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Phoenix is one of Johnson’s best tracks, while Kenseth has not won there since 2002
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It seems like so little, and so much all at the same time. The seven-point margin separating championship leaders Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth is small enough that one mistake — a dropped lug nut, a speeding penalty, getting trapped on pit road by a caution — can alter the balance of power in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It’s also large enough that should both drivers run error-free in the final two races like they have so much of this season, the difference is going to be very difficult to make up.
So difficult, that Kenseth already knows what it may take.
"If you win both of the last two races … the math works out to where you still win it, so it’s still in our hands," he said after Johnson’s victory this past Sunday at Texas. Which means that as small as the margin is, deep down the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is probably already aware of what he has to do to win this championship. He’s going to have to win one or both of these final two races, which may very well mean a winner-take-all scenario next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Of course, it shaped up that way a season ago as well, given that Johnson held the same lead over Brad Keselowski that he holds now over Kenseth. Johnson was coming off another victory at Texas — and then went out and suffered not just one, but two catastrophic failures of the kind the No. 48 team just does not have in the Chase. The last time Johnson had experienced a back-to-back breakdowns in the playoff? That would be when he blew an engine at Talladega, and then crashed at Kansas, in the early weeks of the inaugural Chase in 2004.
So it may not be wise to pin hopes on another run of Johnson misfortune to mirror the cut tire at Phoenix and rear-end gear failure at Homestead that effectively took the No. 48 car out of the running a season ago. If anything, the safest assumption here is to postulate that both drivers run cleanly the rest of the way, hardly a stretch given that they’ve done exactly that since the Chase began. Can anything happen? Of course. But you better believe both sides are operating under the belief that the other guy is going to have to be beaten, and not simply taken advantage of.
For Kenseth, that narrows the focus considerably. Phoenix International Raceway, which this weekend hosts yet another pivotal, penultimate Chase race, has historically been one of Johnson’s best tracks — he has four wins and an average finish of sixth on a one-mile layout that ranks high in almost all his statistical categories. The Southern California native has owned the place, effectively locking up his first four titles there, and making a save in the desert that paved the way for his fifth. Johnson’s success has become as much a part of the Phoenix landscape as the saguaro cactus lining the hillsides outside the doglegged track.
Even so, Martinsville reminded everyone that Kenseth is a dangerous driver to underestimate. If anything, his Chase run has been defined by standout performances on tracks that rank far from his personal best — like New Hampshire, where he scored his first victory, and Martinsville, where he was runner-up for the first time in over a decade. His Joe Gibbs Racing cars have clearly proven more adaptable than those he piloted at Roush Fenway Racing, and Kenseth is clearly more comfortable in them, opening doors of opportunity that previously might have been nailed shut.
In that light, then, would we really be surprised if Kenseth prevailed at Phoenix, a track where he hasn’t won since 2002, and has finished in the top five just once in his last five outings? Absolutely not. And yet, when you take in the full scope of this championship race with only two races remaining, a likely path emerges. Even if Kenseth outpoints Johnson at Phoenix as he did at Martinsville, it’s still very likely that the No. 48 car won’t be far behind. It’s still very likely that the margin will be as close leaving the Valley of the Sun as it was coming in.
And it’s very likely that to win this championship, Matt Kenseth is going to have to win the finale at Homestead.
From a points perspective — again, barring some type of catastrophic failure on either side, which would alter the picture considerably — there seems no other way. Either Kenseth is going to head to South Florida slightly behind, in which case he’s going to absolutely need the three bonus points to help make up the difference. Or he’ll be tied with or slightly ahead of Johnson, in which case he can’t leave anything to chance. The tiebreaker scenarios promise to keep us guessing until the final lap, given that Kenseth currently leads the first one (victories) seven to six, and Johnson the second (runner-up finishes) two to one, and both of those could flip over the final two weeks.
Which boils it all down to win or else, the same scenario Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards faced two seasons ago when they left Phoenix three points apart and proceeded to deliver the most riveting finale in NASCAR history. From Kenseth’s perspective, there are probably few places better suited to a last stand — no organization has had a more solid grip on Homestead than Roush, Kenseth’s home the previous dozen years, and surely some of that knowledge will filter down to the No. 20 team. And Homestead is also one of five current tracks where Johnson has never won.
Interestingly enough, though, Johnson said Tuesday during a visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame that his bigger concern of the two final tracks was Phoenix, given the tire issue a year ago. A recent test at Homestead, he added, went as well as a test at Texas — and we all know what happened there. "Setups were in the same ballpark," Johnson said. "So I feel like we’re heading the right way with things."
