Hamlin Beats Harvick for Sixth Pocono Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the Pocono 350 from Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon in the second race of Pocono’s NASCAR doubleheader weekend.

Hamlin beat Kevin Harvick in a reversal of Saturday’s race at Pocono, where Harvick beat Hamlin for the win.  Hamlin picked up his sixth-career victory at the track, which tied him with Jeff Gordon for the most all-time at Pocono.

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Hamlin said the victory shows off the work his team has put in at the shop.

“Six…I can’t even put it into words at how much it means to me,” Hamlin said.  “This is work that happens in the shop.  This is way beyond what happens on race day.”

The race once again came down to pit strategy, and the divergent strategies of Hamlin and Harvick proved to be the difference.  Harvick pit when the fuel window opened, but Hamlin drove until his Toyota was almost out of fuel. 

After Hamlin pitted for fuel, he came out over a second ahead of Harvick.  That proved to be the difference, as Hamlin was able to work his way through lapped traffic over the final 20 laps to pick up his fourth victory of the season.

Hamlin said he was worried a caution would come out and ruin his strategy before everything cycled around.

“I knew we had the car, and I just kind of maintained my gap right there,” Hamlin said.  “I just tried to work the traffic the best I could, and obviously [crew chief Chris Gebhart] was paying attention to strategy there and made the right call.”

Harvick said his team attempted a strategy in the event a caution came out, especially with darkness threatening to end the race early.

“We didn’t want to get caught with a caution and then wound up losing a little too much time in lapped traffic,” Harvick said.  “[Hamlin] was out there running clean laps and waited until right to the very end, and he wound up in front of us.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Erik Jones

4. Chase Elliott

5. Aric Almirola

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. William Byron

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Alex Bowman

10. Martin Truex Jr.

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Matt Kenseth

13. Kurt Busch

14. Austin Dillon

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Jimmie Johnson

17. Cole Custer

18. Ryan Newman

19. John Hunter Nemechek

20. Bubba Wallace

21. Corey LaJoie

22. Ryan Blaney

23. Ty Dillon

24. Joey Logano

25. Ryan Preece

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Brennan Poole

28. JJ Yeley

29. Timmy Hill

30. James Davison

31. Quin Houff

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Joey Gase

34. Josh Bilicki

35. Tyler Reddick

36. Chris Buescher

37. BJ McLeod

38. Kyle Busch

39. Christopher Bell

40. Michael McDowell

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Harvick Finally Wins at the Tricky Triangle

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Pocono Organics 325 from Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon in the first race of NASCAR’s Pocono doubleheader.

Harvick used pit strategy to get to the front of the field, and he held off Denny Hamlin in the closing laps to pick up his first career victory at the Tricky Triangle.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Harvick said his team worked hard to finally get to victory lane in Pocono.

“We weren’t where we needed to be to start the race,” Harvick said.  “Came back and made some great strategy calls and were able to get out front.  Great to finally check Pocono off the list.”

With his win, Harvick will now start 20th for Sunday’s race at Pocono due to an invert of the top 20 finishers.

Harvick said he wasn’t worried about coming from the back of the field again.

“Well we were back to 20th today, so I think in the end it’s going to come down to strategy and what you need to do,” Harvick said.

Hamlin was chasing down Harvick in the closing laps, but he wasn’t able to get around to pick up his sixth victory at Pocono.

Hamlin said a vibration at the end of the race affected the handling of his car.

“It’s like something loosened all the nuts in the car,” Hamlin said.  “It was unfortunate…just with about 15-20 to go the vibration just got really, really bad.”

“Our car was extremely, extremely fast and optimistic for tomorrow’s race, for sure.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Aric Almirola

4. Christopher Bell

5. Kyle Busch

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Clint Bowyer

8. Michael McDowell

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Chris Buescher

11. Matt Kenseth

12. Ryan Blaney

13. Matt DiBenedetto

14. William Byron

15. Ryan Newman

16. Cole Custer

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. Kurt Busch

19. Austin Dillon

20. Ryan Preece

21. Jimmie Johnson

22. Bubba Wallace

23. Corey LaJoie

24. John Hunter Nemechek

25. Chase Elliott

26. Ty Dillon

27. Alex Bowman

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Brennan Poole

30. Tyler Reddick

31. JJ Yeley

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Garrett Smithley

34. James Davison

35. Timmy Hill

36. Joey Logano

37. Joey Gase

38. Erik Jones

39. BJ McLeod

40. Quin Houff

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Blaney Wins at Talladega as NASCAR World Rallies Around Wallace

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Ryan Blaney won the Geico 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Monday afternoon.

Blaney won after he and his Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski dominated most of the race. 

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The Penske trio quickly worked their way to the front on Monday, after the race was postponed due to rain on Sunday.  After a late caution forced the drivers to worry about fuel-mileage, Blaney hung in the back of the pack until the closing laps.

