Recapture the key moments from Kyle Busch’s victory in Sunday’s Auto Club 400.
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Junior takes the high road to continue top-10 streak
FONTANA, Calif. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to get to the top of the race track. And on Sunday’s final restart he managed to do just that, riding it right to the top of the standings in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
“The restart before, he wanted to be on the top, and he went to the bottom and it didn’t work,” said Steve Letarte, Earnhardt’s crew chief. “I could tell he was very upset with himself. So we were pretty confident that he was going to the top. And he went to the top, top, tippy-top.”
Indeed, there was Earnhardt making one of his patented runs in the high line over the final green-flag run Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, gaining one spot after another and clawing his way to second behind winner Kyle Busch. In the race, he was helped by the mutual assured destruction that rivals Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin unleashed on one another. In the standings, he was helped by a damaged race car that couldn’t keep Brad Keselowski at the front.
"We were pretty good at closing races, something I never really was good at for years, and now we’re doing it as good as anybody."
— Dale Earnhardt Jr.
And in the end there was Earnhardt, picking his way through the field before swooping low to avoid the fracas in front of him, and using his second-place result to seize a 12-point lead over Keselowski in the standings.
“We just stick together,” said Earnhardt, the only driver to finish inside the top 10 in each of the first five events this season. “We were pretty good at closing races, something I never really was good at for years, and now we’re doing it as good as anybody. Just riding the wave. Just real happy with how things are going for our team.”
Earnhardt made up 17 spots over the 10-lap green-flag run that closed the race, and assumed the lead in the standings after Keselowski finished 23rd. Sunday marked the first time NASCAR’s most popular driver had led the Sprint Cup Series since last summer, when he was on top for two weeks. Earnhardt ultimately finished 12th in the standings last season after sitting out two races due to concussion symptoms.
“I’d really like it if it were after race 36,” Letarte said, referring to the final points event of the season.
Even so, the top spot is indicative of the consistency Earnhardt and his No. 88 team have shown since last season.
“We’re racing very well,” Letarte added. “I don’t think we’ve had the best cars. I think we’ve had good cars. I don’t think we’ve been bad. But we’re racing vey well, and it feels good to race well. I know that sounds silly, but sometimes we get lost in all this practice speeds and social media and the world and they report every lap and every this and every that. It’s a contest of not just speed, but the guy has to get to the finish. You’ve got to do pit stops, you’ve got to do restarts, you’ve got to communicate. We had a lot of stuff not go our way today, so to recover and come back was pretty nice.”
No question, Sunday featured its challenges, most notably a 21-second pit stop caused by a dropped lug nut that mired Earnhardt back in 22nd with — appropriately enough — 88 laps remaining. “Guys, we can’t have those,” Letarte told his crew over the radio, sounding like a school principal disappointed in a prized student. Earnhardt urged his team to shake it off. “Just a blip on the radar,” the driver said.
“We dropped a lug nut and just didn’t do a very efficient job of putting it back on,” Letarte said after the race. “We’ll have to practice that. Because you can’t drop a lug nut and have a 21-second pit stop. It needs to be a 16- or a 15-second pit stop. But it’s hard to say much, because man, they have saved the car enough times over the last 10 or 15 races, and I think everybody heard that in Dale’s voice in the car. He has a lot more patience, because he sees the potential there.”
In what would become a bit of foreshadowing for the end of the race, Earnhardt rapidly picked his way up through traffic. Soon enough, he was back up to 10th. “Hell yeah, buddy. Doing awesome,” Letarte told him over the radio.
“Everybody just kind of patted each other on the back, and we were going to get another chance to redeem ourselves on pit road,” Earnhardt said afterward. “We had a good car. On that next restart we drove back up to 10th before the next caution, so I felt like we were back up in position to run well and everything was fine. We got a good pit stop on the next caution, and put that mistake behind us.”
The pit crew was flawless at the end, although Earnhardt did drop back in traffic once again after a late set of tires didn’t agree with his car. It all set the stage for the finish, where Earnhardt was able to take four tires under the last caution and get into his preferred restart position. On the last one, he was right where he wanted to be. And as Earnhardt has done so many times on big tracks, he climbed up the race track and made his climb to the front.
“He’s a great closer, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for that,” Letarte said. In fact, according to NASCAR Loop Data, Earnhardt leads the Sprint Cup Series in the Closers statistic, gaining 26 positions in the final 10 percent of races this season for an average of 5.2 spots gained per race.
