Monday, September 30, 2013

Johnson Wins Record Eighth Dover Race



Jimmie Johnson held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win Sunday's  AAA 400 from Dover International Speedway.

Courtesy of Justin Heiman/Getty Images
Johnson had to hold off Earnhardt after a questionable call on the final pit stop that saw Johnson take two tires and Earnhardt taking four.  Johnson said he knew his team made the right call.

"Two worked good for us in practice," Johnson told ESPN in victory lane.  "Junior drove a great race, but track position really gave us the advantage we needed to hold them off."

Johnson's victory helped him move up to second place in the points, now only eight points behind Matt Kenseth for the points lead.  Johnson said the title hunt is only going to get harder as the season winds down.

"When you put the 18 [of Kyle Busch] and 20 [of Kenseth] up there, it's going to be a really hard deal," Johnson said.  "It'll be fun for the fans to watch."

Johnson told ESPN that this win was exactly what he needed.

"We came in here today and did what we had to do," Johnson said.

Earnhardt started on the pole for the AAA 400, and he led the field to the green flag.  Earnhardt led for the first 26 laps, until points-leader Kenseth took the lead.  Earnhardt re-took the lead from Kenseth on lap 31.
On lap 37, the first caution of the day came out for debris in Turn 1.  Under the caution, Kyle Busch won the race off pit road to take the lead.

Busch led the field back to the green flag on lap 42, and he cleared the leaders going into Turn 1. 
On lap 71, Ryan Newman took the lead after the handling on Busch's car started to go away.  Newman only held the lead for five laps, because Earnhardt was able to take the lead on lap 76.

On lap 110, green flag pit stops began for the leaders.  Earnhardt tried to pit his car on lap 118, but he missed pit road, causing him to lose precious time on the track.  When he came back on the track after making his stop, he was behind Johnson.

The second caution of the day came out on lap 165 for debris.  The leaders pitted under caution, and Kenseth won the race off pit road.  

Kenseth took the green flag on lap 171, and he led until lap 198 when Johnson took the lead.
The third caution came out on lap 226, after Brad Keselowski dropped oil on the track.  

Johnson cleared the field heading into Turn 1 after the race restarted on lap 236.  Johnson led until green flag pit stops began again on lap 312, and he brought his car to pit road.  That allowed Earnhardt to take the lead until he pitted on lap 314.

After stops had cycled around, Johnson took over the lead again.   

The race looked like it would come down to fuel mileage until the final caution of the day came out on lap 370 for debris.  The leaders pitted for fuel, and Johnson won the race off pit road after taking only two tires.
The race restarted on lap 375, and Johnson led the field into Turn 1.  Earnhardt, who took four tires under the final caution, closed in on Johnson's back bumper, but Johnson held him off to win his eighth career race at Dover.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Joey Logano
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Kyle Busch
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Ryan Newman
9. Greg Biffle
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Jamie McMurray
12. Brian Vickers
13. Kasey Kahne
14. Jeff Burton
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Marcos Ambrose
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. Paul Menard
19. Mark Martin
20. Denny Hamlin
21. Kurt Busch
22. Aric Almirola
23. Juan Pablo Montoya
24. Casey Mears
25. David Ragan
26. AJ Allmendinger
27. Cole Whitt
28. David Reutimann
29. Danica Patrick
30. David Gilliland
31. Travis Kvapil
32. Ryan Truex
33. Dave Blaney
34. J.J. Yeley
35. Carl Edwards
36. Timmy Hill
37. Brad Keselowski
38. Landon Cassill
39. Joe Nemechek
40. Tony Raines
41. Reed Sorenson
42. Josh Wise
43. Michael McDowell

Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series  heads to Kansas Speedway for the fourth race of the Chase.  The Hollywood Casino 400 can be seen next Sunday at 1 p.m., only on ESPN.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Kenseth Goes Back-to-Back in New Hampshire

Originally written for CLNS Radio.



Matt Kenseth became the first driver to open the Chase with two straight wins by winning the Sylvania 300 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
By winning the race, Kenseth opened up his points lead over teammate Kyle Busch, who finished second for the second-straight race.  

