And then there were 4...the Championship 4

With all apologies to the superhero bunch, the way NASCAR got its Fantastic Four after this weekend's racing at Phoenix International Raceway was certainly surprising.

In no particular order, here are a few thoughts on the whole darn thing...

-You just had to sit and shake your head over Matt Kenseth's misfortune. Here he was, a lap and a few 100 yards away from earning his spot to race for the title. Then Michael McDowell's tire decided to give out.

Once they restarted, Kenseth got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when he tried to go to the low side as Alex Bowman -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s substitute driver in the No. 88 -- tried to grab the spot.

The end result: Kenseth spun and hopes for a shot at a second championship went out with his tattered No. 20 Toyota Camry.

When all was said and done after 12 extra laps, Joey Logano survived the second overtime round and took the checkered flag by just over a half-second in front of Kyle Busch. With his finish, Busch claimed the last spot in the foursome that will run for the title.

The final margin was six points better than teammate Denny Hamlin, who finished seventh and led four laps.

So after all the hype and worry for the non-fans, Joe Gibbs Racing managed to get two cars in the Championship 4. Busch gets to defend his title and Carl Edwards -- thanks to his win at Texas last week -- gets to make a bid to purge the nightmare of the 2011 title hunt from his soul.

There won't be any ties this time around. Finish in front of your challengers, hold the big trophy.

-Let's face facts here: We're all pretty much thankful that Cup driver participation will be limited in the XFINITY Series next season. After what happened for the inaugural Chase, it's easy to understand why.

For the fourth time in the six Chase races, a Cup regular won. For the 10th time in his 17 starts (half the schedule), Kyle Busch ended up in Victory Lane at the Ticket Galaxy 200.

It was Busch's third win in the last four races he's entered, and it was dominating as usual. He led 190 of the 200 laps at Phoenix and finished the year with 2,052 laps led out of a possible 2,995.

That's 69 percent of the total, folks. Is it any wonder why his presence was so reviled by the skeptics? Personally, it's hard to stomach a race when someone is so off-the-charts dominant.

Not quite like the days when the race winner won by laps, but it's pretty close.

Rant aside, the Championship Four for Homestead will be Elliott Sadler, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Justin Allgaier. The group finished with nine of the 11 victories earned by series regulars. The other two were by part-timers in Justin Marks (Mid-Ohio) and Sam Hornish Jr. (Iowa 1).

With Allgaier in the mix for the title, we could very well finish with a champion that didn't win a race for the year. The odds are long, but it will leave a bad mark on the series if it happens.

-The Camping World Truck Series has drivers from four different race teams who will run for the title Friday night at Homestead. Johnny Sauter (GMS Racing), Matt Crafton (ThorSport), Christopher Bell (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and Timothy Peters (Red Horse Racing) are the ones who made it through the inaugural Chase for NASCAR's No. 3 series.

On the surface, Sauter could easily be pegged as the favorite following back-to-back wins at Martinsville and Texas. He added a runner-up effort at Phoenix, so serious momentum is on his side.

Matt Crafton -- Sauter's former teammate at ThorSport -- already has two truck titles on his resume and would move into second place on the all-time series list behind Ron Hornaday's four if he beats his challengers at Homestead.

Crafton was runner-up to Sauter at Texas and finished third at Phoenix. As he looks for title No. 3, it's not about racing for points now.

Christopher Bell kept KBM in the title hunt and made up for the loss of teammate and pre-Chase favorite William Byron. Byron's Chase hopes went up in smoke when he lost an engine and finished 27th at Phoenix.

And like the XFINITY Series, we could crown a champ who didn't win a race. Peters finished with four top-5s in the six Chase races, so that will serve him and Red Horse Racing well.

Will the champion be required to take the checkered flag to win the title? It's a mystery that will be fun to explore this weekend, particularly on the XFINITY and Truck side. Unknowns are good, but holding great big trophies will be much better.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @TommyZee81 or email tominator19@yahoo.com.

