Dale Jr. slips after Texas tangle; Do you agree? Show us your vote!
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First Four Out
Note: These rankings have been determined by a poll that included writers Kenny Bruce, Holly Cain, David Caraviello and Zack Albert, and video host Alan Cavanna. The H/L marks a driver’s highest and lowest rank during the 2014 season.
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A statistical look ahead to this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 8, 2014) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina going into the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on April 12.
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Driver
|
Starting Position
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Finishing Position
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Date
|
Race Name
|
|
Janet Guthrie
|
26
|
16
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9/5/1977
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Southern 500
|
|
Shawna Robinson
|
42
|
42
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3/17/2002
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Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
|
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Danica Patrick
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38
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31
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5/12/2012
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Bojangles’ Southern 500
|
|
Danica Patrick
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40
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28
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5/11/2013
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Bojangles’ Southern 500
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Track Name
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City
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NSCS
|
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Darlington Raceway
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Darlington
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110
|
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Columbia Speedway
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Columbia
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43
|
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Greenville-Pickens Speedway
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Greenville
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29
|
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Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds
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Spartanburg
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22
|
|
Rambi Race Track
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Myrtle Beach
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9
|
|
Coastal Speedway
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Myrtle Beach
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2
|
|
Lancaster Speedway
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Lancaster
|
2
|
|
Gamecock Speedway
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Sumter
|
1
|
|
Hartsville Speedway
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Hartsville
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1
|
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Newberry Speedway
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Newberry
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1
|
|
Driver
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NSCS
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NNS
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NCWTS
|
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David Pearson
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105
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1
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0
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Cale Yarborough
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83
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0
|
0
|
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Rex White
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28
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0
|
0
|
|
Cotton Owens
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9
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0
|
0
|
|
Tiny Lund
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5
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0
|
0
|
|
James Hylton
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2
|
0
|
0
|
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Johnny Allen
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1
|
0
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0
|
|
Joe Eubanks
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1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Larry Pearson
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0
|
15
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0
|
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Jason Keller
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0
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10
|
0
|
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Butch Lindley
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0
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6
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0
|
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No. 48 team remains win-less after fighting through issues in Texas
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t see the edge where the Texas Motor Speedway asphalt gave way to the infield. And when Junior’s car drilled the grass, sending his No. 88 Chevrolet into the wall — and into flames — he wasn’t the only Hendrick Motorsports car affected.
The misfire also caught Jimmie Johnson‘s No. 48, spraying grime over the nose of his vehicle, denting the windshield and damaging the left front.
It was the final point that sent Johnson into the pits multiple times early in Monday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in an effort to salvage his day. The six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion would finish 25th and two laps down.
"It’s kind of surreal what happened," Johnson said. "Junior hit the grass there and something off his car like a splitter or something just destroyed my windshield, and then something hit the nose of the car, too."
Crew chief Chad Knaus devised a strategy that got Johnson back into contention, albeit briefly. Needing to get the charred No. 88 off the track, the caution period lasted 11 laps (from 14-24). Knaus called for Johnson to come down pit road multiple times.
The team sent extra men over the wall to fix the damaged front with tape and Bondo, and Johnson sped down pit road every time — there were no other cars or crew members in his way after the first pit stop, and he was already 42nd in the race so the ensuing penalty didn’t affect him.
Over the scanner, Knaus asked Johnson if he could drive with the dented windshield — the damage would not affect his car in anyway.
"Yes, I just don’t want to eat it," Johnson replied.
He didn’t. The green flag dropped on Lap 25, and by Lap 34 Johnson was up to 25th place.
On Lap 39, however, Johnson blew a right rear tire that ruined his day for good.
"We were in a good position and were running decent lap times when the right rear blew," Johnson said. "I’m glad Junior is alright, and hats off to my guys. We played around with some strategy at the end. They never gave up."
The late-race attempts to get back on the lead lap were well conceived, but didn’t work out.
During a debris caution on Lap 255, Johnson took the wave around knowing he’d need to pit soon. If he had lucked out with a caution flag — and if the leaders all pitted to take tires, a likelihood due to Texas’ aging surface — Six-Time would have gained a lap and put himself in position to be the beneficiary on the next caution.
