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.

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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

Denny Hamlin Wins Daytona 500, Newman Taken to Hospital Following Accident

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 on Monday night from Daytona International Speedway.

Hamlin won his third Daytona 500 on Sunday following a photo finish with Ryan Blaney.

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Hamlin, who was one of the favorites going into the weekend, said it was unexpected to win his second-consecutive Daytona 500.

“I knew [Ryan Newman and Blaney] were going to come with a big run right there; my job was to just not put a block that was going to wreck me,” Hamlin said.  “I got to the 12 [of Blaney’s] bumper, got to pushing him there and I knew I was going to give him a big run.”

Hamlin’s celebration was subdued as teams waited to hear any information on Newman, who wrecked coming to the checkered flag.  Newman was turned into the outside wall, flipped and was hit in the driver’s side by Corey LaJoie. 

Newman was extracted from his car by safety personnel and taken to the local hospital.

Drivers up and down pit road were worried about Newman’s condition.

“We pushed Newman there to the lead, and then we got a push from the 11 [of Hamlin],” Blaney said after finishing second.  “I made a move off turn four on Newman and he blocked it.  I kind of went low and he blocked that, so then I was committed to just pushing him to the win; I guess we got our bumpers hooked up wrong.”

“I hope he’s alright; it looked pretty bad.”

“Number one, we’re praying for Ryan,” Hamlin said.  “I think we take for granted sometimes how safe the cars are.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Ryan Blaney

3. Chris Buescher

4. David Ragan

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Brendan Gaughan

8. Corey LaJoie

9. Ryan Newman

10. Kyle Larson

11. John Hunter Nemechek

12. Austin Dillon

13. Justin Haley

14. Michael McDowell

15. Bubba Wallace

16. Brennan Poole

17. Chase Elliott

18. Erik Jones

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Christopher Bell

22. Aric Almirola

23. Joey Gase

24. Alex Bowman

25. Ross Chastain

26. Joey Logano

27. Timmy Hill

28. Tyler Reddick

29. Ryan Preece

30. Ty Dillon

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Martin Truex Jr.

33. Kurt Busch

34. Kyle Busch

35. Jimmie Johnson

36. Brad Keselowski

37. Cole Custer

38. BJ McLeod

39. Quin Houff

40. William Byron

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Jones Survives the Carnage to Win Busch Clash

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Erik Jones drove a battered car to victory lane in Sunday afternoon’s season-opening Busch Clash from Daytona International Speedway.

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Jones won the exhibition race with a car that had been involved in multiple accidents.  Jones was one of just six cars still running at the end of the race, and he and his teammate Denny Hamlin linked up to go to the front.

Jones said his damaged car helped him stay connected with Hamlin on the final lap.

“Honestly, my car was so draggy it wasn’t too much for him to stay connected and he was able to push us home,” Jones said.  “Huge thanks to Denny…he stuck with us there that whole last lap.”

The race had numerous wrecks that took out the majority of the 18-car field, including favorites Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott and defending Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch. 

Hamlin said the reason for the carnage was lead cars throwing late blocks on the competition.

“I think everyone’s got to realize that these late blocks just don’t work,” Hamlin said.  “The way they used to drive superspeedway races where you really had time to see the runs coming…it just doesn’t work.”

“It causes the carnage...if you don’t want to finish, you continue to do the same thing over and over.”

The Busch Clash was the first event in NASCAR’s week-long buildup to the Daytona 500 on February 16th.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman qualified on the front row for Sunday’s race, and the rest of the field will be set on Thursday during the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.

Unofficial results:

1. Erik Jones

2. Austin Dillon

3. Clint Bowyer

4. Kyle Larson

5. Ryan Newman

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Chase Elliott

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Joey Logano

10. Aric Almirola

11. Jimmie Johnson

12. Kurt Busch

13. Kevin Harvick

14. William Byron

15. Alex Bowman

16. Martin Truex Jr.

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Kyle Busch

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Kyle Busch Wins Championship with Homestead Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch won the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday afternoon to win his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Busch came into the weekend as the underdog after going winless over the last 21 races.  The victory was Busch’s first since June 2 at Pocono Raceway.

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Busch picked up his fifth win of the season at Homestead, and said his success was a testament to his team’s hard work as they struggled to find victory lane.

“We have a great race team and a great owner,” Busch said.  “I just can’t say enough and can’t thank everyone enough for this opportunity.  I may be the one who’s able to hoist the trophy or have a championship, but it wouldn’t be possible without [crew chief] Adam Stevens and Coach Joe Gibbs.”