THIS WEEK'S RACES
Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Homestead, Florida.
-SPRINT CUP: Ford EcoBoost 400, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.
2015 champion: Kyle Busch.
-XFINITY SERIES: Ford EcoBoost 300, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
2015 champion: Kyle Larson
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Ford EcoBoost 200, Friday, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 201 miles, 134 laps.
2015 champion: Matt Crafton.

Mr. Johnson heads to Homestead

After two years of wondering what's wrong with Jimmie Johnson, we can safely say he's finally got this new Chase thing pretty much down pat.

At a track he's basically dominated in the past, Johnson grabbed another dose of Martinsville Speedway magic and earned his ninth career win Sunday in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at the paper clip. Another grandfather clock -- the standard trophy the track awards to the race winner -- is nice, but a shot at his seventh championship likely has the driver of the No. 48 a little more excited this week.
Johnson can use the upcoming races at Texas and Phoenix to get himself mentally ready for the mission at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Unlike in years past, where he basically had to stay out of trouble and get a decent-enough finish to claim the checkered flag trophy, Johnson actually has to -- wait for it -- race hard come Nov. 20.
He'll only have three other drivers to worry about, but finishing ahead of them is the only way to guarantee he'll be alongside Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with the most championships in NASCAR history.
The 41-year-old from El Cajon, Calif., now has 79 career wins, only four behind Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time list and five behind Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison. Elite company, indeed.
In his 15 full-time seasons in Sprint Cup, the fewest wins Johnson has had is two (2011). With his win at Martinsville, this is the third time the Hendrick Motorsports driver has had four checkered flags in a season (2005, 2014).
So how well will Jimmie really need to do at Homestead? He's finished ninth in each of the last three races there. Not bad, but both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch won to make sure they secured the championship.
Johnson hasn't so much as led a lap at Homestead since 2012. Take it for what it's worth, but it's clearly go time this time around.
There are still two races left in the final round before the Championship 4, but Johnson has dealt a big blow to all four Joe Gibbs Racing cars in their Chase for the title. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch finished third, fourth and fifth at Martinsville, but Joey Logano is lurking as another potential party spoiler after he finished ninth.
Then again, winning matters, and Carl Edwards -- even though he finished 36th after wrecking Sunday -- still has a shot.
He needs a win, but it's still a shot. Same goes for Harvick and Kurt Busch.
Edwards won at Texas in April. Harvick has won six of the last eight at Phoenix and led 994 laps in the last five trips there.
Strap yourself in for the last two races before we set the final four. Nothing is over until the guy in the flag stand says it is.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @TommyZee81 or @Tomzsports. Email him at tominator19@yahoo.com.
THIS WEEK'S RACES
Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Fort Worth, Texas.
-SPRINT CUP: AAA Texas 500, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.
Race distance: 501 miles, 334 laps.
2015 champion: Jimmie Johnson
-XFINITY SERIES: O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
2015 champion: Brad Keselowski
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Longhorn 350, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN affiliate.
Race distance; 350 kilometers (219 miles), 146 laps.
2015 champion: Erik Jones.

Round of 8 set...where did the competition go?

The Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday was a typical Chase race -- Halloween theme not withstanding. We knew there would be four more drivers eliminated, and some of them ended up being serious surprises.

