Logano Wins in Las Vegas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Joey Logano won the Pennzoil 400 from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first win of the season.

Logano, who was in just his second race with new crew chief Paul Wolfe, used pit strategy to get to Victory Lane.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

When a late caution came out with just five laps to go, Logano stayed out on track while most of the leaders pitted.  Logano was able to keep the lead on the final restart, and was leading when John Hunter Nemechek spun to bring out the caution that ended the race.

Logano said the call was a miscommunication between him and his new crew chief.

“Not really sure if I was supposed to stay out or come in, wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do,” Logano said.  “This is a huge win, and nice to start out and kick off the season with a ‘W.’”

Logano used a push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to get to the lead on the final restart, and said that allowed him to use clean air to get the win.

“I watched him and he pushed me, and then he shoved me ahead which was great,” Logano said.  “That was the winning move.  Clean air was going to be king, especially on old tires…if I got swallowed up by a few cars I was going to go back real quick.”

Matt DiBenedetto finished second in just his second race with his new team Wood Brothers Racing. 

DiBenedetto stayed out under the final caution to get track position, and he said his team worked hard throughout the day to get his car to where it needed to be.

“This whole team…we were covered, and it wasn’t pretty at the start,” DiBenedetto said.  “They did an excellent job.  So happy to be working with this team, the journey’s been pretty cool.”

“Tough to be that close, but this is only the second race of the season.”

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Matt DiBenedetto

3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

4. Austin Dillon

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. Bubba Wallace

7. Brad Keselowski

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Kyle Larson

10. Ty Dillon

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Alex Bowman

14. Chris Buescher

15. Kyle Busch

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Denny Hamlin

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Cole Custer

20. Martin Truex Jr.

21. Aric Almirola

22. William Byron

23. Erik Jones

24. John Hunter Nemechek

25. Kurt Busch

26. Chase Elliott

27. Ross Chastain

28. JJ Yeley

29. Brennan Poole

30. Daniel Suarez

31. Joey Gase

32. Quin Houff

33. Christopher Bell

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Garrett Smithley

36. Michael McDowell

37. Ryan Preece

38. Timmy Hill

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Stenhouse Wins Wild Coke Zero 400

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.

Stenhouse picked up his second victory of the season on Saturday, holding off the field over the final laps.  Stenhouse’s first victory came at Talladega, the other restrictor-plate track on the NASCAR schedule. 

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Stenhouse said his victory proves that his team is a real threat when it comes to the restrictor plate races.

“It validates what we did at Talladega,” Stenhouse said.  “We’ve been working really, really hard at Roush-Fenway, and this just keeps pushing us further and further along.”

“I kept my Talladega car and told them to build a new one, and they built a Ford that was really fast.”

Stenhouse went winless for the first 157 races of his career, but he has now won two races out of the last eight.  Stenhouse said the mindset instilled in him by his father helped him work through the struggles early in his career.

“My dad has taught me for a long time that you’ve just got to keep working hard, even when things aren’t right,” Stenhouse said.  “Been coming down here since 2008; it’s cool to put it in victory lane and get our second win this year.”

Unofficial results:

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Paul Menard

4. Michael McDowell

5. Ryan Newman

6. David Ragan

7. Brendan Gaughan

8. AJ Allmendinger

9. Erik Jones

10. Chris Buescher

11. Corey LaJoie

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Matt DiBenedetto

14. Jamie McMurray

15. Darrell Wallace Jr.

16. Ty Dillon

17. Daniel Suarez

18. Kasey Kahne

19. Landon Cassill

20. Kyle Busch

21. Elliott Sadler

22. Chase Elliott

23. Trevor Bayne

24. Denny Hamlin

25. Danica Patrick

26. Ryan Blaney

27. Matt Kenseth

28. Kurt Busch

29. Kyle Larson

30. Reed Sorenson

31. Brad Keselowski

32. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

33. Kevin Harvick

34. Martin Truex Jr.

35. Joey Logano

36. Austin Dillon

37. Jeffrey Earnhardt

38. DJ Kennington

39. Cole Whitt

40. Ryan Sieg

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Stenhouse Wins at Talladega for First Career Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon.