It was Johnson’s second finish outside the top 20 this season. Both came, in part, due to tire issues. He was leading the Auto Club 400 late before blowing a tire with seven laps to go.
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Chase grid expands again after rain-postponed Duck Commander 500
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Joey Logano’s "Final Four" at Texas Motor Speedway had nothing to do with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship set for Monday night in nearby Arlington.
Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon’s decision to pit for four Goodyear Dual Zone tires during the final caution period of the rain-delayed Duck Commander 500 propelled the Team Penske star to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of 2014.
"We’ve been in contention every race this year to win, and I’m proud to be a part of that," said Logano, who extended a streak that has produced seven different winners in as many Sprint Cup races. "I felt very confident about this race. For some reason, I told Todd, I said, ‘We’re going to win this week,’ and I was mad when we didn’t get the pole. But I felt like we had a car that could win today."
Logano, 23, scored his first career victory on the 1.5-mile quad-oval and fourth in 190 career Sprint Cup starts at the expense of four-time series champion Jeff Gordon under a green-white-checkered-flag finish that extended the race to 340 laps from the originally scheduled 334.
Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil/Hertz Ford Fusion, passed Gordon via a crossover move on the inside heading into Turn 1 on Lap 340 en route to margin of victory of 0.476 seconds. Kyle Busch finished third with Brian Vickers and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Kyle Larson rounding out a top five that was shuffled by the day’s seventh and final caution on Lap 333.
Logano was working on a 3.053-second lead over teammate Brad Keselowski when Kurt Busch, winner of last week’s race at Martinsville Speedway, brushed the outside wall in Turn 2. During the ensuing pit stops, Logano and Keselowski opted for four tires and fuel. Gordon, of Hendrick Motorsports, and Vickers, of Michael Waltrip Racing, opted for right-side rubber only and exited pit road 1-2.
"When you’ve got 40-something laps after the last pit stop and a pretty sizeable lead, really, all you’re thinking is, ‘Where’s the white flag?’" Logano said. "Brad was able to catch us a little bit and then you go into Turn 1 and see the No. 41 (of Kurt Busch) up against the wall and you’re like, ‘Please, no caution.’ And, of course — boom — it comes out and you’re like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ So you get so mad that you can barely control yourself. Really, I was just so mad.
"And then he (Todd Gordon) made a last-minute decision to put fuel in it, gave me better balance for what I needed and the guys made the ‘money stop.’ I was the first guy out with four tires on."
Similarly, Gordon praised crew chief Alan Gustafson for a "great call" to go with two tires on the final stop given his standing when the yellow flew. "I mean, coming in sixth, you’re in that position that you can gamble," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta/Texas A&M School of Engineering Chevrolet SS. "You’re not going to win it with four (tires),you’re not going to win it with none. I knew it was going to be hard to hold those guys off.
"I got a pretty good restart, so I was happy about that. Got through (Turns) 1 and 2. I was shocked I was leading off of 2, to be honest. I wish I would have run a little bit higher down (Turns) 3 and 4. I’m sure Joey was going to go wherever I didn’t. Probably would have been a little bit better off on the top. He crossed over and got into the back of me pretty good. At that point I was just thinking, ‘I want to finish.’ Looked out my mirror, those guys were racing hard behind me. A great second-place finish for me."
Kyle Busch, winner of this event last year, said he was looking at solid third-place results before the final sequence. "Of course, the inevitable comes out with the yellow and you have to come down and get tires — just way too long out there on tires," said Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. "I chose four just because I absolutely killed my stuff about three laps prior to that caution coming out so I knew that was our only chance. Just drove the hell out of it there those last two laps and got all she could and come home third. Good, deserving finish for us here."
Keselowski was poised to give team owner Roger Penske a slam-dunk 1-2 finish behind his teammate when the final caution flew. Keselowski exited the pits fourth with four tires, one spot behind Logano. But he was charged with speeding off pit road — a miscue that dropped him to 15th.
"That last caution was a shame," said Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford. "I was just trying to get a little too much on pit road and wanted to get us out front to be able to win the race and tried a little too hard. We’re in it for wins. We’re not in it for finishing second."