“Unfortunately, it hasn’t been for the wins, so maybe that’s why they haven’t seen it. But … the last 20 percent of every race, I think we’ve done the most gaining of about anybody. So that feels good to do.”
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Stewart calls Logano rich kid who never had to work
FONTANA, Calif. — After trading barbs on Twitter a week ago, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano actually traded paint on Sunday, throwing away their chances to win the Auto Club 400 by banging each other into oblivion on the final lap at Auto Club Speedway.
But it was Logano’s row with Tony Stewart that led to the most heated exchange of the season so far, first as Stewart tried to get a piece of Logano on pit road and later as the three-time champion roasted the 22-year-old with criticism that turned very personal.
The Hamlin-Logano feud, which ignited last week at Bristol when Hamlin’s attempted bump-and-run sent Logano’s Ford spinning into the wall, escalated at Fontana, as Hamlin drove to the outside of Logano to start the final lap and the drivers traded shots until they wrecked in Turn 3 — to the benefit of Kyle Busch, who was running third at the time and won the race.
Logano was credited with a third-place finish, but Hamlin’s car slammed nose-first into the inside wall. Hamlin was airlifted to a local hospital and kept overnight for precautionary evaluation.
But it was Logano’s block of Stewart on the final restart on Lap 190 that had Stewart seething after the race, to the point where he nosed in front of Logano’s car on pit road (stopping its progress), climbed out and confronted the young driver before crew members intervened.
Logano acknowledged that the block was a deliberate attempt to win the race.
“I had to throw the block there,” Logano said. “That was a race for the lead. I felt if the 14 (Stewart) got underneath me, that was going to be the end of my opportunity to win the race, so I was just trying to protect the spot I had. I was actually pedaling, because I couldn’t keep the 18 (race leader Kyle Busch) aligned (in front of Logano’s No. 22 Ford, as the rules require on a restart).
“I was actually faster than the 18 getting our tires hooked up. And then I’m trying to stagger myself making sure I don’t beat him to the line, and then I had to block the 14 because I was pedaling it. I’ll talk to him and we’ll see what happens.”
"He’s nothing but a little rich kid who’s never had to work in his life."
—Tony Stewart, on Joey Logano
Stewart was having none of it.
“He’s going to learn a lesson,” Stewart said. “He’s run his mouth long enough … He’s nothing but a little rich kid who’s never had to work in his life, so he’s going to learn what us working guys who had to work our way up … how it works.
“He has the choice to do that. He’s in control of his car. But if he ever turns down across in front of me again — I don’t car what lap it is — he won’t make it through the other end of it… I’m tired of these guys doing that stuff, especially out of a kid that’s been griping about everybody else — and then he does that the next week … send Denny to the hospital and screw our day up.
“He’s talked the talk, but he hasn’t walked the walk yet. He’s always got his crew guys walking the walk for him.”
Both Stewart and Logano will have to let things simmer for two weeks. The next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is April 7 at Martinsville, where frayed tempers are commonplace.
VICTORY THICKER THAN BLOOD?
Even though his brother Kyle was the race leader for the final restart with 11 laps to go, Kurt Busch made his move, taking the front row three-wide to the outside after Kyle took the green.
Kurt said he was glad his brother eventually won the race, but he didn’t regret taking his own shot at victory.
“In the end, I could have followed Kyle and just wanted to apologize to him for putting it three- and four-wide on the restart, because I’m hungry and going for the win, and it’s not normally a move you would make if you are pushing a brother,” Kurt said.
“I could have pushed him out to the lead earlier and maybe he could have held off the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 11 (Denny Hamlin), but I messed him up on the restart and I told him, I’m going for the win, and I am not going for anything less.”
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Hamlin, Logano wreck on final lap as Busch captures win at Fontana
Video: Stewart, Logano tussle
Race Results: Stats from Fontana
FONTANA, Calif. — Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano knocked each other off the race track on the final lap of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 — allowing Kyle Busch to steal the win — but it was Tony Stewart who left Auto Club Speedway fighting mad.
Yes, it was Busch’s 25th victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Yes, Busch broke a 31-race drought. Yes, Busch gave Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota their first victory at Auto Club Speedway.
Yes, race runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaves California with the Cup series lead, 12 points ahead of 23rd-place finisher Brad Keselowski.
But it was the banging between pole-sitter Hamlin and Logano — the renewal of a feud that sparked last Sunday in Bristol — as well as an angry confrontation between Stewart and Logano on pit road that stole attention from Busch’s milestone win. Stewart took umbrage at a block by Logano on the final restart with 11 laps left in the 200-lap event.
