Jeff Gordon Wins at Kansas

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jeff Gordon held off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win the 5-Hour Energy 400 from Kansas Speedway on Saturday night.

Gordon led after the final round of green-flag pit stops, but Harvick ran him down on the final lap when Gordon got caught behind some lapped traffic.

Photo courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“Kevin was tough; he was so strong,” said Gordon.  “I didn’t know if I could hold him off and I almost couldn’t.”

“I thought if we got in front of him we could hold him off.  And on that last pit stop, we cycled around in front of him.  We just pulled away because our car was so strong.”

Gordon had been the points leader coming into the weekend, but he had said earlier in the weekend that he would trade it all in for just one victory.

“I knew we had a fast racecar,” said Gordon.  “We’ve been bringing fast cars every weekend.  It’s been giving me some confidence every time.”

“What a huge weight off this team’s shoulders.  We’ve been leading the points, but it’s great to get this win.”

Harvick started on the pole and led a race-high 119 laps.  But he fell short after falling behind on the final pit stop.

“We ran out of gas coming to pit road,” said Harvick.  “He [Gordon] wound up getting by me there.  I slipped there with 10 or 11 laps to go, and lost all that ground we had made up.”

The start of the race was delayed by rain in the area by about 30 minutes.  When the race finally went green, Harvick started on the pole after setting a new track-record on Friday.  He quickly ran away from the field, and led all the way through the first round of green-flag pit stops.

The first caution of the night came out on lap 47 for a spin by Clint Bowyer.  Bowyer got loose coming out of Turn 2, and he spun down the track.  

When the race restarted, Brad Keselowski started in the lead.  He led for only one lap, as Harvick re-took the lead on lap 54.

On lap 60, a 4-car wreck brought out the caution. David Ragan got together with Michael Annett, Landon Cassill and Ryan Truex on the frontstretch.

Harvick led the field back to the green flag, and he had to hold off a 3-wide challenge from Jimmie Johnson and Keselowski to keep the lead.

On lap 72, Denny Hamlin spun coming out of Turn 2.  Much like Bowyer’s earlier spin, he got loose coming out of the corner and spun down the track.  

Harvick led when the race restarted on lap 75.  He led until the next round of green flag pit stops, when Joey Logano cycled around as the leader.

On lap 111, Marcos Ambrose spun coming out of Turn 4 to bring out the caution.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led on the next restart, but Logano quickly re-took the lead.

On lap 150, Jamie McMurray cut a tire and hit the wall, and his car erupted in flames coming to pit road.  

Kasey Kahne led the field to the green, but Logano took the lead one lap later. 

Kurt Busch spun on lap 180 to bring out the sixth caution of the night.

Johnson led at the restart on lap 185, but a wreck on lap 187 brought out the caution once again.

Johnson led the field back to the green flag on lap 195, but Logano quickly got around him to take the lead.

Kurt Busch spun on lap 203 to bring out the final caution of the night.

Harvick led the field back to the green flag on lap 208.  He led until the final round of green flag pit stops began on lap 238.  When stops had cycled around by lap 259, Gordon was in the lead and Harvick was in second.

Harvick closed in on Gordon during the final laps, but he held off the 4 car to pick up his 89th career victory.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Jeff Gordon

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Kasey Kahne

4. Joey Logano

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

6. Carl Edwards

7. Danica Patrick

8. Aric Almirola

9. Jimmie Johnson

10. Matt Kenseth

11. Ryan Newman

12. Kyle Larson

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Brian Vickers

15. Kyle Busch

16. Greg Biffle

17. Paul Menard

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Austin Dillon

20. Tony Stewart

21. Martin Truex Jr.

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

23. Clint Bowyer

24. Marcos Ambrose

25. Michael Annett

26. Casey Mears

27. Ryan Blaney

28. Cole Whitt

29. Kurt Busch

30. AJ Allmendinger

31. Joe Nemechek

32. Reed Sorenson

33. Josh Wise

34. Travis Kvapil

35. Alex Bowman

36. Just Allgaier

37. David Gilliland

38. David Ragan

39. Jamie McMurray

40. Timmy Hill

41. J.J. Yeley

42. Landon Cassill

43. Ryan Truex

Next Saturday, the Sprint Cup Series heads home to Charlotte Motor Speedway.  The Sprint All-Star Race can be seen on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. EST, only on FOX Sports 1.

Photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Fantasy Preview: Kansas 5/10/2014

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway, for the first night race in that track's history!  Read on to see who I'm picking for the 5-Hour Energy 400.

Tier A

Photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Kasey Kahne
Kahne is always strong at the 1.5 mile tracks, and this weekend should be no different.  I expect him to run strong under the lights and contend for the victory.

Bench:
Clint Bowyer

Tier B
Brian Vickers
Vickers seems to run well at the 1.5 mile tracks, much like Kasey Kahne.  Even though he hasn't raced at Kansas the past couple years, he should be strong.  I see this as a chance for the Michael Waltrip Racing teams to get back on track.

Brad Keselowski
Keselowski is hungry for his second win of the season, especially after last weekend's disastrous Talladega race.  A win would go a long way to help everyone forget about Talladega, and I expect him to fight for his second victory of the season and wrap up his spot in the Chase.

Bench:
Aric Almirola
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Tier C
Danica Patrick
Patrick seems to be turning a corner, and her finishes are showing a touch of improvement.  I'm not saying she'll win the race, but maybe she can get a Top-20 out of the weekend.

Bench:
Kyle Larson

My pick to win the 5-Hour Energy 400: Brad Keselowski

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

Thanks for reading!  Leave a comment below with who you're starting on your fantasy team this weekend, and don't forget to watch the 5-Hour Energy 400 on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST on FOX.

Weekly Pull List: 5/7/2014

I hope everyone had a great Free Comic Book Day and hopefully you enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man 2 if you saw it this weekend.  All the comics available this week can be seen on Comixology and any breaking comics news can be found on Comic Book Resources.  Let's get started!

DC
Batman Eternal #5
Batman Superman #10
Detective Comics #31
Green Arrow #31
Green Lantern #31

New 52: Future's End #1

Marvel
Amazing Spider-Man #1.1
Amazing Spider-Man: Who Am I? Infinite Comic (Online)
Cyclops #1
Deadpool vs. Carnage #3 (of 4)
Iron Fist Living Weapon #2
Loki: Agent of Asgard #4
Magneto #3
Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Moon Knight #3
New Warriors #4
Original Sin #1 (of 8)
The Punisher #5
Savage Wolverine #18
She-Hulk #4

Be sure to pick up...

Amazing Spider-Man #1.1
Dan Slott is re-imagining Spider-Man's origins in this new storyline, "Learning to Crawl."  This storyline takes a look at Peter Parker's first 60 days as Spider-Man.  It should be a good story for old and new fans alike!

Cyclops #1
The characters in All-New X-Men have been very interesting.  It's been fun to watch them interact with the current time period, and you know it's just screwing with their heads.  This new series spins out of the events of The Trial of Jean Grey, and Scott Summers has run away into space with his thought-to-be-deceased dad!

Green Lantern #31
Green Lantern has been really good with the new creative team, but Hal Jordan has really messed things up for the Green Lantern Corps.  This issue kicks off a new storyline called "Uprising," so it should be a good one.  It will also have crossovers with Green Lantern Corps, so it won't just be contained to this book.

Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Following the events of Cataclysm, Miles Morales is now the leader of the new Ultimates.  I've really enjoyed Miles as the Ultimate Spider-Man, so this new series should be much of the same.

Original Sin #1
The Watcher is dead!  Marvel's big summer event is here, with all the crossovers that it entails.  This won't be the last time I talk about Original Sin, so jump on the train early and pick up this first issue.

That's all for this week!  Leave a comment below with what books are in your pull list this week!

Denny Hamlin Wins the Aaron's 499 from Talladega

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Denny Hamlin survived a wild race at Talladega to win the Aaron’s 499 on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin led only 12 laps on his way to victory, and he had to hold off a hard charge from Greg Biffle in the closing laps.  

Hamlin and Kevin Harvick raced hard over the final laps, but a caution came out to set up a green-white-checkered finish.  The leaders were unsure if they would have enough fuel to make it to the end, but a caution on the final lap froze the field and gave Hamlin the victory.