Gordon emerged as the new points leader after HMS teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed out of the event on Lap 12, finished 43rd and dropped to sixth in the standings. Gordon holds a four-point (259-255) lead over Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing heading into Saturday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
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Another top-five finish shows that rookie can hang with the big boys
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FORT WORTH, Texas — As the final laps wound down in Monday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing crew chief Chris Heroy asked his rookie driver Kyle Larson over the team radio a typical litany of questions about his race car. Then he followed it up by simply asking if Larson was having fun.
“Yeah,’’ the 21-year old Larson replied without hesitation.
“That’s what it’s all about,’’ answered Heroy.
Of course racing is a lot more fun when you’re enjoying the kind of results this pair has recently put up in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet.
Larson’s fifth place finish in his first Cup start on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks Monday was his third top-10 in the last four races and second top-five. The Californian finished runner-up at Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago — tying the best showing for the 42-team since former driver Juan Pablo Montoya won at Watkins Glen, N.Y., in 2010.
The car collected six top-five finishes total in the last three years. Yet only seven races into Larson’s rookie year, this team feels absolutely on the verge of victory.
And that’s fun.
“I think if we just keep keeping ourselves in contention, things will work out late in the races or we might have a dominating car one day and get our first win,’’ Larson said.
“I feel like right now it could come at a mile‑and‑a‑half or a little bit bigger track. Hopefully that comes soon because there’s a lot on the schedule.”
Certainly it looks like Larson has taken a liking to these big and mid-size tracks — a little ironic considering his roots stem from sprint car racing.
Monday’s race was indicative of the potential Larson has shown all year, minus a frustrating Daytona 500.
“He’s really good on these type of tracks and he did a great job on that (final) restart today,’’ Heroy said. “I was really proud of the team today because of how the Target Chevy unloaded, I swear we were a 30th-place car, we were really bad (in opening practice).
“So it’s a good day to come home fifth. We’re really happy with that.
“Everybody’s behind him. He’s a great kid and here for the right reasons. And he’s fast.
“We expect to win a race this year.’’
Not only does the team have a good vibe, Larson’s competitors have taken note. As he did in California, he made himself a factor right up through the final restart on Monday, dicing it up with champions and veterans.
“Kyle (Larson) is just super talented,’’ four-time Cup champion and Monday’s runner-up Jeff Gordon said. “He has great car control, really knows how to be aggressive and search the race track.
“I only wish I had the talent those two [Larson and Texas Nationwide race winner 18-year old Chase Elliott] have. I think that the future obviously looks very bright for our sport."
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Points leader runs into trouble early at Texas Motor Speedway
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t mince words despite the disappointment and frustration so apparent on his face from his short day as he walked out of the Texas Motor Speedway infield care center only 12 laps into Monday’s rain-delayed Duck Commander 500.
"Just a mistake on my part, didn’t know I was that close to the grass," Earnhardt said shaking his head.
Although Earnhardt insisted he was fine physically, the single-car accident looked frightening as his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet’s left side tires drove through the wet, slick infield grass and turned hard back up the track — flames shooting out of the car as it made hard contact with the outside wall. While some drivers had reported damp spots on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks, Earnhardt was adamant that he didn’t consider it a concern.
"It didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me, I just ran into the grass on the apron," Earnhardt said. "I was following the 43 (Aric Almirola) and just couldn’t see the grass, how close I was.
"I thought I was taking a decent line by the dogleg, I was getting around the 42 (Kyle Larson) so was lower than normal, but I just misjudged it."
It was definitely not the ending Earnhardt envisioned after sitting through an entire day’s rain delay on Sunday only to crash on the second lap of green flag racing Monday. But more significantly, Earnhardt came to Fort Worth as the Sprint Cup Series points leader — by nine points over Matt Kenseth — thanks to a Daytona 500 victory and four top-three finishes in the first six races.
Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports team briefly looked over the car in hopes of repairing it enough to return to the track and salvage any championship points. Ultimately, though, the team decided there was just too much damage and Dale Jr. would finish the day in 43rd-place.
