Kevin Harvick Dominates at Phoenix

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kevin Harvick won the CampingWorld.com 500 on Sunday for his fourth consecutive victory at Phoenix International Speedway.

Photo courtesy Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Harvick’s victory was his seventh-straight finish of first or second, the first driver to match those numbers since Richard Petty did it in 1975.  Harvick’s consistency has squashed any talk of a championship hangover for the No. 4 team.

“It’s almost scary how well things are going,” Harvick said in victory lane.  “I think when you look at the start of this year, we just know each other so much better.  We have a lot of things different than what we had last year.”

Harvick, following his win last weekend at Las Vegas, was a favorite heading into the weekend that saw the driver race on one of his best tracks.  He said racing in the XFinity Series race on Saturday helped set up his good run Sunday.

“The restarts were just really slippery, and I learned that in the race yesterday,” Harvick said.  “You had to really maintain your entrance speed and really slide the thing through the center of the corner to try to keep it pointed off.”

The race also saw the return of Harvick’s teammate Kurt Busch, who was reinstated by NASCAR on Wednesday following a three-week suspension for a domestic violence incident with his ex-girlfriend.

Busch finished fifth on Sunday, and said the finish was a testament to the strength of his team.

“Personally it’s great to get back to them and produce a result like this on our first day back,” Busch said.  “To run up there, to almost lead a lap…the way that we raced today was with heart.  I think there could have been enough good will in the tank to bring home a win, but Kevin’s tough.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Jamie McMurray

3. Ryan Newman

4. Kasey Kahne

5. Kurt Busch

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Joey Logano

9. Jeff Gordon

10. Kyle Larson

11. Jimmie Johnson

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Carl Edwards

14. Paul Menard

15. Austin Dillon

16. Matt Kenseth

17. AJ Allmendinger

18. Justin Allgaier

19. Aric Almirola

20. Casey Mears

21. David Ragan

22. Landon Cassill

23. Denny Hamlin

24. Clint Bowyer

25. Cole Whitt

26. Danica Patrick

27. Greg Biffle

28. Trevor Bayne

29. David Gilliland

30. Alex Bowman

31. J.J. Yeley

32. Brett Moffitt

33. Mike Bliss

34. Jeb Burton

35. Matt DiBenedetto

36. Josh Wise

37. Brendan Gaughan

38. Alex Kennedy

39. Tony Stewart

40. Sam Hornish Jr.

41. Brian Vickers

42. Michael Annett

43. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List: 3/11/2015

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

Image
The Walking Dead #138

DC
Batman Eternal #49
Batman: Arkham Knight #1
Detective Comics: Endgame #1

Marvel
All-New X-Men #37
Amazing Spider-Man #16
Amazing Spider-Man Special #1
Ant-Man #3
Captain Marvel #13
Deadpool #43
Fantastic Four #644
Guardians Team-Up #2
Howard the Duck #1
Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #11
Nova Annual #1
Silver Surfer #10
Spider-Gwen #2
Spider-Man and the X-Men #4
Spider-Man 2099 #10
Star Wars #3
Superior Iron Man #6
Wolverines #10

Weekly Pull List: 3/4/2015

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

Image
Saga #26

Titan
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #8
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #9

DC
Batman Eternal #48
Detective Comics #40
Grayson #8
Green Arrow #40
Harley Quinn #15

Marvel
All-New Hawkeye #1
Angela: Asgard's Assassin #4
Guardians Team-Up #1
Hulk #12
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #10
Princess Leia #1
Return of the Living Deadpool #2
Rocket Raccoon #9
Spider-Woman #5
Wolverines #9
X-Men #25

Jimmie Johnson Wins at Atlanta

Originally written for CLNS Radio. 

Jimmie Johnson won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Johnson was dominant during the race, leading 92 of 325 laps.  He said his car was extremely fast, which proved to be the difference when racing Kevin Harvick, who led a race-high 116 laps.

“I had a blast racing with the 4 [of Harvick], he was awfully strong today,” Johnson said.  “I think track position there at the end just kind of set things in place, and we got the restart we needed to and cleared the 88 [of Dale Earnhardt Jr.] and off we went.”

The race was the first real test for teams this season as NASCAR rolled out its new rules package.  The new rules are similar to NASCAR stock cars before the debut of the Car of Tomorrow in 2007. 

Prior to the start of the season, many people believed the new rules would play right into Johnson’s driving style, and Johnson said his team stepped up to the challenge.

“I’m just so excited that…this new team could understand what I was complaining about and what I didn’t like about my racecar,” Johnson said.  “We had some troubles on pit road, but once we kind of got through and got by the 19 [of Carl Edwards], that allowed us to get track position.”

Unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4. Joey Logano

5. Matt Kenseth

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. AJ Allmendinger

8. Brett Moffitt

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Ryan Newman

11. Aric Almirola

12. Carl Edwards

13. Paul Menard

14. Kasey Kahne

15. Casey Mears

16. Danica Patrick

17. Regan Smith

18. David Ragan

19. Trevor Bayne

20. Justin Allgaier

21. Sam Hornish Jr.

22. David Gilliland

23. Alex Bowman

24. Clint Bowyer

25. Greg Biffle

26. Kyle Larson

27. Michael McDowell

28. Brendan Gaughan

29. Michael Annett

30. Tony Stewart

31. Mike Bliss

32. Josh Wise

33. Joe Nemechek

34. J.J. Yeley

35. Jeb Burton

36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

37. Cole Whitt

38. Denny Hamlin

39. Austin Dillon

40. Jamie McMurray

41. Jeff Gordon

42. Ron Hornaday Jr.

43. Landon Cassill

Photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Weekly Pull List: 2/25/2015

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

Image
Chew #46
Sex #20

Titan
Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #5

DC
Arkham Manor #5
Batman #39
Batman Eternal #47
The Flash #39
Gotham by Midnight #4

Marvel
All-New X-Men #38
Amazing Spider-Man #15
Amazing X-Men #17
Daredevil #13
Darth Vader #2
Deadpool #42
Fantastic Four #643
Inhuman #12
Spider-Gwen #1
Spider-Man and the X-Men #3
Spider-Man 2099 #9
Superior Iron Man #5
Wolverines #8

Joey Logano Wins the Daytona 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Joey Logano won the Daytona 500 on Sunday after a last-lap wreck forced NASCAR to end the race under caution.

Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Logano got a great push from Clint Bowyer on the final restart, and that pushed him in front of the field, and he never looked back.

“Clint Bowyer was the best pusher out there today,” Logano said.  “He was able to line up there at the end and give me a push out ahead.”

The green-white-checkered finish came following a red flag to clean up an accident with less than four laps to go.  Logano said he was trying to stay relaxed while leading during the red flag.

“I was so nervous the whole race,” Logano said.  “I was trying to stay relaxed, and it’s always the hard part.  That red flag gave you the opportunity to think of everything.”

A wreck on the backstretch on the final lap forced NASCAR to throw a caution flag before the race ended, freezing the field and giving Logano the victory.  Logano said he thought his car was good enough to win regardless of the caution.

“I saw them crashing in the mirror, and I still think if had got to the checkered…we had a good shot at it.”

The victory was the ninth of Logano’s career.  After winning a career-high five races in 2014, Logano is now already locked into the Chase following his Daytona 500 victory. 

Jeff Gordon led the field to the green flag on Sunday in his final Daytona 500 start.  Gordon led a race-high 87 laps before getting caught up in the last lap accident.  Gordon finished 33rd.

“I’m a little bit sad that it’s my final Daytona 500, but I’m more upset we didn’t have a shot at winning at the end,” Gordon said.

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. Casey Mears

7. Clint Bowyer

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Kasey Kahne

10. Greg Biffle

11. David Gilliland

12. Sam Hornish Jr.

13. Michael Annett

14. Austin Dillon

15. Aric Almirola

16. Regan Smith

17. David Ragan

18. Johnny Sauter

19. Matt Crafton

20. AJ Allmendinger

21. Danica Patrick

22. Cole Whitt

23. Jamie McMurray

24. Carl Edwards

25. Michael Waltrip

26. Bobby Labonte

27. Paul Menard

28. Ty Dillon

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

30. Trevor Bayne

31. Michael McDowell

32. Reed Sorenson

33. Jeff Gordon

34. Kyle Larson

35. Matt Kenseth

36. Mike Wallace

37. Justin Allgaier

38. Ryan Newman

39. Ryan Blaney

40. J.J. Yeley

41. Brad Keselowski

42. Tony Stewart

43. Landon Cassill

Photo courtesy Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Mark Martin Among 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominees

Mark Martin was among the 20 nominees the NASCAR Hall of Fame announced for the 2016 class on Friday.

2005 All-Star Race

Martin's career began in 1981, but it didn't take off until 1988 when he teamed up with Jack Roush.  Martin stayed with Roush Racing through the 2006 season, and he won 35 races and 41 poles with the team. 

Martin cut back to a partial schedule and drove for Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2007 and 2008, but he returned to full-time racing in 2009 with Hendrick Motorsports.

Martin had a career resurgence in 2009, winning five races and seven poles in the No. 5 car.  He finished second in points to teammate Jimmie Johnson that season.  During his final two years at Hendrick Motorsports, he won three more poles, but those five victories in 2009 would be the last of his career.

In 2012, he returned to a part-time schedule, splitting the No. 55 car at Michael Waltrip Racing.  He won another five poles over the final two seasons in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.  Following the 2013 season, he decided to step away from racing, and instead spend time with his family.

Though he has 96 career NASCAR victories across all three major touring series, Martin may go down as one of the greatest drivers to never win a championship.  He finished second in points five times in his career to a list of Hall of Fame drivers that includes Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson.

Martin also never won NASCAR's biggest events.  He failed to win the Daytona 500 in his career, but he came within inches in 2007.  He was beat by Kevin Harvick by .02 seconds in a finish that is still a thorn in the side to the group of Mark Martin fans who call themselves "Markaholics."

Martin does hold the record, however, for the most victories and championships in the now-defunct International Race of Champions.  IROC pitted the best drivers from racing series around the world in equally prepared cars in a four-race season.  Martin picked up 13 victories and five championships during 12 seasons in the series.  

It was announced earlier in the year that Martin would be inducted into the National Motorsports Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2015.

Here is the full list of nominees for the class of 2016 (new nominees in italics):
1.Ray Evernham
2. Harry Hyde
3. Alan Kulwicki
4. Mark Martin
5. Hershel McGriff
6. Buddy Baker
7. Red Byron
8. Richard Childress
9. Jerry Cook
10. Ray Fox
11. Rick Hendrick
12. Bobby Isaac
13. Terry Labonte
14. Raymond Parks
15. Benny Parsons
16. Larry Phillips
17. Bruton Smith
18. Mike Stefanik
19. Curtis Turner
20. Robert Yates

As a lifelong Mark Martin fan, this is great news.  I believe Mark has the ability and the stats to become a first-ballot hall of famer this year.  Last year was a tough year because it was the first time Mark hadn't been in a car at all during the season.  If he is inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, I think I might have to make my first trek to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

2009 victory at Darlington Raceway