Busch took the lead late in the race after his teammates suffered pit miscues.  Denny Hamlin had to make an unscheduled stop when his car started overheating after the team put too much tape on the nose, and Martin Truex Jr. was caught too far behind the leader without enough time to make up the difference after he pitted later than the rest of the leaders.

Hamlin said he was disappointed he couldn’t celebrate his first title.

“It’s disappointing, but all you can ask for is a chance,” Hamlin said.  “Chris [Gabehart, Hamlin’s crew chief] is aggressive; he’s an aggressive crew chief.  He tried to get me all the speed he could there and it was just too much tape.  We were going to blow up.”

Truex had a dominant car and led 103 laps, but fell short to Busch over the final run.

Truex said he and his team lost control of the race in the third stage.

“Having to restart back where we did…and we started the third stage for sure too tight,” Truex said.  “We were faster the whole last run, we were just too far behind and it was too much to make up with traffic.”

Busch, who has always been a polarizing figure in the sport, said the victory and the championship was for his fans.

“There’s always your doubters; there’s always your haters,” Busch said.  “This one’s for Rowdy Nation, because you guys are the best.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Erik Jones

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Joey Logano

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Ryan Newman

8. Austin Dillon

9. Alex Bowman

10. Denny Hamlin

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Daniel Hemric

13. Jimmie Johnson

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Chase Elliott

16. Chris Buescher

17. Paul Menard

18. Brad Keselowski

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Matt DiBenedetto

21. Kurt Busch

22. Aric Almirola

23. John Hunter Nemechek

24. Ty Dillon

25. Ryan Preece

26. Michael McDowell

27. David Ragan

28. Landon Cassill

29. Drew Herring

30. JJ Yeley

31. Corey LaJoie

32. BJ McLeod

33. Timmy Hill

34. Bubba Wallace

35. Ross Chastain

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Reed Sorenson

38. Joe Nemechek

39. William Byron

40. Kyle Larson

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Harvick Dominant in Texas Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to lock himself into the Championship Round of the Playoffs.

Harvick had a dominant car all weekend.  After winning the pole on Saturday, Harvick led 119 laps on Sunday on his way to victory lane.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

A penalty on a pit stop forced Harvick to restart in the back, and it looked as though his car struggled in traffic.  After another round of pit stops, Harvick was able to work his way through traffic, and he was able to get past his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola to take the lead.

Harvick said a bad set of tires and a bad restart caused the slow start in the back.

“We had a bad restart one time and we got buried back there,” Harvick said.  “We came in, put another set of tires on, and we were really able to make up some time.”

Harvick now sets his sight on Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks, where he will fight for the Championship.

Harvick said his team has been preparing for the finale for awhile.

“We’ve already been going down that road,” Harvick said.  “They’ve already built the car…picked a direction.”

While Harvick locked himself into the finale at Homestead, Denny Hamlin made his road to the championship harder.  After spinning early in the race and damaging the nose to his car, Hamlin finished 28th.

After coming into Texas with a 24-point lead above 5th-place in the standings, Hamlin now sits 20 points below the cutoff.

Hamlin said his team is going to go to Phoenix next weekend looking for a victory.

“The car and effort will be there, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said.  “There’s no doubt in my mind we can go there and win, especially in these circumstances.”

“I like the challenge.  We’re going to go out there and give it our best shot, put our best foot forward and see if we can win next week.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Aric Almirola

3. Daniel Suarez

4. Joey Logano

5. Alex Bowman

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Kyle Busch

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Kurt Busch

10. Erik Jones

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Kyle Larson

13. Austin Dillon

14. Matt DiBenedetto

15. Ryan Newman

16. Daniel Hemric

17. William Byron

18. Ty Dillon

19. Chris Buescher

20. Paul Menard

21. John Hunter Nemechek

22. Parker Kligerman

23. Ryan Preece

24. Bubba Wallace

25. Michael McDowell

26. JJ Yeley

27. Landon Cassill

28. Denny Hamlin

29. Joe Nemechek

30. Josh Bilicki

31. Ross Chastain

32. Chase Elliott

33. Quin Houff

34. Jimmie Johnson

35. David Ragan

36. Garrett Smithley

37. Timmy Hill

38. Corey LaJoie

39. Brad Keselowski

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Truex Dominant in Martinsville Victory, Hamlin and Logano Fight on Pit Road

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Martin Truex Jr. won the First Data 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon to lock himself into the Championship Round of the Playoffs.

Truex was dominant on Sunday, and led 464 of 500 laps.  Truex, who struggled on short tracks for the majority of his career, has now won three in the past two years.

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Truex said he and his team have been working to get better on short tracks.

“We’ve wanted to win here for a long time, and the guys have worked so hard,” Truex said.  “I’m just so excited and proud to drive this thing.”