Brad Keselowski looked like he drove for all he was worth. The No. 2 led 90 of the 188 laps, but didn't count on the engine collapsing under the weight of the Chase and the expectations that come with it.
The car didn't perform, so BK's dreams of a second Sprint Cup went away with it. He finished 38th.
Martin Truex Jr. -- he of the on-fire mode with two wins in the first round (Chicago, Dover) -- never had a chance to advance when his engine quit at lap 41.
Any thought of contention vanished after that as Truex would finish 40th.
Such is life in the Chase. Some go all out, others just stay out and survive. All four Joe Gibbs Racing cars did what they had to do and moved one step closer to turning Homestead-Miami Speedway into their own backyard brawl.
Denny Hamlin was the best finisher at Talladega, and his third-place run was just barely good enough to grab the final transfer spot to the round of 8. He ended up tied with Austin Dillon (who finished ninth) and won out on the basis of his Talladega finish. Dillon's best of the second round was a sixth at Kansas, so his dreams are done,
Matt Kenseth had more than enough cushion to advance and did so in spite of finishing 28th on Sunday. He was 10 points ahead of Dillon and Hamlin.
Kyle Busch was even worse in 30th, but he was good enough to get by as well. His final margin came in at plus-6.
And Carl Edwards -- still without Twitter -- was sandwiched between his teammates in 29th. He was four points clear in the end and will continue his quest for the crown.
As things shook out, NASCAR did not penalize any of the JGR cars for the "100 percent effort" rule. Apparently, they did enough and earned their participation pass to the Round of 8.
-What in the world is Kevin Harvick thinking? Post-race pictures from Talladega appeared to show him going after teammate Kurt Busch following their runs Sunday. Harvick already had his win at Kansas to get him through to the next round, and Busch ended up fourth, good enough to finish second in the standings, one point behind Jimmie Johnson.
But apparently Harvick had an issue with a post-race bump Busch gave him on track. It carried over to pit road, and let's just say things will be interesting going forward.
Harvick and Busch are the only other multiple drivers for one team in the Round of 8. Joey Logano -- Sunday's race winner -- and Jimmie Johnson are on their own as they go after the title.
Onward and upward.
-As for the other race of the weekend at Talladega, the Camping World Truck Series had its first elimination of two drivers after the Fred's 250. There were no surprises.
Non-Chaser Grant Enfinger won the race, and Timothy Peters was the highest-finishing Chaser in third. Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek were in must-win mode, but didn't come close.
Hemric finished 11th whilie Nemechek lost an engine after just 13 laps and ended up dead last in 32nd.
William Byron was the only Chaser to win a race in the Round of 8 (New Hampshire), and he'll be joined by teammate Christopher Bell (Kyle Busch Motorsports), Peters, Ben Kennedy, Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton.
Crafton already has two championships on his resume in the truck series, but he knows full well getting No. 3 in the bag will be a wholly different experience.
Will he need to win to advance to Homestead? It will be nice, but pushing too much onto the plate too soon can backfire.
Just ask Keselowski and Truex on the Cup side what that's like. It's certainly not pretty, but that's why this system works.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @TommyZee81 or @Tomzsports. Email tominator19@yahoo.com. He'll be heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NHRA Toyota Nationals final eliminations this Sunday.
THIS WEEK'S RACES
Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval), Martinsville, Virginia.
-SPRINT CUP: Goody's Fast Relief 500, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 500 laps, 263 miles.
2015 champion: Jeff Gordon
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Alpha Energy Solutions 200, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles
2015 champion: Matt Crafton
-XFINITY SERIES: Off until Nov. 5 for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

Kenseth cruises to second win of season

There was a lot of buildup leading into the New Hampshire 301 on Sunday. Brad Keselowski had won the last two races and was starting in the top 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was noticeably absent due to medical issues.