Blaney said he needed to make his move with 12 laps to go.

“We came back in and topped off, and we were just riding around until maybe 12 to go,” Blaney said.  “I was waiting for Kevin [Harvick] to kind of go, but he had to save more than I did, so we just kind of had to get going.”

A caution with three laps to go forced the race into overtime, and Blaney was able to hold off the rest of the leaders.

Coming to the checkered flag, Blaney made contact with Erik Jones, causing a wreck as the field crossed the line.  Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. raced side-by-side across the line, and Blaney was able to hold him off in a photo finish.

Blaney said he was excited to get his first win of the season.

“Just trying to block the best we could,” Blaney said.  “Just kind of trying to beat and bang to the line; just edged it out.  It’s been a really cool year so far.”

The race began with the NASCAR world supporting Bubba Wallace.  On Sunday, a noose was found hanging in the garage stall of Wallace’s team, and NASCAR immediately launched an investigation.

Wallace, the only African American driver in the Cup Series, has been outspoken over the past few weeks as protests have erupted across the country, and has even played a part in NASCAR banning the Confederate flag from tracks.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

After news of the noose was announced last night, the drivers in the garage decided to support Wallace.  Before the race, the entire garage pushed Wallace’s 43 car to the front of the field, where they surrounded him during the pre-race prayer and national anthem.

Wallace, standing in front of fans wearing “Black Lives Matter” shirts in the stands, said the 14th-place finish was like a win after everything that’s happened.

“This is probably the most badass moment right here,” Wallace said.  “We had a good race going today…I know I should have won that damn race.  All in all, we won today.”

“The pre-race deal was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness in my life, from all the supporters from drivers to crew members to everybody here.”

Wallace ended with a message to the person who tried to intimidate his team.

“The sport is changing.  The deal that happened yesterday…sorry I’m not wearing my mask, but I wanted to show whoever it was that you’re not going to take away my smile; I’m going to keep on going.”

Unofficial results:

1. Ryan Blaney

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

3. Aric Almirola

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Erik Jones

6. Chris Buescher

7. Alex Bowman

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Kurt Busch

10. Kevin Harvick

11. William Byron

12. Ty Dillon

13. Jimmie Johnson

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Ryan Preece

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Joey Logano

18. Michael McDowell

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Tyler Reddick

21. Brendan Gaughan

22. Cole Custer

23. Martin Truex Jr.

24. Ryan Newman

25. Clint Bowyer

26. Matt DiBenedetto

27. Quin Houff

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Christopher Bell

30. Gray Gaulding

31. BJ McLeod

32. Kyle Busch

33. Timmy Hill

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Brennan Poole

36. JJ Yeley

37. Joey Gase

38. Chase Elliott

39. Austin Dillon

40. Matt Kenseth

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Through Difficult Time, Wallace the New Voice of Change in NASCAR

When Wendell Scott crossed the finish line at Jacksonville in 1963, he made history as the first African American driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.

Unfortunately, he did not get to celebrate.

NASCAR announced that Buck Baker was the winner of the race.  He got to celebrate.  He got the trophy.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Days later NASCAR announced the error, and Scott was announced as the official winner.  Not only was he the winner, he had also won by two laps.  But there was no celebration and no trophy.

Scott never got to see the trophy from his victory before he died in 1990.  His family had to wait until 2010 – 47 years after the historic victory – to finally get the trophy that was never rewarded for one of NASCAR’s trailblazers.

Rumor has it is that NASCAR fans (and those in the garage, for that matter) would not have been able to handle watching a black man kiss a white trophy girl in victory lane.

And that was the story of African American victories in NASCAR until 2013 – 50 years later – when Bubba Wallace won at Martinsville in the Truck Series.

Wallace was a product of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, which started in 2004 to attract minority and female individuals to the sport.  The three most successful drivers who graduated from the program have been Wallace, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson, the latter of which was fired in March for using a racial slur during an iRacing event.

NASCAR, long seen as a “good ol’ boys club,” where it’s primarily white drivers racing in front of white fans, finally took a stand in the midst of protests against racism and police brutality across the country.

On June 7th, NASCAR stood with Wallace and the entire African American community and denounced systemic racism that has plagued our country.  The sport with roots in the Deep South spoke out against racism.

Wallace wore a shirt with the word “I Can’t Breathe, Black Lives Matter,” and a NASCAR official knelt during the invocation and national anthem.

Drivers were involved in a video speaking out about how they must listen, learn and act to help fix this issue.  The race included a moment of silence and spoken message from NASCAR President Steve Phelps calling out systemic racism and how we all must fight it.

I was absolutely shocked.  I was proud that the sport I loved was finally speaking out on an issue that they had, for so long, been the butt of the joke.

