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Driver pens open letter on his website

Related: Penske appeals coverage | Recapping Talladega

Editor’s note: Brad Keselowski published an open letter to David Ragan on his website, https://www.bradracing.com, Tuesday afternoon to apologize for his comments following Sunday’s race. Below is the letter in its entirety.

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"I finally had a chance to digest what happened at the end of the Cup race at Talladega on Sunday. I owe David Ragan and his fans an apology. I placed blame on David Ragan for the restart lineup confusion when it wasn’t his fault.

"I was very passionate about the finish because I thought we had a chance to win the race if I restarted the race in the 10th position instead of ninth. Passion is a very important characteristic to a champion driver. That passion is not something I will apologize for. The outside line — the 10th spot, in particular — was a huge advantage over the 9th position. David executed that positioning perfectly for the win.

"I know first-hand what it’s like to take a lower-budget team victory lane. My comments were never to detract from their victory. They were only to express my opinion that I thought we had been wronged.

"Basically what happened is that, when the yellow came out at lap 184 the lineup was supposed to be Scott Speed, myself and David. We were actually lined up David, Scott and me because we were unsure what the lineup was. NASCAR did not change this before opening pit road so by procedure we were lined up in the proper positions. NASCAR made a last-minute lineup change that we missed as we were getting ready to go back to green. David attempted to make it right by letting me go at the start/finish line with one to go. I thought he was attempting to change the pylon because the order is supposed to be set before pit road opens.

"With the multi-car wreck, the rain and the impending darkness it is easy to see how NASCAR could have made that mistake.

"It was a confusing time for all of us. I want to send a sincere congratulation out to David Ragan and everyone at Front Row Motorsports. It was a very cool win for our sport.

— Brad"

 

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Celebrations persist for Front Row Motorsports, Swan Racing, Leavine Family Racing

Related: In the Rearview: Recapping Talladega | Driver reports | Full results

TALLADEGA, Ala. — The underdogs waited until the very end at Talladega Superspeedway. And then they attacked in a pack.

A restrictor-place track known for its unpredictability lived up to that reputation Sunday, hosting a green-white-checkered finish that tossed NASCAR’s class system into the drizzly breeze. There was Regan Smith, driving for little Phoenix Racing, trying to hold on at the front. There was Scott Speed, who hadn’t competed in the past three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, charging along the bottom. There was David Stremme, of first-year Swan Racing, closing in from the back.

And there was the Front Row Motorsports tandem of David Ragan and David Gilliland, storming through the middle at the perfect time and stunning NASCAR’s traditional powerhouses with a big victory for the little guys.

It was that kind of day at Talladega, a place that always seems a tad off-kilter, but Sunday had it all — a three-hour delay for weather, big crashes that knocked out several contenders, a green-white-checkered finish in the approaching darkness and an absolute shocker in the end.

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Ragan’s second career victory at NASCAR’s top level was nothing like his first, which came with an established Roush Fenway Racing team in the summertime Daytona event two years ago. After Roush shut down its No. 6 program due to a lack of sponsorship, Ragan joined Front Row Motorsports, a smaller organization with less personnel and financing which had never won a Sprint Cup race — until Sunday evening, when that No. 34 car burst through the middle of the pack in stunning fashion.

“In the racing graveyard, my epitaph won’t be I won the most races or championships, but I want to be know as a team that did the most with the least,” owner Bob Jenkins said. “Every year we try to get better. We work within ourselves. The chassis we run we build, so we’re not able to go out and buy products from other teams, and that’s a disadvantage, but on a day like today it really makes you feel good. … These guys ‑‑ they make less than what a top‑tier team would make, but they’re still at the shop doing the same thing every day, and it paid off for them today. For me, I’d much rather do it this way than to go out and write a check for top‑tier equipment.”

His wasn’t the only small team relishing in a big-time finish. Speed snagged ninth for Leavine Family Racing, which in three part-time campaigns in NASCAR’s top series had never finished better than 17th. A former driver for the Red Bull team, Speed hadn’t even competed in a Sprint Cup event since Martinsville — he failed to qualify at Texas, and last week was in Brazil winning a gold medal in Global RallyCross at the X Games.

“Top 10 baby!!!!!! Whaaaaaat,” Speed — as only he could — wrote on Twitter after the race. A few spots behind him in 12th was Stremme, who posted the best finish for owner Brandon Davis’ first-year organization. And then there was Smith, who won Saturday’s rain-delayed NASCAR Nationwide Series race, and made a bid at an unlikely weekend sweep before winding up sixth in James Finch’s No. 51 car.

“A little disappointed,” Smith admitted. “That last restart we were on the bottom, and our car just didn’t work on the bottom at all for whatever reason. It just kept stalling out. I stayed down there to try and help Jimmie (Johnson) and give him a shove so we could get up there and battle it out. I just couldn’t give him a big enough push to clear guys at the right time. I kept getting stalled out by the cars on the outside. Still a good day, still proud of the effort by the team, and you go to the next one.”

Even so, the sport’s top drivers took notice. “That’s always cool to see the underdogs go out there and grab one,” said Matt Kenseth, who led 142 laps and finished eighth. “So happy for those guys.”

So was third-place Carl Edwards. “You know, I worked for Mike Mittler for a long time and I saw how hard teams have to compete to be competitive at this level,” Edwards said, referring to his first team owner on what is now the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. “I obviously wanted to win that race very, very badly for a number of reasons, but it truly couldn’t happen to two better guys.”

Little teams breaking through isn’t unheard of at Talladega, where Brad Keselowski earned a stunning win for Finch’s organization in 2009, and Tommy Baldwin Racing cars have regularly battled for top-10 positions. In fact, TBR driver J.J. Yeley was in contention for a high finish Sunday before getting wrecked in the event’s final accident. A team like Front Row has a track like Talladega circled on the calendar, knowing the big restrictor-plate track presents one of its best opportunities to steal a victory.

“For sure, these and the road courses we feel like are our best shots to come and have a legitimate shot at winning,” Gilliland said. “The rest of our program we’re still working on and trying to get there. Obviously some day we want to be an organization that can go and compete for wins on a weekly basis, but we’re not there yet, so to be able to come to these type of tracks, we definitely put a lot of preparation into ‑‑ and a lot of emphasis on our speedway program, and today we had two very fast race cars and we were able to come home 1-2.”

The Generation-6 car, which Ragan’s crew chief Jay Guy said helps even the playing field between the traditional contenders and the rest of the field, surely helps. “It’s a great equalizer,” Guy said. “… It’s enabled us to be a little better than we were in years past.” At 26th in points even after Sunday’s victory, Ragan understands there is still more work to do. Front Row claimed as many top-five finishes Sunday as it had in its 403-race history to that point.

“We have higher goals, and we expect to improve, but it doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen in one or two seasons,” Ragan said. “…  But it does help a lot in confidence. It goes a long way for our guys that work six days a week that don’t get to enjoy the race track perks of traveling every weekend. They have to stay at the shop and work 50, 60 hours a week building these cars. It gives them some confidence and hope, and it’s a big thing. Absolutely, it’s a big thing.”

And it was a big check — Front Row drivers Ragan, Gilliland, and 19th-place Josh Wise collectively brought home $707,666 on Sunday.

“Trust me, these guys know how to spend it,” Jenkins said. “But it’ll help our program, there’s no doubt about that. The thing we’ve done is, although it’s an expensive sport, we just reinvest what we make back into the sport.  That’s the only way we’re going to get better. My philosophy from the beginning is, in this sport, you have to make your own place at the table. Nobody is going to give it to you. I’ve always felt like if we can go out and perform and put out a good product, then sponsorship will come, respect will come and hopefully wins will come, so that’s kind of been our attitude all along.”