Matt Kenseth stole the spotlight when it counted and enjoyed some lobster for the second straight time by winning on the relatively flat oval at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that runs just over one mile around.
The race didn’t have the most exciting feel as Kyle Busch (133) and Martin Truex Jr. (123) took turns at the front of the field. With only 301 laps to go around – hence the name – that left Kenseth to take control and grab hold of his second win of 2016 (Dover).
After a brief time in the lead before a debris caution at lap 265, Kenseth didn’t take long to get back to the front and earn his 38th career victory. The driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry slugged his way through four cautions in the final 37 laps and led for the last 31.
(UPDATE: ESPN.com reported that Kenseth's car failed post-race inspection. Penalties will likely come by Wednesday after the No. 20 is evaluated at the R&D Center).
Once Kenseth found his way to the front, it was all about who would finish second. To the surprise of some, Tony Stewart was the one who did what he had to do to help strengthen his spot in the Chase with a runner-up effort, his second straight top-5 after wrecking at Daytona.
A final shot at a fourth Sprint Cup championship is getting more likely for Stewart by the race. He sits 28th in points with seven races to go until the cutoff and is 67 ahead of Brian Scott.
Among the other newsworthy items of the weekend:
Earnhardt – who has only been the most popular driver for the last 13 seasons – did not run at New Hampshire due to concussion-like symptoms. It was a big blow for a driver who could not only use a win, but is barely hanging on to a spot in the Chase.
Through Race 19, Junior is hanging on for dear life. He’s the 16th and final driver in the field with only a 14-point cushion over Trevor Bayne.
While Alex Bowman was Earnhardt’s replacement in the No. 88 Chevrolet this week – he qualified 20th and finished 26th as the last car on the lead lap – all signs are pointing to Jeff Gordon coming out of retirement to fill in next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway if Junior isn’t cleared to race.
Hendrick Motorsports general manager Doug Duchardt said in a USA Today story that a final decision on whether Gordon will run at the Brickyard 400 – a race he won five times, the last in 2014 – will be made by Wednesday.
No one at HMS is saying that Earnhardt’s concussion problem is career-threatening, but there’s no timetable for when he’ll return. The whole of the racing community may already be up in arms over Junior missing New Hampshire, but to treat it as a sky-is-falling scenario is just plain wrong.
Saturday’s XFINITY race was another exercise in the continuing world domination of Kyle Busch. Not only did the driver of the NOS Energy No. 18 Toyota win for the sixth time on the season, he did it in just his 10th race.
Busch led 190 of the 200 laps and earned the 82nd win of his career in NASCAR’s No. 2 series.
Consider these stats and you’ll appreciate just how mind-boggling Busch’s achievements are.
He’s run in only 321 XFINITY/Busch races over his career. It translates into a win every 3.9 times he gets in the car.
Busch’s finishes in 2016: Six wins, three seconds, one fourth. He’s been in front for 1,298 of a possible 1,692 laps, a staggering 76.7 percent of the time.
On the upcoming schedule, Busch will run at Indianapolis in the Lilly Diabetes 250, then at Watkins Glen two weeks later. Good news: After that race, he’ll chill on Saturdays until Richmond in September.
For the debut of the XFINITY Series Chase, only three regulars – Erik Jones (two), Daniel Suarez and Elliott Sadler – will be in the 12-driver field based on their victories earned. That speaks loudly to how high a standard Kyle Busch has set.
It’s only impossible for those who don’t try.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval).

-SPRINT CUP: Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 and the IMS Radio Network.

Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.

2015 champion: Kyle Busch

-XFINITY SERIES: Lilly Diabetes 250, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 and the IMS Radio Network.

Race distance: 250 miles, 100 laps.

2015 champion: Kyle Busch.

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby, Eldora Speedway (.500-mile dirt oval), Rossburg, Ohio, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 150 laps, 75 miles.

2015 champion: Christopher Bell.

Kenseth survives three-way battle at Dover

With all of the success enjoyed by the other drivers at Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth may have felt like a fifth wheel. Bad breaks and bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere in 2016.