Earnhardt’s crew chief, Steve Letarte, later said on Twitter that the car was so badly damaged he spent time on flight back home to North Carolina ordering a new chassis. He added the fire was caused by damage to "oil line/oil cooler/oil pump/oil tank. … You get the idea."
Debris from Earnhardt’s car also damaged his Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson‘s Chevy, forcing the six-time champ to pit multiple times for repairs and putting him two laps down. Johnson would finish the race in 25th place.
"I’m disappointed," Earnhardt said. "Don’t like it when I made the mistake there and that’s going to bother me for a while.
"We’ve got a test Tuesday in Michigan and going into Darlington which is a difficult track. It’s going to be a long week."
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After pit stops during opening laps, the No. 2 gets hit with crucial late penalty
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Leaning against his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford in the Texas Motor Speedway garage following Monday’s rain-delayed Duck Commander 500, Brad Keselowski was calm, cool, collected — even encouraged.
And that was without a trophy.
Despite getting a pit road speeding penalty on the final pit stop moments before a green-white-checkered finish, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champ employed perspective over emotion after a tough ending to an impressive afternoon.
He would have restarted fourth for the final scramble — the second driver with four fresh tires — but instead was penalized for speeding out of the pits and had to line up 18th — the last car on the lead lap.
Instead of dicing it up with his Penske Racing teammate — and eventual race winner Joey Logano — for the victory, the Las Vegas winner finished 15th.
“I’m sure I was [speeding],’’ Keselowski told reporters, even managing a slight smile. “NASCAR has its telemetry and all that stuff to make sure it’s right.
“I knew I was there on the limit so I wasn’t really that surprised. We were trying all we can to get out front and get ourselves in position to win these races. I probably reached a little too far, but that’s OK. Everyone had an all-in effort and it’s about wins not seconds, thirds, fourths or fifths.”
Keselowski’s day was actually bookended with pit road activity. He and a half dozen other cars were slightly damaged during the race’s pace laps in one of the more bizarre occurrences.
The massively powerful jet dryers finishing up their track drying work after a full day of rain Sunday, blew up the hood flaps on some cars when passing them on track.
NASCAR allowed the cars to pit and make repairs (Keselowski’s team used duct tape and Bondo putty to keep the hood in tact) and then return to track and assume their starting positions — for Keselowski that was the front row for the fourth time in seven weeks.
“I’m not sure I understand the whole scenario but I’m thankful NASCAR gave us a little bit of a break and I think it was a fair break,’’ Keselowski said.
Even after the inauspicious start, Keselowski positioned himself to become the first two-time winner of the season. He led three times and his 85 laps out front was second best on the day to his teammate Logano’s 108. He was trailing Logano by 2-seconds when the caution came out a half-lap shy of the white flag.
Logano’s win helped Team Penske join Stewart-Haas Racing as only the second organization to have multiple drivers win in 2014.
But it wouldn’t have happened if up to the fiercely competitive Keselowski. He was genuinely happy to see Logano win and appreciative of how that reflects on the overall team. However, Keselowski completely dismissed any suggestion that he might have settled for second or raced Logano any less intensely to “take one for the team.”
In fact, he laughed out loud at the very notion.
“I hope they know that wasn’t the case, because I definitely wasn’t doing that,’’ Keselowski said with a grin. “I was giving 105 percent, that’s why I got a speeding penalty. I broke the rules the other way.”
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Moments that changed the course of the eighth race of the season
HARVICK DOMINATES AT DARLINGTON
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has been one of feast or famine for Kevin Harvick — and on Saturday night at Darlington Raceway, Harvick enjoyed the delectable taste of victory.
Passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap of the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish, Harvick won Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 and all but locked himself into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as the first two-time winner in the series this year (he still needs to finish in the top 30 and attempt to qualify for every race).
The victory was Harvick’s first at Darlington and the 25th of his career. It was the third win of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick led 239 of 374 laps in a race that went seven laps past its scheduled distance.
"The restart at the end, I was talking to the guys on the radio and they said the outside was kind of the place to be," Johnson said. "I hadn’t seen the front all night long and I was talking to Junior as I got out of the car and he said that was a bad move."
