Sunday, September 28, 2014

Jeff Gordon Wins at Dover, Contender Round Set

Originally written for CLNS Radio.


Jeff Gordon won the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway as the field for the second round of the Chase was set on Sunday.
 
Photo courtesy Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Gordon led 94 laps on his way to the victory, but he did not have the dominant car for most of the race.  Kevin Harvick led 223 laps before cutting a left-front tire and settling for a 13th place finish.

Gordon took the lead on lap 305 and dominated the remainder of the race, clinching his spot in the next round of the Chase.

“We came in here with a little bit of extra pressure because we weren’t guaranteed to be in,” Gordon said.  “It’s about making a statement, and I don’t know how you make a bigger statement than what this team just did.”

Harvick won the pole for the race, and he led the first 148 laps before giving up the lead to Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski led until debris brought out the caution on lap 171.  Harvick’s team got him off pit road first, and he regained the lead.

Harvick set sail once again when the race restarted, and he led until a round of pit stops on lap 250.  Following pit stops, Harvick was leading when he cut down a left-front tire that ended his chances at the victory.

Keselowski led following a caution for debris, and he led for 45 more laps, before Gordon chased him down and took the lead.  He led throughout the final round of green-flag pit stops, and he won his fourth race of the season.

Unofficial results:

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

The Challenger round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup ended on Sunday, setting up the 12 drivers who will compete over the next three races in the Contender round.  AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were eliminated from the championship hunt following Sunday’s race at Dover.

Below are the 12 drivers competing in the Contender Round.

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Joey Logano
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Kyle Busch
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8. Matt Kenseth
9. Ryan Newman
10. Carl Edwards
11. Denny Hamlin
12. Kasey Kahne

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway.  The Hollywood Casino 400 can be seen next Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Photo courtesy Sarah Glenn/Getty Images

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Weekly Pull List: 9/24/14

All the comics available this week can be found on Comixology, and any comics news is on Comic Book Resources.

Image
Chew #43
Saga #23
Sex #16

Titan
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #3

DC
Batman Eternal #25

Marvel
Amazing Spider-Man #1.5
Amazing X-Men #11
Cyclops #5
Deadpool #35
Edge of Spider-Verse #3
Guardians of the Galaxy #19
Inhuman #6
Loki: Agent of Asgard #6
Magneto #10
Mighty Avengers #14
New Warriors #10
Savage Wolverine #23
Storm #3

Be sure to pick up...

Saga #23
If you haven't been reading this series, you're one of the few.  This series has been absolutely amazing, and this issue should be more of the same.  Do yourself a favor and start reading this amazing series.

Amazing Spider-Man #1.5
This is the big finale!  This mini-series has been pretty cool, and this issue should be a good wrap-up.  But probably the best thing about this series wrapping up?  The normal run of Amazing Spider-Man should return to bi-monthly.

Thanks for reading!!  Leave a comment below with the comics you'll be picking up this week!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Joey Logano Wins in New Hampshire

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Joey Logano won his fourth race of the season on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Logano won the Sylvania 300 after using pit strategy to get to the front and hold off the rest of the field.

“Four tires were good and we were able to get some good restarts and get ourselves back up there,” Logano said.

Logano had to be strong over a series of late restarts in a race that featured a season-high 15 cautions.  

“We’re doing what we have to do to win this thing…the guys did a good job of setting this thing up.  They gave me something to win with today.”

Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski won the pole for the race, and he led the first 35 laps of the race.  Following a competition caution, Denny Hamlin used pit strategy to get to the front and take the lead.

Kevin Harvick ran Hamlin down on lap 71 to take the lead.  He led until Logano took the lead during a caution on lap 170.

Logano led through numerous caution periods that included many Chase contenders, including Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman.

After debris brought out the caution on lap 211, Brian Vickers took the lead and he led until Keselowski chased him down for the lead on lap 227.

Following a caution on lap 263, Keselowski led the field to the green flag on the restart.  Logano got into Keselowski, causing both drivers to get loose.  That allowed Harvick to take the lead, but he only held on until the next restart on lap 273.

Logano took the lead from Harvick, and held off Harvick and Kyle Larson over the final two restarts to take the victory.

Unofficial results:

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

Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway for the final race in the Challenger Round of the Chase.  The AAA 400 can be seen next Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Photo courtesy Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images