“I did win the race today,” Busch quipped. “That might be a story … They (Hamlin and Logano) were so focused on each other that they left the door open.”
His momentum broken by the block, Stewart fell through the field and finished 22nd. Earnhardt was second when caution froze the field on the final lap. Logano was credited with third, followed by Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch, who overcame a brush with the wall and a pit-road penalty to post his second straight top five.
They (Hamlin and Logano) were so focused on each other that they left the door open.
— Kyle Busch
Hamlin nosed hard into the inside wall and was credited with a 25th-place finish. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was airlifted to a local hospital and kept overnight as a precautionary measure. A helicopter was used because of heavy post-race traffic outside the speedway. On Monday, Hamlin tweeted, "I just want to go home."
As Logano put it later, the driver of the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford was simply trying to do whatever was necessary to win the race. That applied both to the block of Stewart and the battle with Hamlin.
“Racing for the lead — going for the win,” Logano said. “That’s what you’ve got to do … Tony was just upset about a restart, that I was racing him really hard on the bottom trying to make sure I protected my spot. What I was doing actually was I was racing the 18 (Kyle Busch) on the restart and he was spinning his tires.
“The rule is you can’t beat him to the start-finish line, so I am pedaling it, which gave Tony the run to go underneath me. I wanted to block that because I knew, if he put me three-wide, that would be the end of my race and I wouldn’t win. I was smart enough to realize that. Then I had to just do what I had to do to get to the front and try to win the race.”
Stewart had a substantially different view of the incident.
“For a guy that’s been complaining about how everyone else is driving here, and him to do that, it’s a double standard,” Stewart said. “He makes the choice. He makes the decision to run us down there (to the apron), and when you run a driver down there, you take responsibility for what happens after that.
“He’s a tough guy on pit road, as soon as one of his crew guys gets in the middle of it. Until then, he’s a scared little kid.”
A caution on Lap 170 for Marcos Ambrose‘s blown left-rear tire followed almost immediately a round of green-flag pit stops and wiped out Busch’s five-second lead over Harvick. That set up a restart on Lap 175 with Busch on the outside and Harvick beside him in the inside lane.
Harvick, however, failed to launch on the restart, allowing Kahne to move into second with Stewart behind him. One lap later, Mark Martin‘s spin off Turn 2 brought out the seventh caution and bunched the field for a restart on Lap 181.
Kyle Busch pulled away once again, but the engine in Clint Bowyer‘s Toyota exploded on Lap 185, giving cars running ninth on back a chance to pit for fresh tires in hopes of gaining ground on a final charge to the finish.
Kyle Busch paced the field to a restart on Lap 190 with Logano beside him, despite overheating issues that threatened his chances for a strong finish. Stewart was third and Kurt Busch fourth when the field took the green.
Stewart was the biggest loser on the restart, thanks to the block Logano threw on the No. 14 car as the field stormed through Turn 1. Logano got the better of Kyle Busch on lap 194, as Hamlin streaked through the field on fresh tires to move into second.
Just past the finish line on Lap 199, Hamlin moved to the outside of Logano, and the drivers banged doors repeatedly until the contact sent Hamlin spinning and Logano into the outside wall, allowing Kyle Busch to steal the win.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
‘Smoke’ fumes after Logano blocks on restart
FONTANA, Calif. — Tempers were as hot as the Southern California asphalt Sunday afternoon following the Auto Club 400. Angry over a late race restart, veteran Tony Stewart issued old-school justice to Joey Logano on pit road following the race. At the same time, Denny Hamlin, who feuded with Logano last week, was being transported to a local hospital, where he was held overnight for precautionary measures following a last-lap collision with Logano going for the win.
It was an action-packed race on a postcard kind of day, but likely everyone will be talking about the finish.
Where to start?
Racing for the lead on a restart with 10 laps remaining, Stewart felt that Logano twice blocked him low — at one point forcing Stewart’s Chevrolet all the way to the inside apron — and the momentum shift ended up thwarting what looked to be Stewart’s best finish of the season. Instead, compounded with a possible tire issue a few laps later, Stewart took the checkered in 22nd place.
Still, he fared better than Hamlin, who for the second week in a row battled door-to-door, bumper-to-bumper with his former teammate Logano at the front of the field. While racing for the lead on the last lap the two drivers — who exchanged words last week on pit road and fought a social media battle on Twitter — collided, sending Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota hard head-on into the Turn 4 inside wall.
"…I had to just do what I had to do to get to the front and try to win the race."