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Just two days later on June 9th, NASCAR joined the “You Can Play” initiative that helps to be an inclusive place for those in the LGBTQ community. 

On the same day, Wallace unveiled a special “Black Lives Matter” paint scheme that he ran at Martinsville, and drove to an 11th-place finish. 

Before Wallace’s BLM car took to the track, NASCAR walked back their stance on peaceful protests during the national anthem, which since 2017 had been that drivers and crews needed to stand.

Finally, NASCAR banned the use of the Confederate flag at NASCAR tracks.  This, unlike the 2015 “ban” that included a flag trade-in program, seems to completely ban the flying of the flag in the infield and at other places around the track.

All of these changes seemed to come to a head at Talladega.  On Sunday, while rain postponed the race, a plane flew above the track carrying a banner that read “Defund NASCAR” along with the Confederate flag.

Then, in what is the most shocking thing that no one ever imagined would happen in a NASCAR garage, a member of Wallace’s crew found a noose hanging in the 43 garage stall.  This act was absolutely reprehensible, and NASCAR immediately launched an investigation to find out the person responsible.

I was sick Sunday night thinking of who could possibly do this.  This just further proves how deeply-rooted racism is in parts of the sport and why NASCAR has had to make these progressive changes.  And this wasn’t the work of a dumb fan either; the way that NASCAR has these socially-distanced events setup, the only people who would have access to the garage stall would have been NASCAR officials, fellow crew members, safety personnel and track workers.

NASCAR is better than this, and they will be on the right side of history.  These past weeks have shown that silence is part of the problem, and I’m glad that NASCAR has finally spoken out against these issues.

I must say, I am shocked that NASCAR has finally taken a stand against these social issues.  As a NASCAR fan in Pittsburgh, I have long had to deal with statements dealing with the historic racism in the sport.

I am proud to say that NASCAR is my favorite sport.  For once, they are going against what a small subset of fans believe in.

During this time, I’ve seen many “fans” say they will stop watching the sport.  And for what?  Because the sport is trying to be more inclusive to people of color and different sexual orientations?  Good, leave.  You aren’t welcome here.

For too long NASCAR has pandered to its small base of racist and homophobic fans.  In February, they allowed President Trump to attend the Daytona 500 and parade around the track after giving the command to start engines.  Trump left without seeing a single green flag lap.

NASCAR will always have a racist past.  But with these changes, it seems they are looking towards an inclusive future.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Hamlin Dominant in Homestead Victory

Denny Hamlin won the Dixie Vodka 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday night.

The race was delayed numerous times at the beginning of the event due to lightning in the area.  But as the race went through multiple startups, Hamlin was always at the front.

Hamlin dominated on Sunday, and won both stages after starting on the pole on his way to his third victory of the season.  It was redemption for Hamlin, who was dominant in November’s season finale at Homestead until a bad pit call cost him a chance at the title. 

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Hamlin said his team brought the same setup as last year’s Cup Series finale.

“We made our car really good,” Hamlin said.  “This is the…setup kind of based off what we had there in the fall here last year going for the Championship.”

Hamlin lost the lead to Chase Elliott during the final set of green-flag pit stops, but he was able to use lapped traffic to get back around Elliott and hold him off.

Hamlin said he was worried the pit cycle would work into Elliott’s hands.

“Seems like the end of these races seems to be Chase’s…best suit,” Hamlin said.  “I knew if I was just patient and run the pace that I wanted and the pace I was comfortable with, we were going to be hard to beat in the long run.”

Elliott had trouble getting through lapped traffic while leading in the closing laps, and he was held up by Joey Logano when Hamlin took the lead for the final time.  After running in Hamlin’s tire tracks for the final laps, Elliott got into the wall, which allowed Hamlin to pull ahead at the end.

Elliott said the lapped traffic is what cost him a trip to victory lane.

“Just need to get through lapped traffic better, but I thought our Hooters Camaro was plenty good enough to win,” Elliott said.  “Keep putting ourselves in good position, do a little better job getting through lapped traffic, and maybe we have another sticker.”

“We’ll just try to put ourselves in more spots to win and see where it goes from there.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Chase Elliott

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Tyler Reddick

5. Aric Almirola

6. Kyle Busch

7. Austin Dillon

8. Christopher Bell

9. William Byron

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Bubba Wallace

14. Matt DiBenedetto

15. Michael McDowell

16. Jimmie Johnson

17. Kurt Busch

18. Alex Bowman

19. John Hunter Nemechek

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Erik Jones

22. Cole Custer

23. Chris Buescher

24. Ryan Preece

25. Matt Kenseth

26. Kevin Harvick

27. Joey Logano

28. Ty Dillon

29. Corey LaJoie

30. Ryan Newman

31. Daniel Suarez

32. Brennan Poole

33. Quin Houff

34. Timmy Hill

35. BJ McLeod

36. Joey Gase

37. Josh Bilicki

38. JJ Yeley

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Truex Shines at Martinsville Under the Lights

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday night at the track’s first Cup Series night race.