Stenhouse picked up his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday, and the first for Roush-Fenway Racing in 101 races.  Stenhouse said he was happy to take Jack Roush back to victory lane.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“It’s cool to have Jack Roush back in victory lane,” Stenhouse said.  “We’ve been terrible for a long time; this year every race we’re getting better and better.  Just glad to see Jack smiling here in victory lane; he’s been wanting this for a long time.”

After a late accident, the race went into overtime.  Stenhouse was able to pass Kyle Busch on the final lap to get to victory lane.

Stenhouse said the victory was the culmination of a weekend where he had one of the fastest cars.

“This car was so fast today,” Stenhouse said.  “Qualifying on the pole…it’s been a long time since we started on the pole.  We knew Talladega was a good race track for us; it’s been a good one in the past.”

Busch led 48 laps on Sunday, but he came up just short of the victory and finished third.  Busch said he was a victim of the racing at Talladega.

“Stenhouse got a really good run and really good push…I just didn’t get enough help from behind,” Busch said.  “We did all we could here today, it’s all circumstantial to win these things.”

Jamie McMurray finished second on Sunday, but he had a shot to win late in the race.  On the final lap, McMurray split Jimmie Johnson and Busch to work his way to the front, but he ran out of time before he could reach Stenhouse.

McMurray said he thought he would get a bigger run on Stenhouse coming to the checkered flag.

“I thought [Stenhouse] was going to pull out a little further than he did,” McMurray said.  “It’s so circumstantial with who gets behind you and who doesn’t.”

“This has been a really good track for me, and I haven’t been able to finish here for the last couple years.”

Unofficial results:

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2. Jamie McMurray

3. Kyle Busch

4. Aric Almirola

5. Kasey Kahne

6. Kurt Busch

7. Brad Keselowski

8. Jimmie Johnson

9. Paul Menard

10. David Ragan

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Kyle Larson

13. Ty Dillon

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Chris Buescher

16. Cole Whitt

17. Elliott Sadler

18. Matt DiBenedetto

19. Daniel Suarez

20. Gray Gaulding

21. Joey Gase

22. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

23. Kevin Harvick

24. Matt Kenseth

25. Ryan Newman

26. Brendan Gaughan

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Jeffrey Earnhardt

29. Landon Cassill

30. Chase Elliott

31. AJ Allmendinger

32. Joey Logano

33. Erik Jones

34. Michael McDowell

35. Martin Truex Jr.

36. Austin Dillon

37. Trevor Bayne

38. Danica Patrick

39. Ryan Blaney

40. Reed Sorenson

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Harvick Wins Wet Bristol "Night" Race

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kevin Harvick won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

The race was postponed until Sunday afternoon following a rain storm that soaked the track on Saturday night.  Rain again caused the race to start later than expected on Sunday, and it was pushed back three hours.  

 

Rainier Ehrhardt (Getty Images)

When the race finally restarted on Sunday, Harvick showed that he had a dominant car.  After qualifying 24th, Harvick worked his way through the field, and led 128 laps on his way to victory.

Harvick said he and his team knew the win was coming.

“We knew we had the performance we needed to have in these cars pretty much every week,” Harvick said.  “To have the win now and to get the momentum before we get into the Chase, and to get things rolling, is really what we needed.”

Following the race, Harvick did a double-burnout with his team owner Tony Stewart, who is retiring at the end of the year.  Harvick said he originally wanted Stewart to get into his car and ride around the track to salute the fans.

“I wanted him to go on a victory lap with me and say goodbye to all the fans one last time here at Bristol,” Harvick said.  “That was pretty cool, doing double-burnouts with him.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished second to Harvick, and was strong over the final run of the race.  Stenhouse said he wanted to get to victory lane to celebrate his friend Bryan Clauson, who passed away in a Sprint Car accident two weeks ago.

“Starting sixth on that last restart with [Harvick] starting on the front row was tough, and I knew we were going to have to hit everything perfect,” Stenhouse said.  “I remembered we had Bryan Clauson’s tribute car here and his favorite helmet, and I just dug deep…to make our Fastenal Ford a lot better.”