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Former GM executive has shown some independence of thought in brief tenure

Related: Complete Penske penalty coverage

What will John Middlebrook do?

That’s the question being asked around NASCAR as Penske Racing’s appeal of fines, suspensions and point deductions stemming from a failed inspection at Texas Motor Speedway moves to the sport’s Chief Appellate Officer, whose brief tenure in that position has been defined by unpredictability.

Last week, three members of the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel upheld sanctions levied against the teams of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano for rear-end housings that were confiscated by NASCAR before the April 13 event in Fort Worth. Team owner Roger Penske will make a final plea to Middlebrook, who will hear arguments beginning at noon Tuesday at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. His decision is final.

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What that decision might be, no one is sure. The former General Motors executive has shown something of an independent streak since becoming Chief Appellate Officer in February of 2010, amending penalties in four of the five cases he has heard to date. The most notable of those involved the No. 48 team of Jimmie Johnson, who was docked 25 points last year for what NASCAR said were modifications to his car’s C-posts that could have provided the vehicle an aerodynamic advantage in the Daytona 500.

Middlebrook overturned the points deduction, as well as six-week suspensions to crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec — all of which had been originally upheld by a three-member appeals panel — while leaving intact a $100,000 fine to Knaus.

That’s not the only penalty amended by Middlebrook, who spent 49 years at GM before retiring as global vice president for sales, service, and marketing. Middlebrook has been involved in motorsports, having played a key role in establishing the Corvette racing program, and counts NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick among his close friends. Middlebrook, who serves for $1 a year, was chosen by NASCAR President Mike Helton to replace Charles Strang, who had held the same position for many years.

The first case Middlebrook heard as Chief Appellate Officer was in October of 2010, when Richard Childress Racing appealed penalties stemming from a failed post-race inspection at New Hampshire, including a 150-point deduction to Clint Bowyer under the previous scoring system. Middlebook upheld the points deduction, which was crippling to Bowyer’s title hopes, but reduced a $150,000 fine against crew chief Shane Wilson to $100,000, and cut six-race suspensions to Wilson and car chief Chad Haney to four.

Also in 2010, Middlebrook reduced a fine Nationwide Series team owner Johnny Davis incurred for an altercation with another competitor from $5,000 to $2,500. In early 2012, he reinstated part-time Nationwide driver Peyton Sellers, who had been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for an altercation with an official at a short-track event.

Last fall, Middlebrook upheld six-week suspensions to RCR car chief Craig Smokstad and crewman Gary Hutchens, who had been penalized by NASCAR for illegal frame-rail modifications found on Paul Menard’s car at Michigan. Menard was docked 25 points and crew chief Slugger Labbe fined $100,000 and suspended six weeks for the violation, but RCR did not appeal those penalties to Middlebrook after they were upheld by three members of the Appeals Panel.

Now, it’s Penske’s turn. Keselowski and Logano were each docked 25 points by NASCAR after officials confiscated the rear-end housings in the Nos. 2 and 22 cars during inspection before the Texas race. Paul Wolfe, crew chief on the No. 2 car, was fined $100,000 and suspended for six points events plus the Sprint All-Star Race, as was Todd Gordon, his counterpart on the No. 22 car.

Suspended for the same duration were Keselowski’s car chief Jerry Kelley and team engineer Brian Wilson, as were Logano’s car chief Raymond Fox and team engineer Samuel Stanley. Travis Geisler, competition director for the Penske team and a former crew chief, was also suspended six weeks. All suspended personnel were also placed on probation through Dec. 31. If Middlebrook upholds the full suspensions, they would each be out until the June 29 race at Kentucky.

The violations stemmed from infractions on the vehicles’ rear ends, leading to a rushed change-out of the confiscated parts during pre-race ceremonies at Texas, and forcing Logano to start at the rear of the field because NASCAR ruled his car did not make the starting grid on time. Penalties followed days later, with NASCAR determining that the rear-end setups violated sections of the rule book pertaining to the correct size of mounting holes, and limitations on movement or realignment of suspension parts beyond normal rotation or travel.

Wolfe, Gordon, Geisler, and the other suspended members of the Penske team have been able to work through the appeals process, although the point deductions to the drivers have already gone into effect. The three members of the Appeals Panel who last week upheld the penalties were Brandon Igdalsky, president of Pocono Raceway; Dale Pinilis, operator of Bowman Gray Stadium; and former NASCAR vice president Paul Brooks.

Penske’s final plea continues a busy penalty cycle in NASCAR. Wednesday at 9 a.m., the Appeals Panel will hear from Joe Gibbs Racing, which will argue penalties levied against the No. 20 team for a connecting rod in Matt Kenseth‘s winning Kansas engine that was lighter than the minimum allowable weight. Kenseth was docked 50 points for that infraction, while crew chief Jason Ratcliff was suspended six weeks and fined $200,000, and Gibbs had his owners’ license frozen for six weeks.

The connecting rod in question was manufactured by a vendor and placed in an engine built by Toyota Racing Development, which has said the violation was not an attempt to gain a competitive edge, and did not provide one. As is the case with the suspended Penske crewmen, Ratcliff can work until the appeal process is complete, although the point deduction has already gone into effect. Should the panel uphold the penalties, Gibbs also has the option of a final plea to Middlebrook.

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Ragan relishes win; Hamlin readies for full-time return; plus more

Related: Full results | Points standings | Complete Talladega coverage

Many of NASCAR’s top Sprint Cup Series teams admittedly show up at Talladega Superspeedway filled with a healthy mixture of expectation and dread. But the sport’s largest track is a bastion of hope and wide-open potential for smaller teams, who know they stand as good a shot at winning on those unpredictable high banks as the consummate big-buck favorites.

That proved to be true Sunday as the small-budget, low-profile Front Row Motorsports team earned its first Cup victory with a feel-great 1-2 finish from drivers David Ragan and David Gilliland.

“These (tracks) and the road courses, we feel like, are our best shots to come and have a legitimate shot at winning,’’ Ragan said after the race. “The rest of our program we’re still working on and trying to get there.

“Obviously, some day we want to be an organization that can go and compete for wins on a weekly basis, but we’re not there yet. So to be able to come to these type of tracks, we definitely put a lot of preparation and a lot of emphasis on our speedway program and today we had two very fast race cars and were able to come home one-two.”


Changing lanes: While Ragan and his Front Row Motorsports sweep certainly provided a feel-good story to the masses, it was a tough pill to swallow for a couple of drivers who felt the final restart was flawed.

Brad Keselowski asserted on his Twitter account following the race that it looked like Ragan illegally changed lanes before taking the green flag. And Martin Truex Jr. — in response to Keselowski — confirmed what he felt was a discrepancy in the lineup.

The reigning Cup champion Keselowski offered his congratulations to Ragan via Twitter after the race, but also questioned the outcome and challenged fans to look at a replay of the final green-white-checkered restart.

“I’m happy as hell a small team won. Doesn’t change the fact the restart was blatantly wrong,’’ Keselowski tweeted.

To his credit, Ragan didn’t shy away from the controversy during his post-race press conference.

“Well, obviously Brad wanted to start on the outside, because he knew the same thing that I knew, that the outside lane had an advantage on the restart but he just didn’t want to listen to NASCAR,’’ Ragan said. “So NASCAR makes the call on where we line up at, and I listen to what NASCAR has to say.  My spotter told me that’s what they radioed on the NASCAR channel, the crew chief said the same thing, and Brad was just trying to snooker us and get the preferred lane, and eventually he decided he should do the right thing and he restarted ninth and I restarted 10th, so there’s no controversy.” 