JOHNSON LOSES AFTER CHOOSING HIGH LINE ON RESTART
On the next-to-last restart, Jimmie Johnson took the lead on pit road with a two-tire stop and chose the outside lane. He was quickly passed on his way to a third-place finish. After talking with teammate Earnhardt Jr., he later regretted the move.
"The restart at the end, I was talking to the guys on the radio and they said the outside was kind of the place to be," Johnson said. "I hadn’t seen the front all night long and I was talking to Junior as I got out of the car and he said that was a bad move."
The six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion sits fifth in points and is still seeking his first win of the season.
HARD NIGHT FOR MENARD ENDS EARLY
Paul Menard brought out the fifth caution of the night at Lap 202 after hitting the Turn 1 wall hard following a tire failure.
"I hit the wall like 10 laps before and I guess the right-front tire just went down," Menard said. "Kind of rode the wall in (Turns) 3 and 4 and I guess I was just in denial, I guess I didn’t realize the right-front tire was down.
"It felt fine going down the front stretch and let go it killed Turn 1. A lot of damage, the guys are going to try to fix it."
The No. 27 Richard Childress Racing team was able to fix his Chevrolet SS and get it out on track but another hit ended his night in 41st place, 104 laps down.
Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has rough start to Duck Commander 500
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NASCAR.com’s Lap-By-Lap chronicles 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski’s rough start and rise to the lead in the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Lap 2: Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman have received permission from the scoring tower to reset their cowl flaps and keep their position. They may perform no other service on the cars.
Lap 3: Keselowski regroups back on the front row, but his Team Penske crew seemed to be unable to completely lower the hood on the No. 2 Ford.
Lap 4: Keselowski is back on pit road, and Jamie McMurray brings the No. 1 Chevy down for the same issue.
Lap 5: Keselowski’s crew has tape ready to close the seams in the hood. Danica Patrick, Justin Allgaier also swing down pit road for the same issue.
Lap 11: Green flag: Tony Stewart and fellow front-row starter Brad Keselowski guide the field into Turn 1 at speed.
Lap 56: Carl Edwards is the new second-place driver, scooting past Keselowski through turns 1 and 2.
Lap 59: Keselowski returns the favor and retakes second from Edwards in the same corner.
Lap 78: Keselowski has closed in on Stewart, moving past in turns 3 and 4 to take the lead for the first time today.
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At work or at home, here’s how to keep up with the Duck Commander 500
Today’s green flag is scheduled to wave at 12:10 p.m. ET on FOX and PRN, and the 501-mile race likely won’t be over before your lunch break is. Here’s how to keep up with all the Duck Commander 500 on-track action for viewers at home or stuck in the office today.
NASCAR.com’s live leaderboard updates in real-time and offers constant text updates of lead changes, cautions, strategies, strong runs and everything in between. On the go? Download the NASCAR Mobile app to follow the leaderboard live from your device.
Lap-by-Lap will keep you caught up even if you can only take a peek here and there while doing, well, your day job. Check in now and then to read back through all the laps you’ve missed, or keep an eye on the feed for real-time race updates.
We’ll also be sending race updates through twitter through the official @NASCAR and @NASCARStats handles, as well as curating NASCAR tweets from the Twitter universe with a social timeline here.
Haven’t tried RaceView yet? This weekend is a good chance to cash in your one-week free trial if you can’t be stationed on a couch this afternoon. Get virtualized video of cars on the track from various angles and hear what your favorite team is saying over the radio. Just want to scan the radios? You can have that too with RaceView Audio. On a mobile device? Get RaceView Mobile here.
If yesterday’s rain ruined watching the race with your usual NASCAR viewing crew, fill the gap with fellow fans on NASCAR.com using our live chat page.
There may not be much hope left in anyone’s NCAA bracket, but it’s still early in the NASCAR Fantasy season. Follow your team’s performance in NASCAR Fantasy Live this week with live standings.
Live Press Pass streams will keep the NASCAR action rolling even after the winner rolls in and out of Victory Lane. Catch interviews with the top finishers immediately following the checkered flag, and stay tuned to NASCAR.com throughout the week for the latest news.
NASCAR fans can put their prediction skills to the test — against other fans in real time — with a predictive gaming app from OneUp Sports. Download NASCAR Connect, on iOS devices.
