Hamlin Overcomes Pit Road Struggles to Win at Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin did not have an easy day on his way to victory lane.  After getting hit with two pit road penalties throughout the race, Hamlin and his team used pit strategy to get back to the front.

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Hamlin said overcoming both penalties showed how strong his car was on Sunday.

“Just a really fast car,” Hamlin said.  “They gave me a fast car; a car fast enough to really pass anyone in the field, so that means a lot.”

The race at Texas was different than those in the past, as this race featured NASCAR’s new aero package.  The package gave drivers more opportunities to draft as they would at a bigger tracks like Daytona or Talladega.

Hamlin said the new rules package changed the way drivers raced throughout the day.

“Definitely a different kind of race trying to draft…trying to get out of everyone’s way,” Hamlin said.  “Proud of this whole FedEx Office team.”

Clint Bowyer was chasing Hamlin down over the final green-flag run, but after Hamlin picked up time during the final pit stop, Bowyer wasn’t able to get close enough to challenge for the win.

After struggling with his car’s handling in practice and getting bit by a controversial call by NASCAR in qualifying, Bowyer said his weekend ended better than it started.

“This car was a little off…all weekend long; it took awhile for our Mustang to get good,” Bowyer said.  “I was a little nervous for the race, and we made some good adjustments.”

“I wanted to catch [Hamlin] bad; he just came out of the pits way too far ahead of me and there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Daniel Suarez

4. Erik Jones

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. William Byron

7. Aric Almirola

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Kurt Busch

10. Kyle Busch

11. Ryan Newman

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Chase Elliott

14. Austin Dillon

15. Michael McDowell

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Joey Logano

18. Alex Bowman

19. Paul Menard

20. Chris Buescher

21. Ty Dillon

22. Ryan Preece

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Matt Tifft

25. David Ragan

26. Matt DiBenedetto

27. Parker Kligerman

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ross Chastain

30. Landon Cassill

31. BJ McLoed

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Daniel Hemric

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Bayley Currey

36. Brad Keselowski

37. Ryan Blaney

38. Timmy Hill

39. Kyle Larson

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Keselowski Dominates in Martinsville Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Brad Keselowski won the STP 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

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Keselowski dominated throughout the afternoon, and led a race-high 446 of 500 laps.  Throughout the race, Keselowski was followed by Chase Elliott, but Keselowski was able to hold off NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver over the final run to pick up the victory.

Keselowski said his pit crew helped keep him up front during some of the most important pit stops throughout the day.

“That’s what this team does,” Keselowski said.  “They never give up and I’m very proud of them.  Just great for our team; awesome execution on pit road.”

Keselowski led all but 54 laps, and he said he studied how Elliott drove the track when he found himself behind the younger driver.  Keselowski said he used that knowledge to hold Elliott off in the closing laps.

“I don’t know if we were as good as [Elliott],” Keselowski said.  “He passed me there with about 200 to go, and I watched him and studied him.  Kind of broke it down to where I knew what I had to do to hold him off with that fast of a car.”

Elliott started to run Keselowski down with just a handful of laps remaining, but ran out of time to make a move.  Elliott said he wished he’d changed his line sooner to catch Keselowski.

“I tried to move up there at the end, I don’t know if I could have got to him,” Elliott said.  “I tried to get him there in Turn 3, and was pretty well content on moving him out of the way.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kyle Busch

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Clint Bowyer

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Aric Almirola

10. Daniel Suarez

11. Austin Dillon

12. Kurt Busch

13. Ty Dillon

14. Alex Bowman

15. Paul Menard

16. Ryan Preece

17. Bubba Wallace

18. Kyle Larson

19. Joey Logano

20. Matt DiBenedetto

21. Chris Buescher

22. William Byron

23. Ryan Newman

24. Jimmie Johnson

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

26. David Ragan

27. Daniel Hemric

28. Landon Cassill

29. Matt Tifft

30. Erik Jones

31. Michael McDowell

32. DJ Kennington

33. Corey LaJoie

34. Ross Chastain

35. Jeb Burton

36. Cody Ware

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Busch Makes History, Ties Petty's 200 Victories with Fontana Win

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch made history by winning his 200th career race on Sunday afternoon in the Auto Club 400 from the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.