Unofficial Results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Austin Dillon

5. Chris Buescher

6. Carl Edwards

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Jamie McMurray

9. AJ Allmendinger

10. Joey Logano

11. Jeff Gordon

12. Trevor Bayne

13. Kasey Kahne

14. Aric Almirola

15. Chase Elliott

16. Greg Biffle

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Brian Scott

19. Michael McDowell

20. Landon Cassill

21. David Ragan

22. Danica Patrick

23. Martin Truex Jr.

24. Kyle Larson

25. Casey Mears

26. Regan Smith

27. Reed Sorenson

28. Ryan Newman

29. Jeffrey Earnhardt

30. Tony Stewart

31. Clint Bowyer

32. Paul Menard

33. Brad Keselowski

34. Cole Whitt

35. Ryan Blaney

36. Josh Wise

37. Matt Kenseth

38. Kurt Busch

39. Kyle Busch

40. Justin Allgaier

Jeff Curry (Getty Images)

Five Drivers Who Need To Win In 2016

12 drivers combined to win all 36 races in 2015.  That means, with 43 drivers starting every race, at least 31 drivers didn't get to victory lane last year.  These five drivers went winless in 2015, and 2016 needs to see them get to victory lane.

5. Kyle Larson
Larson was the Rookie of the Year in 2014 following an impressive rookie season.  Many believed he would get a win in 2015, but a sophomore slump slowed his progress.  Now in his third season, he needs to get to victory lane to prove himself a contender going forward, or he could get lost in the shuffle of mid-pack drivers.

Austin Dillon at NASCAR Media Day on Jan. 21, 2016.
(Courtesy Bob Leverone/Getty Images)

4. Austin Dillon
Dillon is a Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion, but he has yet to live up to his potential in the Sprint Cup Series.  Following a rookie campaign where he completed over 99% of the laps run, he had an up-and-down year that saw strong runs followed by disappointing finishes.  If Dillon continues on without a victory, it will be hard to shake the "grandpa's money" comments that have followed him throughout his career.

3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse had another disappointing season in 2015.  The 2011 and 2012 Xfinity Series Champion has struggled since moving to the Cup Series in 2013, finishing 25th in the standings in 2015.  While Roush-Fenway Racing had a down year in 2015, Stenhouse continued to struggle.  If Stenhouse doesn't get his first Cup victory soon, he may find himself out of a job.

2. Tony Stewart

Danica Patrick at NASCAR Media Day on Jan. 21, 2016.
(Courtesy Bob Leverone/Getty Images)

If Stewart never won another race, no one would be surprised.  He hasn't been the same since breaking his leg in a dirt race in 2013, and then striking and killing driver Kevin Ward Jr. in a dirt track accident a year later.  Stewart seemed off in all of 2015, and with 2016 being his farewell season, a victory would mean a lot to Stewart and his fans.  But his farewell will have to wait.  Stewart will miss the beginning of the season following a non-racing accident on the West Coast in late January.  Stewart had surgery for an injured back on February 2, and there is no timetable for his return.  I personally would like to wish Stewart a speedy recovery.

1. Danica Patrick
The Danica Patrick experiment continues.  Patrick has proven herself a solid restrictor-plate racer, but she has disappointed almost everywhere else.  She's had a few flashes of promise on ovals, but has yet to be consistent.  With GoDaddy.com pulling out as a sponsor, the clock is ticking on Patrick.  Whilc she is still a highly-marketable driver, it will be interesting how long her remaining sponsors, and team Stewart-Haas Racing, will stand by her side.

 Thanks for reading! Who do you think needs to win in 2016? Let us know in the comments below!

Fantasy Preview: Michigan 6/15

This week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400!  Read below to see who I'm picking for this weekend's race.

Tier A
Matt Kenseth
Kenseth always runs strong on the 1.5 mile tracks, and he's due for a win.  I'm really surprised that he's gone winless this season after picking up seven victories last season.  I expect him to run strong this weekend, and maybe his winless streak will come to end.

Bench:

Photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Kasey Kahne

Tier B
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse is still looking for his first win, and I wouldn't be shocked if it came at a track like Michigan.  I expect him to run well this weekend and challenge for a top 10.

