Keselowski Wins at Talladega, Eliminator 8 Set

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Brad Keselowski won the GEICO 500 from Talladega Superspeedway to move on the Eliminator round of the Chase on Sunday afternoon.

 

Photo courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Talladega was a do-or-die race for Keselowski, who needed to win the race to move on to the next round of the Chase.  Keselowski said he had a great car that he had faith in to get the job done.

“I knew it was fast the last time we were here, and then we got caught up in wrecks,” Keselowski said.  “I thought that if we could just get through one of these superspeedway races we could win.  We were fortunate enough to do that today.”

Keselowski’s victory comes one week after getting into numerous on- and off-track altercations with Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth.  Keselowski said they only had one job this weekend.

“We had one job to do, and that was to come to Talladega and win.  I think it was very easy to write ourselves off after the last two weeks.  I know there’s probably some people out there who aren’t happy I won…we went through a lot of adversity, and that makes this week a little more special.”

Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also came into Talladega needing a victory to move on to the Eliminator Round.  Johnson seemed to be the odds-on favorite throughout the day, leading a race-high 84 laps before fading late without drafting help to finish 24th.

Earnhardt led 31 laps, and seemed poised to return to victory lane at Talladega.  But his Championship hopes ended when he was spun by Greg Biffle during the first green-white-checkered finish.  He wound up finishing 31st.

Kyle Busch may have taken the biggest hit when his Chase abruptly came to an end.  Busch seemed like a sure participant in the Eliminator Round, but he was spun by Austin Dillon as drivers scattered to avoid a wreck on lap 103.  Busch hit the wall hard, and his team worked feverishly in the garage to repair his car.  Busch ended up finishing in 40th place, which ended his 2014 Championship hopes.

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Matt Kenseth

3. Clint Bowyer

4. Landon Cassill

5. Ryan Newman

6. Travis Kvapil

7. Kurt Busch

8. Marcos Ambrose

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Casey Mears

11. Joey Logano

12. Kasey Kahne

13. Austin Dillon

14. Reed Sorenson

15. Cole Whitt

16. Michael Waltrip

17. Kyle Larson

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Danica Patrick

20. Brian Vickers

21. Carl Edwards

22. Ryan Blaney

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Jimmie Johnson

25. Greg Biffle

26. Jeff Gordon

27. Martin Truex Jr.

28. Josh Wise

29. David Gilliland

30. David Ragan

31. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

32. Trevor Bayne

33. Terry Labonte

34. Tony Stewart

35. Jamie McMurray

36. Paul Menard

37. Michael Annett

38. Mike Wallace

39. Aric Almirola

40. Kyle Busch

41. Michael McDowell

42. J.J. Yeley

43. Alex Bowman

The top eight drivers now move on to the Eliminator Round of the Chase.  The next three races at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix will decide the final four drivers who will race for the Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead in the final weekend of the season.  Below are the “Eliminator 8.”

1. Joey Logano

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Jeff Gordon

5. Carl Edwards

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Ryan Newman

8. Matt Kenseth

Photo courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List: 10/15/2014

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

Titan
Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1

DC
Batman and Robin #35
Batman Eternal #28

Marvel
Daredevil #9
Deadpool's Art of War #1
Death of Wolverine #4
Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #1
Edge of Spider-Verse #5
Fantastic Four #11
Hulk #7
Loki: Agent of Asgard #7
Magneto #11
Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #6
Original Sin Annual #1
Spider-Man 2099 #5
Storm #4
The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #16
Uncanny X-Men #27
Wolverine and the X-Men #10

Be sure to pick up...

Deadpool's Art of War #1
In today's society, you really need a good guide for strategy and preparation.  Deadpool decided to write his own Art of War, because it's in the public domain and anyone can rip it off.  This 4-issue limited series promises to be a lot of fun.

Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #1
Death of Wolverine has actually been a pretty good storyline, even though it's just a cash grab and we all know it.  While that series ends this week, I wanted to highlight this miniseries.  It is a 7-issue series that will look at the hole Wolverine's death has left in the Marvel and X-Men universe.  Should be very interesting.

Thanks for reading!  Leave a comment below with the books you're picking up this week!

Kevin Harvick Wins Wild Charlotte Race

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kevin Harvick won the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to clinch his spot in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

 

Photo courtesy Christ Trotman/Getty Images

Harvick had a strong car throughout the race, leading 162 of 334 laps.  He said this was the culmination of multiple strong runs by the team.

“Everybody on our team has just continued to build better race cars,” Harvick said.  “We know we’ve had the cars to lead laps and do the things we need to do, but things just hadn’t gone right.”

Harvick now heads to Talladega already locked in to the next round of the Chase.  He said this victory makes his week less stressful.

“This is the night that we needed to win,” Harvick said.  “I thought this was going to be the hardest segment to get through because of Talladega.  Really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

The race also included fireworks after the checkered flag.  Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski got together after the race, and then Keselowski made contact with Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart on pit road.  

After many assumed the excitement had died down, Kenseth tussled with Keselowski as they headed towards their haulers.  Both drivers had to be separated by crew members and NASCAR officials.  