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

“I was going to try to get him going through the trioval and I was backing up on the backstretch to get a run at him,” said second-place finisher Biffle, who also led a race-high 58 laps.  “I could have been beside him for sure had I taken the chance, but I didn’t know there was a big bumper laying on the track.”

Hamlin’s first victory of the season gives him a birth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup after missing last year’s Chase.  But Hamlin said he was just focused on getting the victory and not what it means for his Chase hopes.

“We really just want to win races, regardless of what implications this means for the Chase,” Hamlin said.  “Just strategically saw things were getting heavy there in the middle of the race, and just played our cards right.  Proud of our day today.”

Hamlin’s victory was also his second top 5 at a restrictor-plate track this season after he finished second in the season-opening Daytona 500, which led some to wonder whether Hamlin was now a restrictor-plate guy.

“I’m still a short track guy, but we’ve come a long way.  We now have the knowledge and car to win [on superspeedways].”

Rookie Brian Scott won the pole for the Aaron’s 499, but he lost the lead to Paul Menard when the green flag came out.  

The first caution of the day came out on lap 14.  Brad Keselowski cut down in front of Danica Patrick for the lead, and spun across the infield.  He came back up on the track, but was able to avoid the entire field.  Keselowski damaged the front of his car, and he fell six laps down.

Hamlin took the lead on lap 26 for the first time, but he and Joey Logano swapped the lead for a few laps before Carl Edwards took the lead on lap 36.

Over the next 100 laps, there were only two cautions for debris, but that was just the calm before the storm.

On lap 137, Keselowski got loose and spun in front of the field.  The wreck collected nine other drivers, including Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson.

After a lengthy clean-up, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead when the race restarted on lap 144.  

David Gilliland’s engine expired on lap 151 to bring out the caution again, and Harvick, Vickers and Hamlin all traded the lead when the race resumed on lap 157.

The second “Big One” of the day came out on lap 175.  Johnson made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and the wreck collected Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, David Ragan, Michael McDowell and Austin Dillon.

The race restarted with just eight laps remaining, but Edwards cut down a left-rear tire and brought out the caution to set up a green-white-checkered finish.

The race restarted with two laps to go, and Hamlin was able to get ahead of Harvick for the lead.

 Coming to the white flag, Justin Allgaier spun through the trioval, but there was no caution.  It wasn’t until a half-lap later that NASCAR officials noticed a piece of Allgaier’s bumper lying on the track, and they quickly called the caution to end the race and give Hamlin the victory in his 300th career Sprint Cup Series start.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Greg Biffle

3. Clint Bowyer

4. Brian Vickers

5. AJ Allmendinger

6. Paul Menard

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Kasey Kahne

9. Kyle Larson

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

11. Landon Cassill

12. Kyle Busch

13. Aric Almirola

14. Casey Mears

15. Austin Dillon

16. Michael Annett

17. Martin Truex Jr.

18. Ryan Newman

19. Marcos Ambrose

20. Josh Wise

21. Cole Whitt

22. Danica Patrick

23. Jimmie Johnson

24. Terry Labonte

25. Michael Waltrip

26. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

27. Justin Allgaier

28. Alex Bowman

29. Jamie McMurray

30. Carl Edwards

31. Ryan Truex

32. Joey Logano

33. Kurt Busch

34. Reed Sorenson

35. David Ragan

36. Michael McDowell

37. Matt Kenseth

38. Brad Keselowski

39. Jeff Gordon

40. David Gilliland

41. Trevor Bayne

42. Brian Scott

43. Tony Stewart

Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the first night race in the track’s history.  The 5-Hour Energy 400 benefiting Special Operations Warrior Foundation can be seen next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Friday night I went to a late showing of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 3D. I really enjoyed it, and I really liked some of the things they did with the characters. Read on to see my review. 

Warning: Spoilers!

The movie starts off with the untold story of the Parkers, and it's pretty cool. They let us know why they had to leave Peter with Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and Richard Parker's experiments were actually pretty interesting. 

Max Dillon has some serious issues. I mean, yeah, he turns into a super villain; of course he has issues. But he was crazy before the whole Electro thing. The effects for Electro were pretty sweet, and I couldn't really tell he was computer-generated. That may have been due to the fact that most of the movie was CGI, and it kind of felt like a video game. 

Harry Osborn shows up right as his father is about to die, and he ends up inheriting Oscorp.  He comes off very emotional and just kind of whiny, but I can see where he's coming from.