— Joey Logano
Hamlin climbed out of his car on his own, but immediately lay down on the track and was placed on a stretcher by safety workers for the short ambulance ride to the track infield care center. About 20 minutes after the race, J.D. Gibbs, president of Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing team, came out and told reporters that Hamlin was taken to a local hospital for observation.
Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed Sunday night that Hamlin, who was experiencing lower back pain, would stay in the hospital overnight as a precaution. On Monday, Hamlin tweeted, "I just want to go home."
A calmer Stewart spoke to reporters after changing out of his driver suit and defended his post-race confrontation with Logano on pit road. He shoved Logano with two hands before being separated, Logano threw a water bottle at him and a brief scuffle ensued between crew members. NASCAR was reviewing film of the incident and had not yet issued any penalties.
“Joey spun the tires on the re-start and everyone had trouble with that today, but that’s not my fault he did that,’’ explained the three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Stewart.
“For a guy that’s been complaining about how everyone else is driving and he does that, that’s a double standard. He made that choice, the decision to run us down there and when you run a driver down there you take responsibility for what happens after that.
“He’s a tough guy on pit road as soon as one of his crew guys is in the middle of it,’’ Stewart continued. “Until then he’s a scared little kid and wants to throw a water bottle at me. He’s going to learn a lesson. And he can run his mouth on Twitter all he wants tonight, I’ve got plenty of people that are going to watch for that. It’s time he learns a lesson.
“He’s nothing but a little rich kid that’s never had to work in his life, so he’s going to learn what it’s like for us working guys that had to work our way up. … He ruined our day and sent Denny (Hamlin) to the hospital."
Logano, 22, who finished third, was much more subdued in the garage area. He suggested that last week’s incident with Hamlin was still on his mind while racing his former teammate Sunday and he freely admitted he blocked Stewart but defended the move in the name of going for a race win.
“I had to throw the block there,’’ Logano said. “That was a race for the lead. I felt if the 14 (Stewart) got underneath me, that was going to be the end of my opportunity to win the race, so I was just trying to protect the spot I had.
“What I was doing actually was I was racing the 18 (race winner Kyle Busch) on the restart and he was spinning his tires. The rule is you can’t beat him to the start-finish line so I’m pedaling it, which gave Tony the run to go underneath me.
“I wanted to block that because I knew if he put me three-wide that would be the end of my race and I wouldn’t win. I was smart enough to realize that. Then I had to just do what I had to do to get to the front and try to win the race.’’
“I’ll talk to him (Stewart) and we’ll see what happens. I think he finished decent. We’ll just talk about it some more.’’
The question is whether Stewart will take the call.
“Hell no,’’ Stewart said, then paused. “If he wants to talk about it, we’ll talk about it. After he threw the water bottle at me like a little girl, we’ll go at it now. I’m not going to listen. I don’t care what he has to say. It’s just words right now. Actions speak louder than words.
And, Stewart suggested, “If NASCAR wants to let the guys have at it, it shouldn’t be any different than hockey and when one guy goes to the ground it’s over. I’m so tired of watching these little guys whine and then act tough when his crew guys get in the middle of it.’’
Logano maintained in a later interview, “I’m just trying to win the race, just do what I had to do.’’
Meanwhile, Hamlin’s teammate Kyle Busch, who was running third at the time, had the catbird seat for the final lap fireworks — an outcome that didn’t entirely surprise him.
“I was rolling around under caution earlier in the race and I seen some highlights of them two getting together from earlier in the race, so I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, well, they don’t get along this week again either,’" Busch said.
“But man, I’m shocked for just everything that was going on there and how hard they were running. I mean, they both were trying to win the race, of course. But you know, all I kept thinking was. … they’re forgetting the third place car. They have no clue that I’m coming, they have no clue, they’re just racing each other. I’m like, surely the spotter has got to say something. … And saying, you know, ‘hey, block the top, the 18 has got a run or something.’ But they were so focused in on one another that they just left the door open.’’
"I did win the race today," he added with a smirk. "That might be a story too, you know.’’
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Kyle Busch sweeps at Auto Club Speedway.
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Tony Stewart had no kind words for Joey Logano after being blocked on a restart.
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Tensions from last week spilled over into the Auto Club 400 as Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin went from battling for first to spinning out in a wreck.
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
No. 20 driver upset after tap from former teammate
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.
Front-runners scrape the wall to avoid slick spot
Comments are currently unavailable. We’re working on the development of a NASCAR fan forum – please stay tuned.