Not again: It was yet another tough day for Stewart-Haas Racing’s three cars, which left Alabama with finishes of 27th (Tony Stewart), 32nd (Ryan Newman) and 33rd (Danica Patrick).

Team owner/driver Stewart was involved in the first mega-wreck of the day on Lap 43, forcing him to play catch-up in a hobbled car. Newman and Patrick looked to carry the flag for the organization and were running in the top 15, only to be collected in the other large multicar accident with five laps remaining.

Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet bore the brunt of the damage in the massive crash with Kurt Busch’s No. 78 Chevrolet going airborne briefly and landing on Newman’s car’s hood.

No drivers were injured in the melee, but it was another annoyance for Newman, who has been involved in several spectacular “Big Ones” in the closing laps at Talladega.

He’s back: After missing four races because of a back injury, Denny Hamlin said he expects to run the full event at Darlington Raceway this Saturday. He started Sunday’s race at Talladega and was replaced by Brian Vickers during a caution on Lap 24.

 

 

100-1: Las Vegas odds on David Ragan winning at Talladega.

7: Hours and two minutes from drop of the green flag to the checkered flag, thanks to a 3 hour, 36 minute red-flag period for rain at Lap 125.

3: Weeks in a row Kyle Busch has crashed out of contention. He placed 37th on Sunday following finishes of 24th (Richmond) and 38th (Kansas). He dropped two positions to ninth in the standings.

1: Minute and 6 seconds, the best practice time for Denny Hamlin, who exited the roof of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota to make a driver change with Brian Vickers.


Still rolling: Jimmie Johnson arrived in Talladega with the largest championship lead under the new points system. Thanks to a fifth-place finish — his fifth top-five of the season — he still holds a hefty 41-point edge over Carl Edwards.

Backslide: While 13 drivers were caught up in the first “Big One” of the afternoon, it was costliest for Kasey Kahne, who was enjoying the best season start in his career and arrived in Talladega ranked third behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson and Roush Fenway Racing’s Edwards. Kahne’s 42nd–place finish sent him on the largest free fall among the championship contenders. He dropped three positions and is sixth, 84 points behind Johnson.

On the rise: The biggest gainer in the standings this week is Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola, who vaulted four positions to seventh thanks to his fourth consecutive top-10 effort.

The time has come: Although Tony Stewart is famous for his summer hot streaks and victories, he has more ground to make up than usual. The three-time Cup champ is still mired in a career-worst season start, winless and sitting 22nd in points — 159 behind Johnson — and 56 out of the final guaranteed Chase position.

Aric Almirola has had plenty of reasons to smile lately. At Talladega, he extended his career-best streak of top-10 finishes to four while also vaulting to seventh place in the points standings.

 

• “Btw I’m on my couch at home. This sucks!”

— Kasey Kahne on Twitter as the cars fired their engines following a red-flag rain delay. Kahne was involved in multi-car accident on lap 43 and finished 42nd.

•  “We have alligator blood. I don’t know what to say. It’s just we’re a different breed that are willing to throw caution to the wind just to get back to what we love doing."

— Denny Hamlin on his eagerness to return after a back injury sidelined him for four races.

• “What corner am I in again?”

— Matt Kenseth to his spotter while leading under caution with five laps remaining and the darkness setting in — at what was approximately 7 p.m. local (Central) time.

Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet was knocked out of the race for good following a multicar crash that brought out the caution on Lap 43. Kahne flew home to North Carolina and, thanks to a lengthy rain delay, was able to watch the remainder of the race on TV.

 

• Both the Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing teams have a big week ahead of them appealing NASCAR penalties and fines.

Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook will hear the final appeal from Penske Racing on Tuesday. Last week, a three-person appellate committee upheld the original penalties on the Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano teams. Both drivers’ cars — specifically their rear-end housings — failed pre-race inspection at Texas Motor Speedway on April 13. NASCAR found the cars had unapproved parts and docked each driver 25 points, fined their crew chiefs $100,000 and suspended their crew chiefs, team manager and a pair of engineers for six races. The crew members have been allowed to work at the races during the appeal process.

On Wednesday, NASCAR’s appellate committee will hear the first appeal from the Gibbs team, which was found to have an illegal engine part following Matt Kenseth’s win at Kansas Speedway on April 21.

The team will argue that the penalties are overly severe for the infraction — one of the eight engine connecting rods was approximately 3 grams underweight and the team’s engine supplier, Toyota Racing Development, has taken the blame for the discrepancy.

Among the lengthy list of penalties issued, team owner Joe Gibbs would not be allowed to earn any owner championship points for six races and Kenseth’s victory at Kansas would not be allowed to count toward his Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup eligibility.

Related: Full coverage of Penske penalties | Full coverage of Gibbs penalties

• From one action track to another, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway will host the Sprint Cup Series on Saturday night. Jimmie Johnson is the defending winner and has top-10 finishes in seven of the season’s 10 races.

But the Lady in Black has kept Victory Lane suspenseful. There have been seven different winners in the last seven races. The last repeat winner was Greg Biffle (2005-06). 

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Postseason awards set for Dec. 6 at Wynn Las Vegas

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 2, 2013) — NASCAR announced today that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards — the annual culmination of Champion’s Week — will be held on Friday, Dec. 6 at Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., for the fifth consecutive year.

From 1981 until 2008, NASCAR held its year-ending premier series awards show in New York City. Starting in 2009, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards has been held in Las Vegas, a destination that has triggered an entertainment evolution for the fan-favorite show.

Last year’s show alone featured host Howie Mandel, Train, Phillip Phillips, Lifehouse with Natasha Bedingfield and Cirque du Soleil: The Beatles LOVE. Among other A-List entertainment acts who have performed since the move to Vegas include Reba, Kid Rock, Brooks and Dunn, David Gray, Rascal Flatts, Colbie Caillat, Martina McBride, Jersey Boys, Cirque du Soleil’s “Viva ELVIS” and Frank Caliendo.

“Every single week, NASCAR creates the big-event experience, so it’s fitting that our year-end celebration of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion takes place in a city built on major moments,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR chief marketing officer. “Las Vegas has been home to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards for five years, and each year it grows bigger, better and more entertaining for our fans. Undoubtedly, this milestone Champion’s Week will continue — and heighten — that tradition.”

“Two of the world’s most recognizable brands, NASCAR and Las Vegas, have developed a strong and successful partnership that delivers unrivaled excitement to millions of loyal fans,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We’re proud to celebrate this milestone as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards and its Champion’s Week return for the fifth year, proving that no destination matches the passion and energy of NASCAR like Las Vegas.”

A full lineup of events or activities during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week will be announced at a later date.

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Driver sets stage for full-time showing at Darlington

Denny Hamlin’s return to the track was short-lived, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver accrued some points he desperately needed and set himself up for a full-time return to his No. 11 Toyota next week.

Hamlin started seventh in the Aaron’s 499, but quickly dropped to the back of the pack to log some laps without being in any danger of getting caught in a wreck.

When the first caution flag was waved on Lap 24, Hamlin steered his car into his pit box, emerged from the roof hatch installed for the race and watched Brian Vickers take off as his substitute driver.

Vickers would soon get caught up in a massive wreck and wound up finishing 34th — not the day Hamlin and his team were hoping for, but better than putting up a goose egg in the points standings as he had done since his injury — a broken vertebra in his lower back — was revealed following a last-lap crash on March 24 at Auto Club Speedway.