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Jamie McMurray

4. Joey Logano

5. Kyle Busch

6. Kyle Larson

7. Ryan Newman

8. Carl Edwards

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Kasey Kahne

11. Kurt Busch

12. AJ Allmendinger

13. Austin Dillon

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Justin Allgaier

16. Brad Keselowski

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Greg Biffle

19. Matt Kenseth

20. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

21. Tony Stewart

22. Aric Almirola

23. Landon Cassill

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25. Marcos Ambrose

26. Danica Patrick

27. Reed Sorenson

28. Cole Whitt

29. Michael McDowell

30. Alex Bowman

31. Casey Mears

32. David Gilliland

33. Michael Annett

34. David Ragan

35. Corey Lajoie

36. Timmy Hill

37. Brian Vickers

38. J.J. Yeley

39. Blake Koch

40. Brett Moffitt

41. Josh Wise

42. Paul Menard

43. Clint Bowyer

Photo courtesy Sarah Glenn/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List: 10/8/14

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

Image
Sex Criminals #8

Titan
Doctor Who: The 10th Doctor #3

DC
Batman #35
Batman Eternal #27

Marvel
All-New Ultimates #9
Amazing Spider-Man #7
Avengers and X-Men: Axis #1
Captain Marvel #8
George Romero's Empire of the Dead: Act Two #2
Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #1
Nightcrawler #7
Rocket Raccoon #4
Savage Hulk #5
The Punisher #11

Be sure to pick up...

Amazing Spider-Man #7
This issue should be pretty fun, and it will be the first tie-in with Spider-Verse, and it is going to introduce a new Spider-Man to the Edge of the Spider-Verse.  If you haven't caught on by now, I can't wait for Spider-Verse.

Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #1
Issue #0 of this series was just a ton of fun, and I'm really excited for the shenanigans from Hawkeye and Deadpool.  It seems like this whole series is going to be each character trying to one-up one another.  Should be awesome!

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

Joey Logano Wins at Kansas, Chase Favorites Falter

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Joey Logano clinched a spot in the Eliminator Round of the Chase following his victory at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Photo courtesy Jared Tilton/Getty Images

Logano had to hold off rookie Kyle Larson, who is still looking for his first victory of the season.  Logano said both cars were extremely fast, and that the race was won on the final restart.

“I felt like whoever was up front was going to win the race there,” Logano said.  “I was able to get a good start to get the lead and get in front of him to take his air away.”

Logano is the first Chase driver to punch his ticket to the Eliminator Round of the Chase, which means he will not have to worry about making the next round of the Chase at Talladega in two weeks.  Logano said he was relieved to not have to worry about it.

“We have a real shot to win this championship, and I feel like we’re one of the teams to beat.”

While Logano was busy celebrating his spot in the Eliminator Round, a few Championship favorites were left worrying about their Chase hopes.  

Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski all had problems throughout the race; Johnson was spun by Greg Biffle early in the race and he hit the inside wall, while Earnhardt and Keselowski hit the wall after cutting down right-front tires.  

All three drivers are now on the outside looking in as the Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, with Jeff Gordon, another favorite, sitting on the bubble, just eight points away from elimination.

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Kyle Larson

3. Kyle Busch

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Carl Edwards

6. Ryan Newman

7. Denny Hamlin

8. Austin Dillon

9. Paul Menard

10. Brian Vickers

11. AJ Allmendinger

12. Kevin Harvick

13. Matt Kenseth

14. Jeff Gordon

15. Greg Biffle

16. Danica Patrick

17. Tony Stewart

18. Clint Bowyer

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Marcos Ambrose

21. Landon Cassill

22. Kasey Kahne

23. Cole Whitt

24. Michael Annett

25. Jamie McMurray

26. Reed Sorenson

27. David Ragan

28. Casey Mears

29. J.J. Yeley

30. David Gilliland

31. Aric Almirola

32. Alex Bowman

33. Timmy Hill

34. Mike Wallace

35. Michael McDowell

36. Brad Keselowski

37. Joey Gase

38. Josh Wise

39. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

40. Jimmie Johnson

41. Justin Allgaier

42. Kurt Busch

43. Mike Bliss

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the only night race of the Chase.  The Bank of America 500 can be seen Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

Photo courtesy Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List: 10/1/2014

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

Titan
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #3

DC
Batman Eternal #26
Batman/Superman #14
Detective Comics #35
Grayson #3
Green Arrow #35
Green Lantern #35

Marvel
Death of Wolverine #3
Edge of Spider-Verse #4
Fantastic Four Annual #1
Guardians 3000 #1
Legendary Star-Lord #4
Moon Knight #8
Silver Surfer #6
Spider-Man 2099 #4
X-Men #20

Be sure to pick up...

Edge of Spider-Verse #4
This mini-series is wrapping up, and the Spider-Verse is almost here!  I'm really excited for this whole series to begin, and I really can't wait until we enter the Spider-Verse!

Spider-Man 2099 #4
The last issue of this series really put Miguel in a bad situation.  We'll see if he can get out of it here, and I'm pretty sure he will.  I mean, how else will he take part in the Spider-Verse?

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment below with the books you're picking up this week.