The race was also Kenseth's 500th career race, and he joined Richard Petty as the only other driver to win in their 500th career start.

Coming into the weekend, no one expected Kenseth to run well at a track that has statistically been one of his worst.  Kenseth said he was thinking of that when he showed up this weekend.

"For me to win at Loudon is more of a stretch and more of a dream," Kenseth told ESPN.  "This is probably one of my worst places."

Kenseth also reiterated that he is only focusing on next weekend, and that he is happy to return to one of his best tracks in Dover.

"I keep taking it one at a time," Kenseth said.  "I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world right now, and I look forward to getting to Dover."

Ryan Newman started first after winning his second pole of the season, and he took the lead when the green flag fell.  He led until Kasey Kahne took the lead on lap three.  

Josh Wise spun on lap 29 to bring out the first caution of the day, just one lap before the competition caution was scheduled to come out.

Martin Truex Jr. took the lead when the green flag came back out on lap 36.  Just two laps later, Jamie McMurray was spun by his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya to bring out the second caution of the day.
After a long caution to clean up the track, the green flag came back out on lap 47, and Truex led the field into Turn 1.  On lap 52, Bobby Labonte, in his first race back after breaking his ribs a few weeks ago, spun down the frontstretch to bring out the third caution.

Truex led the field back to the green flag on lap 60.  He led until the first round of green flag pit stops started, and he gave up the lead on lap 109.  

After everyone had made their pit stops, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the leader because he and his team were on a different pit strategy.  He led until he was forced to pit for fuel on lap 131.  Truex inherited the lead when Earnhardt pitted.

On lap 153, Matt Kenseth took the lead for the first time of the race.  On lap 165, the fourth caution of the day came out for debris.  The leaders came down pit road, and Jeff Gordon won the race off pit road.

Gordon led the field back to the green flag on lap 170.  He led until the fifth caution of the day came out on lap 200 for debris.  Jimmie Johnson won the race off pit road, but Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose did not pit and they led the field back to the green flag on lap 206.

Kenseth took the lead for the final time on lap 208 when he got around Bowyer. 

On lap 246, David Gilliland started smoking to bring out the sixth caution.  The leaders came down to make their final pit stops, and Kenseth was able to win the race off pit road.  He led the field back to the green flag on lap 251, but the final caution came out on lap 253 when Kasey Kahne wrecked into the inside wall.

Kenseth led the field to the green flag on lap 258, and he was able to hold off his teammate Kyle Busch to win the Sylvania 300.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Kyle Busch
3. Greg Biffle
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Jamie McMurray
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Brian Vickers
8. Jeff Burton
9. Carl Edwards
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Denny Hamlin
13. Kurt Busch
14. Joey Logano
15. Jeff Gordon
16. Ryan Newman
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Marcos Ambrose
19. Juan Pablo Montoya
20. Kevin Harvick
21. Aric Almirola
22. Paul Menard
23. Mark Martin
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25. Casey Mears
26. David Reutimann
27. Danica Patrick
28. Travis Kvapil
29. David Ragan
30. Michael McDowell
31. Dave Blaney
32. Josh Wise
33. J.J. Yeley
34. Landon Cassill
35. Joe Nemechek
36. Timmy Hill
37. Kasey Kahne
38. Kevin Swindell
39. David Gilliland
40. Bobby Labonte
41. Tony Raines
42. Johnny Sauter
43. Scott Riggs

Next weekend, the Chase continues at Dover International Speedway.  The AAA 400 can be seen next Sunday at 2 p.m., only on ESPN.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Kenseth Wins Wet First Chase Race

Originally written for CLNS Radio.



Matt Kenseth took the lead on a late restart and held off the field to win the Geico 400 on Sunday night.
Kenseth had to endure two rain delays on his way to victory on Sunday.  The first delayed the start of the race by over an hour.  The second made many question whether the race would be moved to Monday.  But Kenseth was able to win after enduring a delay that lasted for more than five hours.