Johnson does have a pair of runner-up finishes at Homestead, recorded in the heat of championship races in 2004 and 2010. Of course, that second-place result in ’04 wasn’t enough to keep Kurt Busch from winning the title. Just as Edwards’ second-place run in 2011 wasn’t enough to prevent Stewart from claiming the crown. Just as second place at Homestead might not be good enough for Kenseth this time around. Should the margin separating the two contenders next weekend remain close to what it is now, there will be only place where Kenseth can assure he has control of this championship race — Victory Lane.
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Helton delivers keynote speech, addresses sport’s growth in technology
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In the moments after NASCAR President Mike Helton delivered the keynote address for the annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) Trade Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday, he found himself both contemplative and comforted.
There was once a time, when the decades-long NASCAR executive wouldn’t have imagined updating this huge highly specialized automobile industry audience with news of electronic fuel injectors, high-tech officiating, massive environmental initiatives and Air Titan track dryers — only to promise more innovation still.
"I think what gave us this opportunity was the more recent efforts where we’ve shown the world we’re serious about being a leader in technology around our product, which is racing, but also the relationship we’ve built with OEMS (original equipment manufacturers),’’ Helton said. "The Gen-6 car went a long way toward showing the automobile enthusiasts how serious we were about our product and the industry saw NASCAR’s direction of embracing technology and embracing innovation, which may not have been the case 10 years ago, quite frankly.
"We were probably more restrictive on those types of efforts then, so to come around today is I think easier for folks at SEMA to say this is about the business of the automotive industry and NASCAR fitting into it better."
NASCAR’s new Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development, Gene Stefanyshyn, also represented the sport during Tuesday’s opening day of activities, sitting on a panel with top industry executives. And like Helton, he found the audience and — equally as important — the other panelists receptive and encouraged by the direction NASCAR is headed.
After spending 30 years with General Motors, this was the first time Stefanyshyn had interacted at SEMA as a member of a sport’s governing body. He said it was a real eye-opener, but also confirmation that NASCAR was making progress. The size of the crowd, alone, was encouraging.
And Stefanyshyn picked up on an unmistakable vibe.
"I think there’s a general theme, what are we doing to make sure we bring in younger fans to sport," Stefanyshyn said. "I think that is one of the challenges for NASCAR, but also a lot of the other companies.
"I think in general as the economy picks up … in our end of the business we need to make sure we bring in young people. I believe they are still interested in high-powered cars and that whole car culture. The thing we need to do is figure out how to reach them.
"The young kids these days are used to an instantaneous world; information turnover is very quick and we need to do that. We need to be able to present that our younger fans and draw them into the sport."
And at the same time, Stefanyshyn believes the advance in technology and the enhanced fan offerings it provides will make a better experience for all fans — the loyal long-timers as well as the new ones.
"There are kind of four phases to that, the first one being the inspection of the car before it goes on track — what are the details, why do we do that, what are we doing,’’ said Stefanyshyn, who is confident that this kind of behind-the-scenes insight will draw fans.
"The second phase is officiating. Some of those calls are transparent to the fan but it’s not like we have a guy in a striped shirt on pit road. Then what’s the car doing, all the things that are going on in the car and then the last phase is, what’s going on with the driver.
"If we could harvest all that information and present it to young fans in a logical way they could easily understand they would be drawn into the sport and the technical part of the sport. There’s a big opportunity to do that stuff, but we have do to it in a smart way.
"If we kind of celebrate on the run and keep working hard and improving, and being open-minded and open to change — measured change — and remember the world moves quickly and we need to move with it."
To his point, Ford Motor Company had a big announcement this week that it was joining forces with seven-time sports car champion Chip Ganassi Racing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship next year. Ganassi’s team will field 3.5-liter, V-6 EcoBoost Fords in the inaugural season of the new series.
"It’s huge for Ford and huge for Chip Ganassi and for (series sanctioning body) IMSA," Helton said. "It speaks loudly to Ford’s commitment in the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and where American sports car racing is headed."
Another piece of big news for NASCAR occurring in conjunction with the SEMA show was a huge sign of endorsement from Germany-based auto parts supplier MAHLE. It has finalized a multiyear extension to supply parts to all NASCAR series, making it the only automotive brand active in every domestic, international and sports car series under the NASCAR umbrella.
This kind of upgraded involvement offers promising signs to Helton and Stefanyshyn.
"There’s a direct connection between what we do and what the automobile industry does, and it’s exciting to be able to evolve with them and help each other along the way," Helton said. "The SEMA show is a huge opportunity to come out and see what’s going on but to be involved is a great opportunity for NASCAR.