All in all, it was a tough day for the Coca-Cola Racing Family. No drivers placed in the top 20; Tony Stewart was the highest at 27th.

A roundup on the six drivers in the Coca-Cola Racing Family:

Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Stewart started 25th and finished 27th at Talladega, for his eighth consecutive race outside the top 10. He was collected in the multi-car accident in Lap 44 but managed to stay in the race till the bitter end. He finished five laps down but avoided a DNF.
His standing: Stewart is 22nd in the standings with 224 points.
Outlook: Stewart was in position to pounce if leader Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel in last year’s race at Darlington; the No. 48 sped away to victory, however, and Stewart comforted himself with a third-place showing. It was Stewart’s second third-place finish in the past four years at a track — which is a career-best finish there — and the driver was pleased with the progress of his Stewart-Haas Racing fleet following the 2012 race.

Danica Patrick (No. 10)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Patrick started 23rd for the Aaron’s 499 and hopes were high that she could duplicate her top-10 finish at Daytona on another restrictor-plate track in Talladega. But Patrick was collected in the multi-car wreck on Lap 183 and finished 33rd.
Quotable: “Honestly, it is just the way it goes. People forcing the issue. It is late in the race, I get it. But that’s what causes these accidents that makes speedway racing speedway racing."
Her standing: Patrick is 27th in the standings with 180 points.
Outlook: An unexpected, lengthy green-flag run of 172 laps to start the race last year allowed Patrick to go through three consecutive green-flag pit stops and get comfortable on Darlington’s tricky oval. In her first foray to Darlington, Patrick finished 31st, six laps off the lead.

Ryan Newman (No. 39)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Newman started fifth for the Aaron’s 499 and led two laps before he was involved in the second "Big One" to hit, a multi-car accident in Lap 183. Newman finished 32nd.
Quotable: "That’s no way to end a race. Our car was much better than that. That’s just poor judgment in restarting the race, poor judgment … I mean; you got what you wanted, but poor judgment and running in the dark and running in the rain. That’s it, thank you."
His standing: Newman is 17th in the standings with 242 points.
Outlook: Newman’s numbers at Darlington are gaudy, but he enters this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 coming off his worst finish at the track since 2008. Newman tangled with Kurt Busch late in the 2012 event after the No. 39 car hit Busch as he was spinning. The bump wasn’t what angered Newman, though. The No. 39 team thought Busch drove dangerously close into their pit box on the ensuing pit stop. NASCAR agreed and ultimately put Busch on probation. Before last year’s 23rd-place finish, Newman had finished in the top 10 for three consecutive years. Since 2005, he has five top-fives and six top-10s in eight races. During that same time, he has started fourth or better five times.

Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Recap: Hamlin returned for the first time since his back was injured on the final lap of the March 24 Auto Club 400. As planned he was in the car until the first caution of the Aaron’s 499, which came in Lap 23. Brian Vickers replaced Hamlin, who earned the driver points, but didn’t last long, getting collected in a multicar accident less than 15 laps after the swap. Hamlin finished 34th.
Quotable: "The exchange went great. Really, that was about as smooth as it’s went for us." … "Every week I feel a lot better and really this is the best I’ve felt physically in, gosh, months since I felt this good."
His standing: Hamlin is 31st in the standings with 155 points.
Outlook: "The Lady in Black" has been good to Hamlin, who is expected to make his full-time return to the No. 11 Saturday night. Hamlin has three consecutive top-10s at the track — the worst finish during that span is sixth — and finished second last year for the second time in his career. His one victory at Darlington came in 2010; six of his seven starts have resulted in top-10s, and his only non top-10 was 13th in 2009.

Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford

Recap: Logano was in position for a breakthrough at the 2.66-mile track in Talladega, Ala. The driver hooked up with teammate Brad Keselowski to power up into the top four before a red-flag delay due to weather. Unfortunately for the No. 22, the race went on. Logano’s engine began to malfunction on Lap 144; his team took the car to the garage and, just like that, Logano’s day was over. He finished in 35th place.
Quotable: "We communicated about it during the race and decided that it was a gauge that was broke, but eventually it blew up. I don’t know. We’re thinking maybe an air pocket somehow got in the water system, but it doesn’t make sense. We’ll look into it and we’ll come up with the answers, but it’s a bummer when you’re sitting third when it was raining and now you don’t finish the race.”
His standing: Logano is 18th in the standings with 237 points.
Outlook: Like so many young drivers, Logano has done his fair share of brushing on Darlington’s historic wall. In 2010, he had two solo accidents and finished 27th. In 2011, he and Marcos Ambrose wrecked, and Logano finished 52 laps down. But the 22-year-old seemed to learn from that experience last season and ran a clean race to finish 10th.

Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford
Recap: Biffle started 17th for the Aaron’s 499 and had moved up when he was caught in the first of two big wrecks that hit on Sunday. After Kyle Busch made contact with Kasey Kahne to set off a chain reaction, Biffle’s car slid sideways and was ridden toward the wall by Marcos Ambrose’s car. Biffle’s damage was significant, and he finished 36th.
Quotable: “I just saw them wrecking above me. I thought about going to the left, I had plenty of room and probably should have, but I didn’t. I just stayed straight and moved down all I could and it wasn’t enough. They got me in the right-rear and turned me the wrong way up into the wall, a pretty hard hit, but that’s all you can do is hang on when stuff like that happens.”
His standing: Biffle is 10th in the standings with 280 points.
Outlook: Biffle started from the pole for the second time in his career at Darlington, but he couldn’t collect his third win at the track. It looked like he might for a while as the No. 16 led twice for 74 laps. But Biffle slipped down the standings in the late stages and finished 12th. That continued Biffle’s four-year trend of finishing outside the top 10 one year after finishing inside it; for example, Biffle was eighth in 2009 and 2011, but 22nd in 2010 and 12th in 2012.

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Posted on by Staff Report

There are 44 entries for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway

Entry No. Driver Owner Crew chief Vehicle Sponsor

1

1

Jamie McMurray

Felix Sabates

Kevin Manion

13 Chevrolet

McDonald’s

2

2

Brad Keselowski

Roger Penske

 Kevin Buskirk

13 Ford

Miller Lite

3

5

Kasey Kahne

Linda Hendrick

Kenny Francis

13 Chevrolet

Time Warner Cable

4

7

Dave Blaney

Tommy Baldwin

Tommy Baldwin

13 Chevrolet

Sany

5

9

Marcos Ambrose

Richard Petty

Drew Blickensderfer

13 Ford

Stanley

6

10

Danica Patrick

Gene Haas

Tony Gibson

13 Chevrolet

GoDaddy.com

7

11

Denny Hamlin

J D Gibbs

Darian Grubb

13 Toyota

Sport Clips

8

13

Casey Mears

Bob Germain

Bootie Barker III

13 Ford

No. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion

9

14

Tony Stewart

Margaret Haas

Steve Addington

13 Chevrolet

Bass Pro Shops/ Mobil 1

10

15

Clint Bowyer

Rob Kauffman

Brian Pattie

13 Toyota

RK Motors Charlotte

11

16

Greg Biffle

Jack Roush

Matt Puccia

13 Ford

Meguiars

12

17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

John Henry

Scott Graves

13 Ford

Zest

13

18

Kyle Busch

Joe Gibbs

Dave Rogers

13 Toyota

Doublemint

14

19

Mike Bliss(i)