The victory locks Truex into the Championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway where he will fight for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Truex said he’s excited that his team can now focus on the race in three weeks.

“We don’t have to worry about points anymore, we can just get to work on our Homestead car,” Truex said.  “We’re going to Homestead again, so that was what we tried to accomplish this weekend.”

William Byron tried to chase Truex down in the closing laps, but the 21-year old driver wasn’t able to make a move on the 19 of Truex.

Byron said he would have used the bumper to try to pick up his first career victory if he had been close enough.

“I wouldn’t have raced him dirty, but I’m really hungry for my first win,” Byron said.  “He ran such a good race, I think he would have been able to drag the brake and do anything he could to keep me behind him anyways.”

After the race, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano got into a pit road altercation after the two made contact late in the race.  Logano pushed Hamlin, and that led to a fight between the two drivers and their crews.

Hamlin said the fight started with a typical move from Logano.

“Everything was civil, and then, like Joey does, he does the little push and runs away,” Hamlin said.  “That’s Joey, he’s scared.  He would probably say, ‘it’s short track racing.’”

Logano said he was frustrated that Hamlin did not apologize for the contact between the two Playoff drivers.

“I just wanted to see what he was going to say, and he really wasn’t apologetic at all,” Logano said.  “Maybe I shouldn’t have shoved him at the end; it maybe escalated it a little bit more.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. William Byron

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Kurt Busch

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Joey Logano

9. Kyle Larson

10. Ryan Newman

11. David Ragan

12. Chris Buescher

13. Bubba Wallace

14. Kyle Busch

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Matt DiBenedetto

17. Daniel Hemric

18. Corey LaJoie

19. Ryan Preece

20. Erik Jones

21. Paul Menard

22. Austin Dillon

23. Michael McDowell

24. Ty Dillon

25. Matt Crafton

26. Landon Cassill

27. BJ McLeod

28. JJ Yeley

29. Ross Chastain

30. Alex Bowman

31. Daniel Suarez

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Timmy Hill

35. Clint Bowyer

36. Chase Elliott

37. Aric Almirola

38. Jimmie Johnson

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Hamlin Wins at Kansas, Elliott Transfers to Round of 8

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the finale for the Round of 12 of the Playoffs.

Hamlin had a dominant car during the second half of Sunday’s race, and led a race-high 153 laps.  Hamlin held off challenges from Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch in the closing laps after multiple cautions sent the race into overtime.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Hamlin was already locked into the next round of the Playoffs on points, but he said he was glad to pick up another win on the year.

“That car was awesome…to dominate that whole second half was great,” Hamlin said.  “We’ve been running really good, just cannot wait to get to Martinsville.”

Hamlin now heads to Martinsville Speedway next weekend, where he has had strong runs in the past.  A win next weekend would send Hamlin to the Championship Four at Homestead to battle for his first career Cup Series Championship.

Hamlin said he is taking everything one week at a time.

“It’s step-by-step, week-by-week,” Hamlin said.  “I’m not getting too far ahead of ourselves.  We concentrate every week as if it’s the most important one, and this win kind of shows that.”

Elliott came into the race in a must-win scenario to keep his Playoff hopes alive, and he was able to finish second and make it into the next round. 

Elliott said the strong finish was a testament to his team’s attitude as they struggled early in the race.

“We were really struggling there at one point in the race, and you have to stay fighting in these things,” Elliott said.  “Excited that we’ll get to fight another race.”

Brad Keselowski was on the losing end of the Playoff race, and missed the next round of the Playoffs by three points after struggling on the final restart.

Keselowski said he wasn’t able to make the moves he needed to in the closing laps.

“Couldn’t get nothing to go for me on the restart,” Keselowski said.  “I got sandwiched and somebody went three-wide…just all bad and I didn’t do a good enough job.”

Keselowski was joined by William Byron, Alex Bowman and Clint Bowyer as the four drivers eliminated from the Playoffs.

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kyle Busch

4. Kurt Busch

5. William Byron

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Erik Jones

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Jimmie Johnson

11. Alex Bowman

12. Ryan Preece

13. Chris Buescher

14. Kyle Larson

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Joey Logano

18. Paul Menard

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Austin Dillon

21. Ryan Blaney

22. Ty Dillon

23. Aric Almirola

24. Michael McDowell

25. Matt Tifft

26. David Ragan

27. Ross Chastain

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Parker Kligerman

30. JJ Yeley

31. Daniel Hemric

32. Daniel Suarez

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Bubba Wallace

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Landon Cassill

38. Joey Gase

39. Timmy Hill

40. Ryan Newman

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images