Truex, along with the rest of the Toyota drivers, struggled at the beginning of the race.  But after the team made multiple changes, he was able to drive through the field on multiple occasions.

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Truex had a pit road penalty while leading early in the race, but he was able to recover to win and finish as the only Toyota driver on the lead lap.

Truex said it was a testament to his team’s strategy at Martinsville.

“We’ve been working a long time on trying to figure this place out,” Truex said.  “The last couple years we’ve been really strong.  Just hats off to the guys.”

The victory was Truex’s first with new crew chief James Small, after Cole Pearn stepped down at the end of 2019.

Truex said he knew his team was going to win with their new leader atop the box.

“It’s huge for his confidence; he’s doing an awesome job and I’m really proud of him,” Truex said.  “It’s nice to get another win early in the season.  Hopefully we can go on a roll.”

Ryan Blaney finished second on Wednesday night.  After starting on the pole, he quickly dropped through the field and was lapped by lap 60.  His team was able to make adjustments to the car and, after getting the lucky dog, Blaney showed his speed and drove to the front.

Blaney said he was proud of his team for getting them back up front.

“Big shout out to [crew chief] Todd Gordon and everybody on this 12 team because, I’m not going to lie, we were awful to start the race,” Blaney said.  “Luckily we got a lot better, on even the first stop.”

Blaney said he needed a caution and restart to be able to fight Truex for the victory.

“Wanted a restart towards the front with Martin to see…if I could have raced with him,” Blaney said.  “Couple solid runs we’ve got here stringing together, just need to break through.  Hopefully we can do this soon.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Ryan Blaney

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Joey Logano

5. Chase Elliott

6. Alex Bowman

7. Matt DiBenedetto

8. William Byron

9. Kurt Busch

10. Jimmie Johnson

11. Bubba Wallace

12. Ryan Newman

13. Chris Buescher

14. Michael McDowell

15. Kevin Harvick

16. Tyler Reddick

17. Clint Bowyer

18. Corey LaJoie

19. Kyle Busch

20. Erik Jones

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

22. Ty Dillon

23. Matt Kenseth

24. Denny Hamlin

25. John Hunter Nemechek

26. Ryan Preece

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Christopher Bell

29. Cole Custer

30. Brennan Poole

31. JJ Yeley

32. David Starr

33. Aric Almirola

34. Quin Houff

35. Joey Gase

36. Garrett Smithley

37. Austin Dillon

38. Reed Sorenson

39. Timmy Hill

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Harvick Continues Atlanta Dominance with Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Harvick was dominant on Sunday, and led 151 laps on his way to his second win of the season.  After struggling with his car’s handling at the midpoint of the race, Harvick was able to take the lead at the start of the race’s final stage and was able to pull away from Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. over the final run.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Harvick said his team was able to get the car dialed-in at the end of the race.

“They had a great pit stop, and we had a restart on the bottom and they got my car to take off so I was able to get track position,” Harvick said.  “I could get in a rhythm and really start hitting my marks.  By about lap 25…I could drive away.”

Harvick celebrated by driving around the track backwards while holding three fingers out the window, a call back to his very first Cup Series win in 2001 after taking over for Dale Earnhardt.

Harvick said coming to Atlanta reminds him to celebrate everything Earnhardt did for the sport.

“You always come back and have those memories, and now you want to celebrate everything that Dale Earnhardt did for this sport,” Harvick said.  “To do that with wins and go to victory lane is pretty special.”

Busch finished second after running up front for most of the day and passing teammate Truex in the final 30 laps.

Busch said his team put together a strong car that could hang with Harvick.

“We ended up not too far behind the 4 [of Harvick], who’s the best here,” Busch said.  “It’s hard to beat him when you come to his ‘home turf,’ if you will.  Hopefully we can keep building on this momentum and keep rolling.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Kyle Busch

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kurt Busch

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Chase Elliott

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Joey Logano

11. Austin Dillon

12. Alex Bowman

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

14. Ryan Newman

15. Matt Kenseth

16. Tyler Reddick

17. Aric Almirola

18. Christopher Bell

19. Cole Custer

20. Clint Bowyer

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Chris Buescher

23. John Hunter Nemechek

24. Michael McDowell

25. Matt DiBenedetto

26. Ryan Preece

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Erik Jones

29. Ty Dillon

30. Brennan Poole

31. Daniel Suarez

32. Quin Houff

33. William Byron

34. Josh Bilicki

35. Garrett Smithley

36. JJ Yeley

37. Reed Sorenson

38. Joey Gase

39. Timmy Hill

40. BJ McLeod

Chris Graythen/Getty Images