Randy Humphrey

Peter Sospenzo

13 Toyota

Plinker Tactical

15

20

Matt Kenseth

Joe Gibbs

Wally Brown

13 Toyota

Home Depot Husky

16

22

Joey Logano

Walter Czarnecki

Steve Reis

13 Ford

Shell Pennzoil

17

24

Jeff Gordon

Rick Hendrick

Alan Gustafson

13 Chevrolet

Cromax Pro

18

27

Paul Menard

Richard Childress

Slugger Labbe

13 Chevrolet

Menards / Pittsburgh Paints

19

29

Kevin Harvick

Richard Childress

Gil Martin

13 Chevrolet

Budweiser

20

30

David Stremme

Brandon Davis

Steve Lane

13 Toyota

Swan Energy

21

31

Jeff Burton

Richard Childress

Luke Lambert

13 Chevrolet

TBD

22

32

Timmy Hill

Frank Stoddard Jr

Frank Stoddard Jr

13 Ford

OXY Water

23

33

Landon Cassill

Joe Falk

John Rahlf

13 Chevrolet

Little Joe’s Autos.com

24

34

David Ragan

Bob Jenkins

Jay Guy

13 Ford

PEANUT PATCH BOILED PEANUTS

25

35

Josh Wise(i)

Jerry Freeze

Derrick Finley

13 Ford

MDS TRANSPORT

26

36

J J Yeley

Allan Heinke

Joseph Lax

13 Chevrolet

TBA

27

38

David Gilliland

Brad Jenkins

Frank Kerr

13 Ford

LONG JOHN SILVER’S

28

39

Ryan Newman

Tony Stewart

Matt Borland

13 Chevrolet

Quicken Loans

29

42

Juan Pablo Montoya

Chip Ganassi

Chris Heroy

13 Chevrolet

Target

30

43

Aric Almirola

Richard Petty

Todd Parrott

13 Ford

Smithfield

31

47

Bobby Labonte

Tad Geschickter

Brian Burns

13 Toyota

Kingsford Charcoal-Grill Out for Mom

32

48

Jimmie Johnson

Jeff Gordon

Chad Knaus

13 Chevrolet

Lowe’s Emerald Green

33

51

Regan Smith(i)

James Finch

Nick Harrison

12 Chevrolet

PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION

34

152*

Brian Keselowski

Bob Keselowski

Ben Leslie

13 Toyota

TBA

35

55

Mark Martin

Michael Waltrip

Rodney Childers

13 Toyota

Aaron’s Dream Machine

36

56

Martin Truex Jr

Michael Waltrip

Chad Johnston

13 Toyota

NAPA Auto Parts

37

78

Kurt Busch

Barney Visser

Todd Berrier

12 Chevrolet

Furniture Row Racing-Serta

38

83

David Reutimann

Ron Devine

Patrick Tryson

13 Toyota

TBA

39

87

Joe Nemechek(i)

Andrea Nemechek

Scott Eggleston

13 Toyota

RoyalTeakCollection.com

40

88

Dale Earnhardt Jr

Rick Hendrick

Steve Letarte

13 Chevrolet

NATIONAL GUARD

41

93

Travis Kvapil

Ron Devine

Todd Anderson

13 Toyota

TBA

42

95

Scott Speed

Bob Leavine

Wally Rogers

13 Ford

TBA

43

98

Michael McDowell

Mike Curb

Gene Nead

13 Ford

Curb Records

44

99

Carl Edwards

Jack Roush

Jimmy Fennig

13 Ford

Geek Squad

 

(i) equals ineligible for driver championship points

* equals withdrawn from the event

READ MORE:

READ: Latest on
Kenseth penalties

READ: Get more
Sprint Cup headlines

WATCH: Victory Lane:
David Ragan

WATCH: Big wreck
at ‘Dega

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Junior up to third, Kahne drops three spots to sixth after accident

1. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Where he stands: Johnson leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with 383 points.
Last week: Despite a third-place finish by Carl Edwards, Johnson only saw his points lead over the Roush Fenway driver decrease by two — thanks to a fifth-place finish of his own. It was his fifth top-five finish and seventh top-10, both of which are tops in the Series.
What he said: "It was obviously a very good day for our Lowe’s Chevrolet. We had a very fast car and I felt like we were a player all day long, and that’s awesome."
This week: In 14 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Johnson has three wins, seven top-fives and 10 top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Johnson ranks fifth out of 49 drivers with an average place of 10.7.
Last year: Johnson’s first win of the year was a historic one for Hendrick Motorsports. The No. 48 Chevrolet, after a handful of near-misses throughout the season, sped away from the pack over a series of late restarts to take the checkered flag and give team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th career victory. The victory added to Five-Time’s sparkling resume at “The Lady in Black.”

2. Carl Edwards (No. 99)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Edwards is second in the standings with 342 points.
Last week: Edwards was primed to take his second victory of the season before that three-and-a-half hour delay, leading Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as cars pulled into the garage for cover. No driver was less pleased to see blue skies, but it still worked out reasonably well for Edwards. A third-place finish behind two non-Chase contenders might as well be first.
What he said: “That was crazy. I blocked everybody I could. I was doing everything I could. I blocked Matt and I thought, ‘Oh, we’ve got it.’ And then I saw Jimmie coming and I blocked him and I thought, ‘Who is that back there?’.”
This week: In nine career starts at Darlington Raceway, Edwards has three top-fives and six top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Edwards ranks 10th out of 49 drivers with an average place of 12.8.
Last year: When a late wreck set up a green-white-checkered finish, Carl Edwards was running in the top 10 and had a decision to make. Then-crew chief Bob Osborne called the No. 99 Ford into pit road to take four tires. Edwards, who later said he agreed with the move, lost some ground, but gained back those spots over the final two laps to finish seventh.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Where he stands: Earnhardt Jr. is third in the standings with 324 points.
Last week: It has to be a great feeling to finish 17th behind Dave Blaney and then move up a spot to third in the standings.  He’d be even closer to second-place Carl Edwards had he held on late, when he was in the top 10 on a restart with 10 to go.
What he said: “We were on that inside lane and weren’t going forward. We were going backwards. Everybody was going by on the outside, and when it’s three- and four-wide, you can’t really go up. I don’t know.”
This week: In 18 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Earnhardt has three top-fives and seven top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Earnhardt ranks ninth out of 49 drivers with an average place of 12.6.
Last year: Earnhardt wrestled with a loose car throughout the duration of the race, and he also had to overcome a pit road speeding penalty. But he stayed out of trouble enough to be on the lead lap late — where he wasn’t early in the race — and salvaged a 17th-place finish. It was his fourth consecutive year finishing outside of the top 10 at Darlington.

4. Clint Bowyer (No. 15)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Bowyer is fourth in the standings with 316 points.
Last week: At the midway point of the race, Bowyer was in sixth place, one spot ahead of Edwards. During the rain delay, was quoted on the FOX broadcast as saying. “I’m ready to go back racing or get the hell out of here." Option two would have been better for Bowyer, who was penalized and sent to the end of the crowd on Lap 190 for missing a lugnut. Still, he managed an 18th-place finish out of it.
What he said: “That was not the day we were hoping for. We had a great PEAK Motor Oil Toyota and I thought I waited it out and put myself in position for the win, but I got caught up in the final big mess. I hate that for the PEAK folks – we really wanted to give them a great finish today. I also would have loved a chance there at the end, but this is restrictor plate racing and unfortunately this happens sometimes at the end of a plate race. We’ll be better next weekend in Darlington.”
This week: In seven career starts at Darlington Raceway, Bowyer has one top-10 and one pole. In the past eight years at Darlington, Bowyer ranks 21st out of 49 drivers with an average place of 19.3.
Last year: Down a lap early in the 2012 Bojangles’ Southern 500, Bowyer was the beneficiary following a caution of Lap 176 (of 368) and stayed on the lead lap for the rest of the race. Bowyer, who started 26th, finished just outside the top 10 in 11th place. It was the driver’s best finish at Darlington since 2007. Bowyer acknowledged after the race that Darlington isn’t one of his best tracks, and that he was happy to leave in 11th place.

