Newman, with the Team Penske cars of Keselowski and Logano stalking them from the rear. Keselowski made the move around Newman for second on Lap 233 and set his sights on leader Busch, who grew his lead to 1.7 seconds.

As the laps ticked away, Keselowski began to catch the No. 18 of Busch and when the No. 18 ran into trouble passing the lapped machine of Reed Sorenson, Keselowski was able to make up nearly 1.1 seconds over three laps to grab the lead from him on Lap 249.

Over the next 18 laps, Keselowski drove to a 1.015 second margin and claimed his second checkered flag of the season, his first since winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Even with the fastest car of the night, the 2012 NSCS champion wasn’t sure he would have enough to catch Busch at the end. "It was gonna be tough," he said when thinking about having to chase him down. "I knew it was gonna be really, really tough. I figured we’d get to him, but I didn’t really think I’d be able to pass him. I caught a little break in lap traffic and the car was just that good. I was able to take advantage of it and get the lead. That was awesome."

Keselowski’s trip to Victory Lane was momentarily interrupted, as he cut his right hand while opening a champagne bottle, which exploded in his possession. He rushed to the infield care center, where he received four stitches, changed his race uniform and returned to Victory Lane for additional post-race celebrations.

"We were playing around with some champagne bottles and as I told my good friend, ‘We should have stuck with beer.’ We were having too much fun with champagne and one of the bottles broke and I cut my hand open. It’s no big deal," the 30-year-old said.

As for Busch, who racked in three top-three finishes across NASCAR’s three National divisions this weekend.

"We were a lot better than we’ve been all year long and that’s a testament to what the guys did overnight fixing this M&M’s Toyota Camry into what I could drive today and making it fast," Busch said. "We had good speed, so I was real proud of that effort. I got so loose there at the end — the loosest I’ve gotten all day and the loosest I’ve been in traffic all day too. I just couldn’t hold on and couldn’t keep it where I wanted it, and was sliding all over the place and just trying not to wreck basically."

Newman, Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-five.

For Newman, it was his first top-five finish since joining Richard Childress Racing this season.

"It’s a big gain for us and our Caterpillar Chevrolet," he said. "All the guys at RCR and ECR got us that first top five of the season. I’ve got to thank everybody from Caterpillar and Quicken Loans for the opportunity they’ve given us this year. It was a good run. The No. 2 (Keselowski) was obviously the fastest car all night. The No. 18 (Kyle Busch) got a little bit better there at the end. We were pretty solid. We never really changed the car. It felt like we were pretty neutral and didn’t want to screw it up. So, we ended up where we did.

Jeff Gordon finished sixth ahead of Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, with an alleged down cylinder and Jimmie Johnson comprised the remainder of the top-10.

Gordon remains the points leader over Johnson by 24 points (618 to 594). Earnhardt Jr. is third (-24), Keselowski fourth (-58) and Kenseth fifth (-63).

Next up for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the Coke Zero 400 from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, July 5. Johnson is the defending winner of the event.

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