"The thing I’m more anxious to get us to is using the technology to make our sport more interactive. As we get better at what we’re doing, we’re more interactive with the race tracks, more interactive with the race teams and in particular the race shops which are developing things. We have a great opportunity there to use technology and innovation to be interactive with those.
"But what we’re really excited about is getting the innovation and technology so we can create content so fans can be interactive with our events and our teams and tracks and get into the integral back parts of our sport and enjoy it in real time."
NASCAR Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development Gene Stefanyshyn addresses the crowd during a panel discussion at SEMA. (Bryan Haraway photos)
NASCAR Next members Ryan Preece, Kenzie Ruston and Darrell Wallace Jr. sit in on a panel of up-and-coming drivers.
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Star of TV show ‘Fast N’ Loud’ stops by No. 2 hauler to talk NASCAR and more
Fort Worth native Richard Rawlings — co-host of The Discovery Channel’s popular "Fast N’ Loud" TV show — was clearly in his element during Sunday’s AAA 500 NASCAR stop at Texas Motor Speedway.
Fresh off news that his show has been renewed another 36 episodes, and enjoying great success with his Gas Monkey Bar and Grill restaurant in Dallas, life is good for the 44-year-old.
He sat down with NASCAR.com to talk about NASCAR racing in his backyard, his fan philosophy, the Cannonball Run world record and his strong connection with race drivers and teams:
On having his Gas Monkey brand on the rear bumper of reigning Sprint Cup Series champ Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite Ford at Texas:
Rawlings: "It’s pretty simple. Everybody knows I like Miller Lite. We’ve been working together and honored for them to put us on the back of the car and something I don’t think I would have believed if you had told me that would happen when I was a kid.”
On his fondness of NASCAR racing:
Rawlings: "I’ve been following NASCAR since they built the track in Texas. I was here from Day 1 when they opened this thing (TMS). Flew in on a helicopter. It’s a really cool sport, but really expensive entry level (laughing). I would love to have a team.”
On setting the "Cannonball Run" world record in 2007 with a time of 31 hours, 59 minutes driving from New York to Los Angeles in a street car:
Rawlings: "I’ve never participated in any sanctioned racing so to speak. But Dennis (Collins) and I have the Cannonball Run world record. Supposedly someone beat it a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t seen the evidence. If he did, great, if he didn’t, well we’ll hold onto it little longer.
On whether he’d try to get the record again, if he lost it.
Rawlings: "Mathematically that’s doable but you’ve got to have a lot of things in your favor to pull that off. I’m sure I’ll give it a shot (if record broken).
"I mean, what am I going to do with this tattoo now? (pointing to huge tattoo on left forearm showing Cannonball Run time).
His approach to cheering for a driver:
Rawlings: "I’m more about being in the infield, drinking beer, raising hell and having a good time. I’m not an ‘I love this guy’ type. Whoever’s out front, I’m yelling for them."
On the reception he receives walking around the NASCAR garage:
"It’s pretty amazing. We’ve been talking to the crowd and it’s amazing the number of people that watch this show. (Walking through the garage) all the guys wave and yell, ‘Gas Monkey.’
"The show’s been two years and just got picked up for 36 more episodes so very humbled and blessed to be where I’m at. Get free beer every once in awhile so it’s neat."
Runner-up finish at Texas is Earnhardt’s third second-place result in the Chase
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FORT WORTH, Texas – Team owner Rick Hendrick doesn’t have to look at results pages or check headlines to know his driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having a good Chase. It’s a lot simpler than that.
"You can see it in the way he walks," Hendrick said Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway, where Earnhardt collected his third runner-up finish in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races.
"You can see it when he gets out of the car. You can see it when I talk to him about the race. He’ll send me a text and say, ‘Man, that car was good.’… or, ‘I loved driving that car like that.’
"I see it in the way he goes to the race track and how he prepares for the race talking to (crew chief) Stevie (Letarte). His confidence is at an all-time high. You can just see it in his face."
With Sunday’s showing, Earnhardt moved up two positions in the points standings to fifth place with only two races remaining in NASCAR’s championship run. He trails third place Kevin Harvick by 22 points and should he be able to catch Harvick, it would tie Earnhardt’s best ever championship finish and it would also be his best finish in the Chase.
Take away a rare Hendrick engine failure in the No. 88 Chevy at the Chase opener in Chicago and Earnhardt would likely be challenging championship frontrunners Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth for the trophy.