5. Brad Keselowski (No. 2)

Penske Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Keselowski is fifth in the standings with 314 points.
Last week: Keselowski was not pleased with his 15th-place finish. That makes two consecutive finishes out of the top-10 for the reigning champion (33rd in the Toyota Owners 400). He did move up a spot to fifth in the standings because of Kasey Kahne’s wreck, but he now trails Jimmie Johnson by 69 points.
This week: In four career starts at Darlington Raceway, Keselowski has one top-five and two top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Keselowski ranks 16th out of 49 drivers with an average place of 16.3.
Last year: Want an example of just how resilient Keselowski and his team were during 2012’s run to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship? Take a look at the Darlington race in which Keselowski, with an ill-handling car, repeatedly brushed the wall and at one point was three laps down. But the driver kept driving, the crew team kept making changes, and eventually Keselowski steered the No. 2 to a 15th-place finish, getting back on the lead lap and gaining 10 spots over the final 100 laps.

6. Kasey Kahne (No. 5)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Where he stands: Kahne is sixth in the standings with 299 points.
Last week: One day after nearly winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Kahne looked to have a car to challenge for the Sprint Cup victory. But on Lap 44, Kahne, while in second place, attempted to move down the track heading into Turn 1. Kyle Busch was attempting to move up the track, and he bumped Kahne, which triggered a massive crash. The No. 5 Chevrolet was done for the afternoon and, being one of the few crunched cars unable to get back out on the track, finished 42nd.
What he said: “Felt the No. 18 pushing me and next thing I know I was spinning. You just can’t push with these cars. We learned that at Daytona, he was pushing me and spun me in the wall and then happened again, so that is what it is.”
This week: In 10 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Kahne has three top-fives, four top-10s and four poles. In the past eight years at Darlington, Kahne ranks seventh out of 49 drivers with an average place of 11.1.
Last year: Kahne led 33 laps and recorded his second consecutive top-10 finish at the track by placing eighth. The driver said his only minor complaint was his pit stop times, but it didn’t ruin his night — he helped celebrate team owner Rick Hendrick’s 200th career victory.

7. Aric Almirola (No. 43)

Richard Petty Motorsports, Ford 

Where he stands: Almirola is seventh in the standings with 293 points.
Last week: Almirola rode to a 10th-place finish, which came as a big victory him. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver extended his current Series-best streak of top-10 finishes to four in a row and earned his highest finish ever at a superspeedway in Cup competition. Not only that, he sits in seventh place in the standings, with no reason to think he won’t stay there.
What he said: “I saw a chance at the win, and I had to take it. Before the rain delay, we ran good most of the race. We were sitting 11th when the red flag came out. That was hard to swallow. If the race finished there, it would have been a good points day for us, but we were so close to another top-10 that it was hard not to want to go back racing. When we had the overheating issue, it looked like we weren’t going to make it a fourth top-10. But, Todd (Parrott) and all the guys worked hard during the caution and fixed the problem.”
This week: In one career start at Darlington Raceway, Almirola finished 19th in 2012. In the past eight years at Darlington, Almirola ranks 22nd out of 49 drivers with an average place of 21.1.
Last year: Almirola earned plenty of stripes in his first foray into Darlington. With his No. 43 blackened by the end of the night, Almirola vowed to learn from his 19th-place showing.

8. Paul Menard (No. 27)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Menard is eighth in the standings with 290 points.
Last week: Menard was holding on strong in sixth place on Lap 51, but ended up in 26th, four laps down. Still, because of  the even-rougher races of Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle, Menard moved up two spots in the standings to eighth and remains the highest Richard Childress Racing driver in said standings.
What he said: “Our CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet was fast today at Talladega Superspeedway. We avoided trouble early on and were able to run up front. Unfortunately, we overheated and had to spend some time in the pits putting us behind. We never gave up and where able to avoid ‘The Big One’ at the end to gain some spots. It was a long day in the rain, but we were able to gain a spot in the points, so we’re happy with that.”
This week: In six career starts at Darlington Raceway, Menard’s best finish is 13th in 2012. In the past eight years at Darlington, Menard ranks 32nd out of 49 drivers with an average place of 26.2.
Last year: Menard led the Richard Childress Racing contingent with a 13th-place showing in the 2012 Bojangles’ Southern 500. It was Menard’s highest finish at the track in his career and his second top-15 in six starts at the track.

9. Kyle Busch (No. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Busch is ninth in the standings with 285 points.
Last week: Busch took the blame for triggering a 16-car incident on Lap 44 that sidelined several contenders in the Aaron’s 499. The No. 18 Toyota got too close to Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet, sending it spinning into the wall and collecting a wave of cars in the process. The wreck looked eerily similar to the one from the Daytona 500.
What he said: “I don’t really know what happened. I know I got in the back of the 5 (Kasey Kahne) and I guess I was trying to go to the outside of him, but he just moved up in front of me and I wasn’t expecting it and I tried to go to the outside of him and before I could get to the outside of him I got in the back of him. I just hate that I caused a hell of a melee for everybody.”
This week: In eight career starts at Darlington Raceway, Busch has one win, two top-fives and four top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Busch ranks fourth out of 49 drivers with an average place of 10.0.
Last year: You knew it was a good race for Busch when the driver acknowledged that he didn’t get his first stripe until past the midway point. Busch earned his second-best finish in eight career starts at Darlington, finishing fourth. Only his 2008 win was better. He also helped Joe Gibbs Racing to a banner day, as all three JGR cars finished inside the top 10.

10. Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Biffle is 10th in the standings with 280 points.
Last week: It was another difficult week for Biffle’s team. For the second consecutive race, the No. 16 team wasn’t close to finishing on the lead lap. Biffle was collected in a multicar wreck and finished 36th.
What he said: “We were trying to be cautious, but that didn’t work.”
This week: In 12 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Biffle has two wins, two top-fives, five top-10s and two poles. In the past eight years at Darlington, Biffle ranks third out of 49 drivers with an average place of 9.8.
Last year: Biffle started on the pole but finished 12th after getting passed multiple times in the waning stages of the race.

Related: More on Biffle, Coca-Cola Racing Family

11. Matt Kenseth (No. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Kenseth is 11th in the standings with 279 points.
Last week: Despite his eighth-place finish, Kenseth still earned 38 points after leading a dominating 142 laps (next highest was Jimmie Johnson at 16). He had a chance for his third win, as he led the crowd to the green flag on the final restart. Still, improved to 11th in the standings, holding on strong to one of the two Wild Card spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. 
What he said: “It could always be worse I guess. Am I disappointed? Yeah, I’m really disappointed.”
This week: In 19 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Kenseth has one top-five, eight top-10s and one pole. In the past eight years at Darlington, Kenseth ranks 15th out of 49 drivers with an average place of 15.6.
Last year: Darlington isn’t one of Kenseth’s best tracks, but perhaps he made a big gain last year. Winless in 19 starts, Kenseth charged through the field late to finish sixth, his best showing since 2008 — and Kenseth’s team felt he would have finished third or fourth if not for a green-white-checkered finish. Kenseth has just one top-five at the track, but has finished sixth three times.