John Harrelson/Getty Images
Kenseth said he knew the conditions would play a factor after the race restarted, but that his team made the right changes to get him to the lead.

"I thought with the conditions we were going to be a little off tonight," Kenseth told ESPN.  "They did a great job with this car, and I did everything I needed to do."

The race was also Kenseth's first with crew chief Jason Ratcliffe.  Kenseth said he has enjoyed racing for Joe Gibbs Racing this year.

"It's been a great fit for me and this team this year," said Kenseth.

With four 1.5 mile tracks left on the schedule, Kenseth is the early favorite to win the championship this year.  But Kenseth said he wouldn't focus too far down the road.

"We're just going to take it one week at a time," said Kenseth.  "I felt really good coming here after everything we learned in testing."  

Joey Logano started on the pole alongside his Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski.  Logano was able to clear Keselowski heading into Turn 1 to take the lead.  Logano led until the competition caution came out on lap 30.  Under the caution, the leaders made their first pit stops, and Jimmie Johnson won the race off pit road after taking only two tires.

The race restarted on lap 37, and Johnson took the lead heading into Turn 1.  Johnson pitted on lap 75 to start a round of green-flag pit stops.  A slow stop cost Johnson time on pit road, and Matt Kenseth had the lead when stops had cycled around.  

On lap 109, just 26 laps away from reaching halfway and making the race official, the second caution of the day came out for rain.  The cars were brought down pit road, and the race was red-flagged.

The race was delayed for over five hours, but eventually the cars re-fired at around 10 p.m. EST.  When the race went back green on lap 117, Kenseth led the field into Turn 1.

On lap 122, the third caution of the night came out for Juan Pablo Montoya, who blew a tire and scattered debris across the track.  

Kenseth led the field back to the green flag on lap 126.  He led until the caution came back out for a spin by Justin Allgaier on lap 148.  Jeff Gordon won the race off pit road after the leaders made their stops under the caution.

Gordon led the field back to green on lap 153, but the race quickly went back under caution when Cole Whitt blew an engine.

Gordon led the field on the next restart on lap 159.  On lap 169, the caution came out for debris.  Kyle Busch beat everyone off pit road when the leaders pitted and he took the lead.

Greg Biffle restarted first on lap 173 after he didn't pit, but Busch quickly took the lead on new tires.  On lap 177, Joey Logano, after complaining of engine issue for about 30 laps, brought out the caution when his engine expired.

Busch led the field back to green on lap 182, and he led until he had to make a green-flag pit stop on lap 220.  After stops had cycled around, Gordon was the leader after he got on a different pit cycle a little earlier in the race.

On lap 227, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s engine blew up heading into Turn 1, and he spun through the grass to bring out another caution.  Gordon pitted under the caution, and that allowed Busch to retake the lead, and he led when the race restarted on lap 231.  The final caution of the night came out on lap 240, when Allgaier spun by himself in the corner.

The race restarted on lap 245, and Busch led the field back to the line.  Going into Turn 1, Kenseth was able to get a good run, thanks to a push by Kevin Harvick, to get around Busch for the lead, and he was able to hold him off to win the race.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Kurt Busch
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Ryan Newman
11. Carl Edwards
12. Kasey Kahne
13. Aric Almirola
14. Jeff Burton
15. Marcos Ambrose
16. Greg Biffle
17. Mark Martin
18. Martin Truex Jr.
19. Jamie McMurray
20. Danica Patrick
21. AJ Allmendinger
22. Paul Menard
23. Dave Blaney
24. Travis Kvapil
25. J.J. Yeley
26. David Ragan
27. Justin Allgaier
28. David Gilliland
29. Landon Cassill
30. Casey Mears
31. Joe Nemechek
32. Juan Pablo Montoya
33. Denny Hamlin
34. Timmy Hill
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
36. David Reutimann
37. Joey Logano
38. Brian Vickers
39. Cole Whitt
40. Tony Raines
41. Josh Wise
42. Reed Sorenson
43. Michael McDowell

The first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup is in the books.  Next week, the Chase continues at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  The Sylvania 300 can be seen next Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, only on ESPN.