The one weird thing about Harry is how after he takes over Oscorp, Peter just shows up and they're like best friends again. That would be perfectly fine if they had been hanging out before he came into all this money and power. But they haven't seen each other in EIGHT years. That's a pretty long time to go without talking to your BFF. 

The whole reason Harry becomes the Green Goblin is because of a hereditary disease that begins to manifest when he takes over for his father. Except his father was way older when he finally got really sick and died, but we're supposed to believe that Harry's illness is extremely accelerated and he begins to "die" in just a matter of weeks. 

The Peter and Gwen dynamic throughout the movie was very enjoyable, and Gwen plays the hero before the end of the movie.  She finally turns the tide in the final battle with Electro, and she comes out as one of the true heroes of the movie.

Andrew Garfield is also really funny as Spider-Man, and he does a great job with the jokes throughout the movie.  It really feels like you're watching the comic book.

The final showdown with Electro is also a great example of why so many people love Spider-Man.  He puts his life on the line so that the rest of New York can survive and so that he may finally stop Electro. 

Now I'm not going to ruin the actual ending with the Green Goblin, but make sure you have some tissues ready. 

The movie ends with Peter doing that whole "I don't want to be Spider-Man" thing, but he ultimately stands up to take down the Rhino.  

And there's no need to stay after the credits.  Once you see the post-credits Days of Future Past  preview, there isn't anything else.  But you can use the Shazam app on the Alicia Keys song to get a preview of the Sinister Six.

Overall, the movie was good, and it was a solid follow-up to its predecessor.  Make sure you take a trip out with friends and see the movie that kicks off the summer movie season!

My rating: 9/10

Leave a comment below and let us know what you thought of The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

Free Comic Book Day 2014

It's Free Comic Book Day!  What is Free Comic Book Day, you ask?  Well I'll tell you!

Free Comic Book Day is held the first Saturday in May, and is an event to get new comic readers to come into independent comic book retailers.  It was started in 2002, and it usually ties in with the yearly comic book movie release the first weekend in May.  Yep, that means this year's tie-in is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (and you can read my Amazing Spider-Man 2 review here)!

So with a Free Comic Book Day comes a pull list!  All the books available for this year's event are listed here on Nerdist.com.  Let's get started!

Gold Comics
Bongo Comics Free-For-All (Bongo)
The New 52 Futures End Special Edition #0 (DC)
Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Papercutz)

Silver Comics
Rocket Racoon (Marvel)

And if you still aren't on board after checking out the comics available, maybe the one and only Stan Lee can talk you into supporting your local comic shop!

Fantasy Preview: Talladega 5/3

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for the first restrictor-plate race since the season-opening Daytona 500.

Tier A
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Photo courtesy Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Earnhardt won the Daytona 500, so he should be strong at the other restrictor-plate track on the schedule.  Earnhardt used to be extremely good at Talladega, but he hasn't won there since 2004.  He did finish second in the last trip there in the fall, so look for Earnhardt to be strong this weekend.

Bench:
Kevin Harvick

Tier B
Greg Biffle
Biffle has been strong during restrictor-plate races, and he finished eighth in the Daytona 500.  Dating back to 2011, Biffle has finished in the Top 15 in every race at Talladega, with the exception of this race last year when he finished 36th.

Tony Stewart
Stewart is always a threat to win at any restrictor-plate track, and he is definitely due for a victory.  Though he has never won the Daytona 500, he is always strong at Talladega, and almost won last year before taking out the entire field.  He is definitely hungry for a win, so I expect him to run well this weekend.

Bench:
Paul Menard
Ryan Newman

Tier C
Michael Waltrip
Waltrip almost pulled off a major upset last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he does it again this year.  I usually stick with Waltrip as a fantasy pick for restrictor-plate tracks because those are the only races he's in the car and it's a solid pick.  I look for him to finish in the Top 10 this weekend.

Bench:
Austin Dillon

My pick to win the Aaron's 499: Tony Stewart

Photo courtesy Patrick Smith/Getty Images

That's all for this week!  Leave a comment below with who you're picking this weekend, and be sure to catch the Aaron's 499 this Sunday from Talladega Superspeedway at 1:00 p.m. EST, only on FOX.