12. Kevin Harvick (No. 29)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Harvick is 12th in the standings with 276 points.
Last week: One week before Talladega, Harvick said his team was due for some good luck. And he was right — the No. 29 rolled to Victory Lane at Richmond. But bad luck returned at the 2.66-mile track Sunday when Harvick’s No. 29 Chevrolet was caught up in a mega-wreck less than 45 laps into the 188-lap race. He finished 40th.
What he said: “I feel like this race was a flashback to Daytona (International Speedway). We had a great run last weekend, and I was really hoping that we could carry that momentum into this weekend, but we didn’t have a chance to make it to the end. I’ve got to thank the Budweiser team for working so hard to try and get us back on track. Wish we could have had a better result, but that’s part of superspeedway racing.”
Next week: In 16 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Harvick has two top-fives, and five top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Harvick ranks 19th out of 49 drivers with an average place of 17.3.
Last year: The good (Harvick’s driving performance) and the bad (his car’s handling) canceled each other out in 2012. The result was a middle-of-the-road 16th-place showing after Harvick started 23rd. He had worked his way into the top 10 late, but a spate of cautions necessitated multiple restarts, and the No. 29 was in no shape to keep up with some of the better cars in the field. According to NASCAR Loop Data, Harvick ranked first in green flag passes (109) in last year’s event.

Five in the rearview mirror …

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Truex Jr. is 13th in the standings with 269 points.
Last week: Truex’s seventh-place finish is just another in a string of four consecutive strong races that have vaulted the Michael Waltrip Racing driver to 13th overall and in position to compete for a Chase spot. Had he not been hit with a pit road penalty late in the race, that finish could have been even higher.
This week: In seven career starts at Darlington Raceway, Truex Jr. has one top-five and three top-10s. In the past eight years at Darlington, Truex ranks eighth out of 49 drivers with an average place of 12.5.

Jeff Gordon (No. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolett 

Where he stands: Gordon is 14th in the standings with 269 points.
Last week: Despite being involved in a few wrecks and spending most of the day a lap down, Gordon enjoyed some beneficiary benefits to remain relevant and pull out an 11th-place finish and earn 34 points.
This week: In 32 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Gordon has seven wins, 18 top-fives, 21 top-10s and three poles. In the past eight years at Darlington, Gordon ranks first out of 49 drivers with an average place of 8.3.

Jamie McMurray (No. 1)

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: McMurray is 15th in the standings with 267 points.
Last week: With 10 laps left, McMurray had the pleasure of running in the top 10 behind Michael Waltrip, Ryan Newman and Marcos Ambrose. It looked like he’d have a chance to move up, but instead finished in 23rd and lost three spots in the standings.
Next week: In 12 career starts at Darlington Raceway, McMurray has three top-fives, five top-10s and one pole. In the past eight years at Darlington, McMurray ranks 13th out of 49 drivers with an average place of 14.6.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 17)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Stenhouse Jr. is 16th in the standings with 256 points.
Last week: Like Truex, Stenhouse was hit with a pit road penalty on a late green flag stop that proved costly. Still, the rookie driver positioned himself well towards the end of the race and ran successfully with teammate Carl Edwards for most of the race and finished 13th.
This week: Stenhouse Jr. has no starts at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kurt Busch (No. 78)

Furniture Row Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Busch is 20th in the standings with 231 points.
Last week: Busch was in third place with 10 laps to go before a huge wreck that saw him roll and land on top of Ryan Newman’s car forced him to a 30th-place finish that kept him from gaining traction in the standings.
This week: In 16 career starts at Darlington Raceway, Busch has two top-fives, five top-10s and one pole. In the past eight years at Darlington, Busch ranks 17th out of 49 drivers with an average place of 16.9.

READ MORE:

READ: Latest on
Kenseth penalties

READ: Get more
Sprint Cup headlines

WATCH: Victory Lane:
David Ragan

WATCH: Big wreck
at ‘Dega

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Posted on by

Top-10 provides no solace for dominant driver

Related: Full results | Minute-by-Minute blog | Complete Talladega coverage | Wreck video

TALLADEGA, Ala. — The most successful restrictor-plate driver of the last few seasons stood in a drizzle outside his transporter at Talladega Superspeedway and blamed himself.

“I feel like they’re giving me what I need to win. Especially at a plate race with all this stuff going on, I feel like I kind of let everybody down who’s standing here,” Matt Kenseth said as his Joe Gibbs Racing crew loaded up his No. 20 car. “You take off leading at that green-white-checkered, and you come back eighth. That’s always disappointing, even though I don’t know what I would have done different, to be honest with you.”

The driver of the dominant car in Sunday’s rain-interrupted marathon at the 2.66-mile facility, Kenseth led 142 of 192 laps but wound up in the wrong spot during a two-lap dusk shootout that decided the second restrictor-place race of this NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Out front when the field took the green flag the final time, Kenseth found himself boxed in at the top of the track, and then out of position to try and block the onrushing Front Row Motorsports cars of David Ragan and David Gilliland, who finished an unlikely 1-2. 

"Everybody after our great year last year said it’s a strong point. I think it’s a weak point."

— Matt Kenseth

It added up to a frustrating eighth-place finish for Kenseth, whose restrictor-plate prowess from his days at Roush Fenway Racing has carried over to his new home at JGR. But the results haven’t — he was the class of the Daytona 500 before being sidelined with a blown engine, and Sunday saw his hopes nixed on the furious final restart of a race that was red-flagged for 3 hours and 36 minutes by weather, and ended with a surprise winner in Victory Lane.

How good was Kenseth on Sunday? He led 142 laps in a race where only one other driver cracked double-digits — Jimmie Johnson, who paced 16 circuits at the front. Indeed, it was Johnson pushing Kenseth on that final restart, but not even the two of them together could stop Carl Edwards from barreling to the lead at the bottom. Kenseth found himself pushed up the track, and by the time Ragan and Gilliland came storming through the middle, he was too late to try and stop them.

“I just didn’t watch the runs from those guys way in the back. They just got a huge run up the middle. I saw David (Ragan) at the last minute, but he was going too fast. If I pulled in front of him, I would have just gotten wrecked. So I just bit the bullet and tried to find a hole, which there wasn’t one, and just finish best we can,” said Kenseth, who has won twice this season and faces an appeal Wednesday over a 50-point deduction for an engine violation.

“You just don’t know what’s going on in those green-white-checkereds. You don’t know what’s going on seven or eight rows back, and how far they’re holding them back, and how big a run they can get on the pack. It’s just unpredictable, and it’s crazy. I got the best restart that I could. Jimmie really pushed me good, and unfortunately it just wasn’t enough. I couldn’t figure out how to keep it there.”

It was a roller-coaster day for a driver who led huge chunks of the race, but like many others found himself continuously challenged by the changing weather conditions. Kenseth thought he had lost after Johnson left him in the low lane and took a number of followers with him, leaving Kenseth in 12th place at a red flag prompted by heavy rain.

Again, Kenseth put the onus on himself. “I made a wrong move there,” he said. At the time, it seemed as if the mistake would cost him.

“Sorry, man,” Kenseth told crew chief Jason Ratcliff over the radio as the cars were headed to pit road and rain began to pelt the track. Ratcliff kept the faith, telling his driver that it was still early in the day, and there was time for the rain to clear out and resume the race. That’s just what occurred a day earlier, when a rain-delayed NASCAR Nationwide Series race didn’t end until 7:30 p.m. local time.

“We’re still going to get another shot at this thing,” Ratcliff said.

The crew chief’s words proved prophetic, and after a long delay that included some hail in the area, a clearing of the grandstands and plenty of praise for the Air Titan drying system, the field went back to green. Kenseth went right back to the front, leading 33 consecutive laps until diverging pit strategies and accidents jumbled the front of the pack.