Busch had a dominant car throughout the race, but a pit penalty with 60 laps to go sent Busch to the back of the field for the following restart.  Busch quickly worked his way through the field, and a late caution helped Busch get back to the front.

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Busch said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to come back from the penalty so late in the race.

“I knew we had a great racecar; we were fast,” Busch said.  “I just wasn’t sure how well we were going to be able to come through the field and make our way through traffic.”

“If it went green to the end, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but sometimes you’ve got to have a little bit of luck on your side.”

Joey Logano finished second, and battled with his teammate Brad Keselowski after the final restart for the lead. 

Logano said the Penske duo didn’t have anything for the speed that Busch had all day.

“Just didn’t have nothing for [Busch],” Logano said.  “We only raced for two laps before the 18 [of Busch] blew our doors off and drove away from us.  Fastest car won the race.”

The victory was Busch’s 200th across the three national touring series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series), which tied him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty for the most wins in NASCAR history.

The record has been hotly debated in recent weeks amongst NASCAR fans, as all of Petty’s victories came in the Cup Series, while all but 53 of Busch’s victories have come in the two lower-tier NASCAR series.

Busch said he was proud to tie one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers, regardless of what some thing of the record.

“To win 200…whatever it means, it means a lot to me,” Busch said.  “Just wish that we can keep it going…running strong, running well and winning these races.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Joey Logano

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Kurt Busch

7. Denny Hamlin

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Aric Almirola

10. Austin Dillon

11. Chase Elliott

12. Kyle Larson

13. Daniel Suarez

14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

15. William Byron

16. Chris Buescher

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Matt DiBenedetto

19. Erik Jones

20. Paul Menard

21. Alex Bowman

22. Ryan Newman

23. Ryan Preece

24. Michael McDowell

25. David Ragan

26. Matt Tifft

27. Ty Dillon

28. Ross Chastain

29. Landon Cassill

30. Bubba Wallace

31. Corey LaJoie

32. Cody Ware

33. Daniel Hemric

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Joey Gase

36. Garrett Smithley

37. BJ McLeod

38. Clint Bowyer

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Busch Closes in on History with Phoenix Win

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch won the Ticket Guardian 500 from ISM Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

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Busch had one of the most dominant cars throughout the race on Sunday, and led a race-high 177 laps.  Busch chased down pole-sitter Ryan Blaney over the final green-flag run while the two drivers tried to save enough fuel to reach the end of the race.

Busch said he knew fuel might play a factor before drivers took the green flag for the final restart.

“I knew…before we went green with however many to go that we were going to be right on the verge,” Busch said.  “You’ve got to race hard first and worry about fuel afterwards.”

After giving up the lead, Blaney fell to third while he saved fuel.  Blaney said his car drove better over the final run than he expected after his team only changed two tires on the final pit stop.

“Honestly, we hung on better there on two tires than I thought we would,” Blaney said.  “When we got passed for the lead it was just full fuel-save mode.”

The victory was Busch’s 199th career victory across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.  Busch, now on the verge of history, is just one win away from tying Richard Petty for the most wins in NASCAR history with 200.

Busch said it’s not for him to decide what the number means.

“It not for me to worry about; it’s for everybody else to talk about and discuss and argue over,” Busch said.  “To work with my guys and take them to victory lane is what it’s all about.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Aric Almirola

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kyle Larson

7. Kurt Busch

8. Jimmie Johnson

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Joey Logano

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Ryan Newman

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

14. Chase Elliott

15. Ty Dillon

16. Chris Buescher

17. Paul Menard

18. Daniel Hemric

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Matt Tifft

21. Austin Dillon

22. Bubba Wallace

23. Daniel Suarez

24. William Byron

25. David Ragan

26. Corey LaJoie

27. Ross Chastain

28. Matt DiBenedetto

29. Erik Jones

30. Quin Houff

31. Bayley Currey

32. Cody Ware

33. Landon Cassill

34. Ryan Preece

35. Alex Bowman

36. Michael McDowell

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