He has six top-10s in the seven Chase races since Chicago. And only his teammate — and Sunday’s winner Johnson (4.8) — has a better average finish than Earnhardt (6.1) since Chicago.
The impact of that lone mulligan is not lost on Earnhardt, but it’s not something he dwells upon either. It’s actually been a source of motivation.
"The Chicago deal is regrettable, we’d love to go back and do that over again," said Earnhardt. "But as soon as that happened we really changed our approach and it was more about trying to win a race. Winning a race would really lift all the team’s spirits.
"You work all season long not to be winless and I know how much the guys want it on the team. So that’s what we’re working for now."
He paused, "Yeah, I think about it a little bit. But there isn’t much you can do about it. I’ve got two races to go and we’ d love to get a win in one of them and continue to have a good run here in the Chase."
Sunday was sort of a bookend effort for Earnhardt, who also finished runner-up to Johnson in the season-opening Daytona 500 and spent the early portion of the season ranked among the top-three in points.
And while the strong late season run is a big boost of confidence, it’s been 53 races — more than a year — since he last visited Victory Lane. The five runner-ups for him in 2013 aren’t cases of lost opportunity but just-misses.
"It’s a matter of being close," Earnhardt said. "You know, we’re not running second by making mistakes. We’re not giving away wins.
"So I feel like we’re just really getting close to cracking through and just trying to maintain the momentum with races to go is going to be tough. But that’s what we’re focusing on.
"We want to put forward a good account of ourselves in the Chase because you’re in there for a season and you don’t want to be an also-ran. So we feel like we’re doing a lot of good work and getting really close to breaking through and getting a win."
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WATCH: Hendrick isn’t
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Busch’s crew chief believes drivers have moved past retaliation talk
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Well, that settles that.
Less than a month ago, Kyle Busch was calling reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski "stupid enough" to retaliate on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel after the two tangled in a NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Kansas. Busch is running for a Cup championship and Keselowski is not in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.
According to Busch’s crew chief Dave Rogers, any potential retaliation talk can be put to bed after the pair worked together to remove debris from the grille of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. (Watch video here)
"That was a good deal there," Rogers said at the 18 hauler after the Texas race. "I hear all this talk about retaliation and all this business. These guys are professionals. They’re human. They get frustrated. But they’re professional racers. I hope (we can put that to rest); I just want to race. The 2 car, they’re a bunch of good guys."
The two drivers aren’t short on history with each other.
On his path to the title last season, Keselowski tapped and spun Busch right after he took the white flag at Watkins Glen to battle with Marcos Ambrose for the win. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver would finish three points behind Jeff Gordon after the regular-season finale at Richmond, putting Gordon in the Chase and nudging Busch out.
The pieces were there for Busch to get his payback in the following 10 races, but he declined.
"Last year the talk was about was the 18 going to retaliate against the 2. … I think today (at Texas), Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch proved that they’re professionals," Rogers said. "Brad cut us some slack and let us take that debris off our grille and it’s very much appreciated.
"I think (crew chief) Paul Wolfe is a class act. I think he’s one of the best crew chiefs on pit road and I think he’s a real class act. He’s a good friend of mine. He doesn’t want his team rivaling mine and I don’t want mine rivaling his. We want to race hard on the race track and we want to put on a good show for our fans, but we want the rivalry to be clean, hard racing and I think both of our drivers can do that."
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UPDATE: When asked Monday night who his biggest rival is these days, the generally outspoken Keselowski offered a diplomatic response.
The car in front of me.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) November 5, 2013
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WATCH: Hendrick isn’t
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10-time ARCA champion will make second Truck Series start of 2013
Frank Kimmel will drive the No. 13 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ 2013 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 15.
Kimmel, a 10-time champion in the ARCA Racing Series, will be part of a three-truck team for ThorSport at Homestead. Points leader Matt Crafton will drive the No. 88 and Johnny Sauter, who is fourth in points, will drive the No. 98 for the Sandusky, Ohio-based team.
"I know it’s another race that’s put on our guys and they’ve worked so hard and they deserve a break," Kimmel said in a release. "But I’m just really excited to get to go and have an opportunity to get in the race and go out there and race the truck guys."
Kimmel, 51, has started 13 Truck Series events in his career. He finished 21st at Iowa Speedway in July’s American Ethanol 200 Presented by Enogen.
Of his previous 13 Truck Series starts, three have come at Homestead. He has one top-10 finish at the track in the series — a ninth-place effort in 1996, when the Homestead track opened the season.
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of Kenseth after Texas |
READ: Gordon’s Chase hopes
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WATCH: Hendrick isn’t
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