Later, Kenseth found himself on the opposite end of the weather situation — in the lead as skies darkened and the final laps wound down, and rooting hard for NASCAR to call the race. “They’re going to have to pull the plug,” Kenseth said over the radio during the final caution. “It’s going to be another five or six laps, and I can’t see a thing.” Turns out they were missives from a driver lobbying for a little help to stay in the lead.

“Obviously, I was out there talking about it because I was the leader, but it was fine,” Kenseth said. “Was it dark? Yeah, it was pretty dark. We could all see enough to do our jobs.”

Kenseth was a force on restrictor-plate tracks during his days at Roush, winning the Daytona 500 twice and finishing in the top three in all four plate races last season. After moving to Gibbs he picked up right where he left off, posting some of the fastest speeds in Daytona testing and pacing 86 of the 149 laps he competed in before his engine expired in the 500. Sunday was more of the same, his No. 20 uncatchable until weather, cautions and circumstances intervened.

Standing in the drizzle Sunday evening, all that was of little solace to a driver who only knew he had the best car in the event, and didn’t win.

“Restrictor-plate racing is tough,” Kenseth said. “Everybody after our great year last year said it’s a strong point. I think it’s a weak point. I feel like I’m not very good at (choosing) the right spots. … It would be nice if we could race a little bit to the end, because I feel like our cars are good enough and our strategy is good and we can get ourselves in really good places for longer runs. But green-white-checkereds are just really unpredictable.”

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Front Row Motorsports finishes 1-2; Kenseth leads 142 laps, finishes eighth

Related: Full results | Minute-by-Minute blog | Complete Talladega coverage | Wreck video

TALLADEGA, Ala. — In the type of stunning victory that has typified racing at Talladega Superspeedway since its inception, David Ragan led an extraordinary 1-2 finish for Front Row Motorsports, which had never won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race before Sunday.
 
David Gilliland pushed Ragan, his teammate, to the lead on the final circuit in a green-white checkered-flag finish that took Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 four laps past its scheduled distance of 188 laps. Gilliland came home second, followed by pole sitter Carl Edwards, Michael Waltrip and series leader Jimmie Johnson.

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As Ragan put it, two Davids beat the Goliaths of NASCAR racing in one of the sport’s most unlikely finishes ever.
 
Ragan’s victory followed a massive wreck that took the race to overtime — and to near-darkness, in what truly was a Talladega night. In fact, NASCAR gave the drivers a chance to change their tinted visors for clear ones during the final caution.
 
Afterward, Ragan tried to put the win in perspective.
 
"I can only imagine what it felt like back in 1988 when Mark Martin got that first win for Jack Roush or when Geoff Bodine won that first race for Hendrick Motorsports," said Ragan, who scored his only Sprint Cup win at Daytona in July 2011, his last season with Jack Roush. "I’m sure it was just as special.
 
"A lot of these guys have been to Victory Lane in the Sprint Cup Series and late model racing, short tracks, ARCA — all kinds of series — but to do it here at Talladega in 2013, like I said, it’s a true David vs. Goliath story. I couldn’t be more proud to play my own role."
 
Ragan restarted 10th and Gilliland 11th for the final two-lap sprint. As the cars raced into Turn 1, they were barely visible from the frontstretch grandstand, but the teammates managed to find each other on the track. For the first time in NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car, Gilliland pushed another car through the corners — to the amazement of Edwards, whose jaw dropped in the post-race news conference as Gilliland described the final two laps.
 
"We got restarted there, and it was sprinkling, and it was dark and there was (speedy-dry) on the track so it got on the windshield where it was wet but I could see, and I could see David there and he came down," Gilliland said. "Michael Waltrip was behind me, giving me a good run and just carried a lot of momentum up through there and got hooked up with David and figured he’s got the best chance of anybody sticking together with him out there and just worked our way up there.
 
"It got real tight getting into (Turn) 3 and 4 with Carl there. I know David was sideways and out of the gas, and Carl was right up on his door, and could have gone a number of ways. But, thankfully I just stayed on his bumper. I pushed him all the way through the corners. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that with this car, with these style of cars, because with these type of cars in practice I’ve pushed people down the backstraight and it actually kind of gets underneath that little lip underneath the back bumper cover and I’ve always been kind of scared getting into the corner. As the front car compresses, the back part of the nose doesn’t have anywhere to go because the splitter is already on the racetrack.
 
"But I just pushed him all the way around there and Carl about stalled out a little bit, and we were just able to carry some good momentum and come home one‑two."
 
On Lap 183, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tried a four-wide move to the outside, but contact with J.J. Yeley‘s car triggered a multicar melee that wiped out Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer, among others.
 
That set up the two-lap dash in overtime with Matt Kenseth in the lead and Edwards beside him on the front row. Kenseth, who led 142 laps dropped to eighth at the finish.
 
Michael McDowell blew a tire and hit the wall on Lap 174 to cause the fourth caution of the race and bunch a field that had become segmented during a series of green-flag pit stops that ended on Lap 168. When NASCAR threw the yellow, Johnson led a six-car breakaway that included Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Edwards, Bowyer and Waltrip.
 
The caution, however, brought 19 other lead-lap cars back into play and the massive wreck at the end of the backstretch changed the game completely.
 
NASCAR slowed the race on Lap 122 and stopped it after Lap 125 when showers that had been forecast for race day arrived shortly after 3 p.m. ET. Edwards had nosed ahead of Stenhouse moments earlier and was ahead at the last scoring loop the cars crossed before the yellow.
 
That left the Fords of Edwards, Stenhouse, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski at the front of the field when NASCAR red-flagged the race, forcing drivers and fans to wait and see whether the event would resume.
 
After a stoppage of 3 hours, 36 minutes, the race restarted after pit stops, and Kenseth quickly surged to the front.
 
As the cars approached Turn 1 on lap 43, a tap from Kyle Busch‘s No. 18 Toyota turned Kasey Kahne‘s No. 5 Chevrolet into the outside wall and triggered a wreck that damaged 16 cars, among them the Chevys of Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, the Toyota of Brian Vickers (after a driver change with Denny Hamlin) and the Ford of Greg Biffle.
 
"I know I got in the back of the 5 (Kahne), and I guess I was trying to go to the outside of him," Busch said. ‘But he just moved up in front of me, and I wasn’t expecting it, and I tried to go to the outside of him, and before I could get to the outside of him I got in the back of him.
 
"I just hate that I caused a hell of a melee for everybody. I hate that. A lot of cars got torn up, and it’s way too early in the race to be doing any of those sorts of moves, whether he made it or I made it. Just I hate it that we all got crashed in that deal."
 
Both Kahne and Busch visited the infield care center after the wreck, and both were released in short order.
 
"I just kind of got shot through the center (of the field) there, just a lot of momentum coming from behind," Kahne said of the action immediately before the crash. "Felt the No. 18 pushing me, and next thing I know, I was spinning.

"You just can’t push with these cars. We learned that at Daytona. He was pushing me and spun me in the wall, and then (it) happened again, so that is what it is."
 
Kahne said he and Busch didn’t speak in the care center.
 
"No, I didn’t talk to him," Kahne said. "I think we both probably understand what happened, and we’ll figure it out from there."
 
Notes: Johnson’s margin in the Cup standings over second-place Edwards shrank by two points to 41. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17th Sunday) is third, 59 points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate… Paul Menard finished 26th with a sour engine but gained two spots to eighth in the standings because other drivers in Chase-eligible positions had bigger issues… Ragan and Gilliland won a combined $608,261 for their 1-2 finish, a welcome payday for a team run by owner Bob Jenkins predominantly out of his own pocket.

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