Martin Truex Jr.
Truex finished third in this race last year, and he's shown signs of repeating that feat this year.  He has momentum after two-straight top 10 finishes, and I expect that to continue this weekend.

Bench:
AJ Allmendinger
Greg Biffle

Tier C
Brett Moffitt
Moffitt finished 22nd in his first career Sprint Cup Series race at Dover.  Dover is an extremely hard track to debut on, and he will hopefully have an easier time at Michigan.  Michael Waltrip Racing has been strong at Michigan in the past, and that should help Moffitt have a good Top 20 run.

Bench:
Trevor Bayne

My pick to win the Quicken Loans 400 ... Matt Kenseth

Photo courtesy Kenseth family

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment with the drivers you're picking this week!

A Look Back: The 2011 NASCAR Season

The 2011 NASCAR Season was one of the best seasons in recent memory.  There were multiple first-time winners, exciting racing, and it all culminated with a fantastic championship fight that came down to the final lap.  Here are my Top 5 NASCAR Stories from the 2011 Season:

5. Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Win Championships
Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Camping World and Nationwide Series Championships, respectively.  Stenhouse won a championship that was highly contested throughout the season.  Austin Dillon was an early-season favorite to win the championship, and the battle came down to the final race, where he was able to defeat Johnny Sauter to win the title.  With young drivers like Dillon and Stenhouse, the future of NASCAR seems to be in good hands.

Stenhouse and Dillon with their championship trophies (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

4. First-Time Winners
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had five first-time winners this season.  The winning started as soon as the season began, with Trevor Bayne won the season-opening Daytona 500.  The next driver to get his first win was Regan Smith, who out-dueled Carl Edwards to win the legendary Southern 500.  When the Sprint Cup Series returned to Daytona in July, David Ragan became the third driver to win his first career race.  Paul Menard won the Brickyard 400 at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  And two weeks later, Marcos Ambrose finally won his first Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen.  Hopefully next season, we will see more drivers take their first trips to Victory Lane.

Trevor Bayne celebrates winning the Daytona 500.  Bayne was among five first-time winners (Photo courtesy REUTERS)

 3. Trevor Bayne Wins the Daytona 500
Trevor Bayne helped to push drivers such as Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards all through Speedweeks; but, when the White Flag flew, Trevor Bayne found himself leading the field. Bayne, who raced for Jack Roush in the Nationwide Series, was on loan from Roush to the Wood Brothers, who made their return to Victory Lane in the biggest way possible.  Trevor Bayne also won his first Nationwide race, and seems to be on track to be one of NASCAR's future starts.

2. Brad Keselowski's Breakout Season
Brad Keselowski had won one Sprint Cup Series race prior to the 2011 season, and had shown flashes of what the future might hold.  But I don't think anyone expected Keselowski to have the breakout year that he would have in 2011.  First, Keselowski won a fuel mileage race in Kansas.  He then won at Pocono in August, following a broken ankle the week prior.  Three weeks later, he won again at Bristol, and was able to work his way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.  He finished off his solid season with a fifth place finish in the championship standings.  Only time will tell if this is the way that Keselowski will be every year, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Brad Keselowski fighting for a Sprint Cup Championship in the future.

Brad Keselowski celebrates with his crew (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

1. Tony Stewart Wins the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship
Tony Stewart entered the Chase in ninth place, and had zero wins in the regular season.  Following a Chase performance that was legendary, Stewart would hoist the Sprint Cup Trophy for the third time.  Carl Edwards fought with Stewart for the championship, and would tie Stewart in the season standings; Stewart won the tie breaker on his five wins, as compared to Edwards' one.  Stewart also completed a bookend of Jimmie Johnson's amazing reign as Sprint Cup Champion; Stewart was the last person to win a Championship before Johnson's reign began in 2006.

Stewart won five times in the Chase, including Texas, en route to his third Sprint Cup Championship (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

 2011 was an amazing year for NASCAR from start to finish.  From Trevor Bayne's Daytona 500 victory to Stewart's Championship triumph, the season was filled with surprises.  Hopefully the 2012 season will provide just as much excitement as this past season.  Who's ready for Daytona?