In the season’s first 11 races, Kenseth’s three teammates – Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin – won six of them. The driver of the No. 20 car could only manage a pair of seventh-place finishes at Phoenix and Richmond.
But after a turn-the-corner moment with a fourth at Kansas last week, Kenseth finally joined the JGR victory party, capturing his first and the race team’s seventh win of 2016 by winning the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.
And the opportunity came with the help of a good break, for a change. Kenseth was able to take the lead just before a Matt DiBenedetto spin at lap 354, and when an 18-car pileup happened off the restart five laps later, it set up a fight to the finish that made for riveting viewing.
First, there was Kyle Larson. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi had his shot over the final five laps and even got to Kenseth’s bumper a few times. There would be no bump-and-run.
"I had gotten close to his bumper a couple times," Larson said to NASCAR Wire Service. "I may have even got into him once. I didn't want to do anything dirty. I respect Matt Kenseth a lot. He's definitely, in my eyes, the cleanest racer out there. He always races me with respect. I try to do the same with him.”
But Kenseth ended up as the one in Victory Lane, earning his 37th Cup win and tying Kyle Busch and Bobby Isaac for 19th on the career list. Lesson for Larson: being a nice guy is one thing, but it doesn’t get you race wins.
Rookie Chase Elliott was also in the mix. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet finished third, best of his career so far. Elliott got by Larson for second with 20 laps to go, but had to give up the position three laps later due to difficulty with lap traffic.
They call Dover the Monster Mile, and everything that happened – from the big late-race wreck (are we sure that wasn’t Talladega?) to the riveting three-way fight to the finish – gave more credence to the nickname.
Every little thing that can help put fans back in the seats is certainly worth it, and the AAA 400 Drive for Autism played a valuable part in making progress toward that goal.
Normally, I don’t spend any time talking about Formula 1 racing here, but from what I saw on my device as I crawled out of bed Sunday morning was a beautiful attention-getter.
The Pirelli Grand Prix of Spain from Barcelona was won by Max Verstappen. Of course, you’re asking “who’s he?” Right?
Verstappen is basically an 18-year-old kid from Belgium who went out and made history, becoming the youngest Formula 1 race winner ever at 18 years, 228 days. Sebastian Vettel was the previous record holder at 21 years, 73 days.
If that doesn’t make you say “whoa,” please check for a pulse.
Verstappen led 30 laps, including the last 23 where he survived a shootout over the 2.89-mile Catalunya course with none other than Kimi Raikkonen (20 career wins, 2007 season champion) bearing down on him. Like Larson, Raikkonen got close but never could complete a pass for the lead.
Verstappen got the win in his 24th start in F1. It was the first time he’s led laps.
If you don’t have the NBC Sports Live Extra app on your device, find a way to watch the replay of the Spanish Grand Prix. It’ll make you believe anything really is possible.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Concord, N.C.

-SPRINT CUP: Sprint Showdown, Friday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

2015 champion: Clint Bowyer

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

2015 champion: Denny Hamlin

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 201 miles, 134 laps.

2015 champion: Kasey Kahne

-XFINITY SERIES: Off until May 28 for the HiSense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Understanding Talladega can be challenge

When the time comes for the 10th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it means a trip to the biggest track in Talladega Superspeedway.

For those who make the trek to the huge 2.66-mile oval that features pre-race parties, restrictor plates, packs of cars inches apart and wrecks that would make Los Angeles freeway drivers look like masters of safety, the visuals are crazy and indescribably entertaining.
The Sunday running of the Geico 500 was no different. He who keeps his race car away from the most trouble usually wins.
By the time 188 laps were run, Brad Keselowski came through with the help of two big pushes off the race’s final restart with two laps left that secured his fourth career victory at Talladega and second of 2016 (Las Vegas).
But it was what happened during the race itself that made Talladega a hair-pulling, maddening, and ultimately entertaining exercise.
Buoyed by the threat of rain that ultimately stayed away, drivers worked the steering wheel with much more urgency than normal in the early stages of the race. There wasn’t just one “big one” (a term that’s become an overused cliché), but three major wrecks that left plenty of sheet metal bent out of whack and egos bruised and battered at the end.
Big One Part One came at lap 96 – just past halfway – when Chris Buescher did three barrel rolls as his No. 34 car got caught in a seven-car wreck that involved Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, among others.
Big One Deux happened at lap 161 and involved 21 cars. It was triggered when Kurt Busch got his car into Johnson’s bumper in the wrong place. Mistake made, carnage ensued.
When Johnson got turned, he hit Paul Menard, and more than half the field couldn’t escape damage.
But the capper of the crash trilogy came just 20 laps later. Matt Kenseth, who had led 39 laps, got the worst of it and let Joey Logano know about it afterwards. As it turned out, the feud from Martinsville last fall was reignited with the incident.
In the end, Keselowski emerged as the winner with another wreck involving seven more cars happening behind him and runner-up Kyle Busch. In total, only 28 of the 40 cars were running in the final finishing order, 21 on the lead lap.
That’s a fact of life at Talladega. Craziness can happen at any moment and lead changes are found in abundance, which makes the racing entertaining and not for those who don’t like the thrill of speed. There were 37 lead changes among 17 drivers at the Geico 500.
And if that wasn’t insane enough, the finish of Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 XFINITY race got everyone talking just as loudly.
On the final lap, Logano and Elliott Sadler were dueling for the win when Logano got turned as he tried to block with the finish line in sight.
As Logano’s car plowed nose-first into the SAFER barrier, Brennan Poole thought he got by and got himself a victory.
But when the tape was reviewed, Sadler was awarded the win. The video shown on social media sites had the clear answer, showing the moment when the yellow caution light came on and how Sadler was ahead of the field.
It wasn’t the cleanest way to win, but it didn’t change the outcome. The right call was made, no matter who got angry.
And it all came on NASCAR’s biggest, baddest and most infuriating track. That’s why it’s a weekend that’s always worth looking forward to for any race fan.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email him at tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval), Kansas City, Kansas

-SPRINT CUP: GoBowling.com 400, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN affiliate.

Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

2015 champion: Jimmie Johnson

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Toyota Tundra 250, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN affiliate.

Race distance: 250.5 miles, 167 laps.

2015 champion: Matt Crafton

-XFINITY SERIES: Off until May 14 at Dover International Speedway. 

Johnson wins at Texas, shakes up Chase

After all the chaos from a crazy week of NASCAR discussion, from so-called “driver codes” to debate over Matt Kenseth’s two-race suspension, Sunday finally arrived and a key race happened at Texas Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski looked like he’d be a lock to join Jeff Gordon in the championship four at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading 312 of 334 laps in the AAA Texas 500. There was one small problem at the end, though.

Jimmie Johnson made sure Keselowski didn’t lead the last one.
Johnson bided his time after a restart, survived several block attempts, and took the lead from Keselowski with four laps to go to win at Texas, his 75th Sprint Cup victory. The effects were felt far and wide for Keselowski, who now finds himself on the outside looking in instead of getting ready to race at Homestead for his second championship in four seasons.
Keselowski is 19 points behind Martin Truex Jr., who holds the last coveted transfer spot to be in the Championship 4. His Penske Racing teammate, Joey Logano – the man who initiated all the hubbub and discussion after getting wrecked by Kenseth at Martinsville last week – had a far worse day, blowing out a left-rear tire nine laps in, wrecking and finishing 40th.
With only next week’s race at Phoenix left to settle the quartet who will run for the championship, the mission is crystal-clear for Keselowski and Logano.
Win on the 1-mile oval in the desert or watch title aspirations disappear. And the odds of either one getting it at Phoenix are long, mainly because Kevin Harvick has won four in a row and five of the last six there.
As I sifted through the radio chatter, social media ranting, and general white noise over the Logano vs. Kenseth incident, two very large thoughts popped into my head.
First, there were still 47 laps left at Martinsville when Logano’s No. 22 car was deposited into the Turn 4 wall by Kenseth. Logano had led 207 laps up to that point, but Jeff Gordon had a strong car that was better on longer runs.
It was far from a lock that Logano would have gotten to Victory Lane if Kenseth didn’t get to him first, which he did.
Second, NASCAR’s punishment of Kenseth wasn’t surprising, yet left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Logano took out Kenseth as both drivers were racing for a win at Kansas, and Kenseth was none too pleased, calling the 25-year-old a “liar” when Logano was quoted as saying he didn’t wreck him on purpose.
NASCAR chairman Brian France weighed in and said he didn’t see any problems with that incident, calling it “quintessential NASCAR” on the “SiriusXM Speedway” show the day after it happened.
Fast forward to Kenseth’s revenge, and the reactions from the big bosses did a flip-flop of sorts, depending on which side of the fence the fans felt was theirs to take.
But there was one major difference in Kenseth’s approach at Martinsville. He was nowhere near in contention for a victory, so NASCAR had no real choice but to hand down the punishment it did.
Kenseth had a right to feel the way he did after what happened at Kansas. He went from a realistic shot at a victory – something NASCAR put a premium on with the revised version of the Chase – to getting eliminated from contention at Talladega the following week.
But his takeout of Logano at Martinsville stepped far over the line of competition and moved into the “eye-for-an-eye” category.
You take me out? That’s fine. But I’ll make darn sure you don’t get a title shot yourself, no matter where I’m at in the running order.
Consequences be damned, I guess.
With Logano’s misfortune at Texas, it was the final capper to one of the sadder stories in recent NASCAR history. The sport has been losing fans at the track and on television, and wild-west style justice incidents haven’t helped.
It’s about time someone took a stand for sanity. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat like this ever again.

Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval), Avondale, Arizona.

-SPRINT CUP: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 500 kilometers (312 miles), 312 laps.

2014 champion: Kevin Harvick

-XFINITY SERIES: DAV 200, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

2014 champion: Brad Keselowski

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Lucas Oil 150, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 150 miles, 150 laps.

2014 champion: Erik Jones

Side note on the NCWTS race: Jones has his championship fate firmly in his own hands. He leads two-time defending champion Matt Crafton by 17 points and Tyler Reddick by 21 heading to Phoenix.

Kenseth suspension worth the effort?

We had to wait a bit longer than normal for NASCAR's penalty police to hand down the punishment for Matt Kenseth after his blatant, deliberate wreck of race leader Joey Logano on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
The verdict is in, and Kenseth has been sent to the sidelines for the next two races. No Texas. No Phoenix. A definite disruption in the force of what had been a pretty special playoff format that's leaving more questions behind with every incident, on-track or off.
It isn't hard to figure out why it happened. Three weeks ago at Kansas, Logano turned Kenseth sideways in the closing laps and won the race. Kenseth didn't advance after the Contender round and was seething over what happened.
Kenseth called Logano a "liar" at one point over description of the Kansas incident. On Sunday, the 2003 champion got his revenge.
But what was the real cost? According to the rules, Logano still has two more shots to advance to the four-driver championship fight at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He'll probably need a win at Texas or Phoenix, but he was going for four in a row before Kenseth got to him and took him for a ride into the wall at NASCAR's shortest track.
What's to stop Logano from getting right back on the bump and getting to Victory Lane again? Only one person -- Joey himself.
Some of my media brethren have written and discussed how NASCAR is starting to blur the dividing line between sport and entertainment. Kyle Petty called the Kenseth-Logano incident "a black eye" for the sport.
It was a punch that certainly wobbled the character a bit, but the fans are talking about it. Many vow to never return to buying tickets or watching the races on TV, but they certainly know how to vent on social media.
And there are just as many, if not more, who would give Kenseth a pat on the back in appreciation if they could. Yes, NASCAR had to hand down some sort of punishment over what happened. It would have been absolutely insane if they let him off with a fine and no suspension.
Unlike at Kansas, Kenseth was multiple laps down at Martinsville after getting tangled with Brad Keselowski, Logano's teammate. He had intent to take out Logano and did so. Justice served, racer style.
Here's one last thought. If "boys have at it" is the operating mantra for NASCAR, drivers need to quit complaining when incidents like the ones at Martinsville happen.
It may be the "wild, wild West," as Denny Hamlin described, but it beats the alternative.
If Logano can win either of the next two races and get his title shot again at Homestead, it will only prove one thing. Tough times don't last. Tough racers always do, and Logano can fit that bill perfectly in the days to come.

A crazy day in motor sports

As I sit waiting for the NHRA Toyota Nationals to run the final rounds of the four pro classes at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the emotions ride all of the extremes, from celebration to confusion to occasional bouts of irritation.
The celebration is the easy part. For the first time in NHRA's Countdown era, Las Vegas has crowned two champions a full race early. If there's one word to describe what Erica Enders-Stevens has done, the choice is easy.

Simply amazing. Oh, wait...that's two words, but a lot more superlatives would be just as appropriate.
When fans of straight-line racing talk about the greats of the NHRA, Shirley Muldowney is one of the first women who come to mind. She won three Top Fuel titles in 1977, 1980 and 1982.
Even better and a bit more recent, Angelle Sampey ruled Pro Stock Motorcycle three straight years, from 2000 to 2002.
What Enders-Stevens has done takes special to another level.
When she broke through for her first Pro Stock car title last year, the 32-year-old Texan had to sit out two races during the Western Swing as her race team had difficulty securing sponsorship. In spite of that, she somehow found a way to get past Jason Line at the Pomona final and grab the Golden Wally trophy.
As she told me at the pre-race press lunch in Las Vegas on Thursday, finding sponsorship is still a challenge, but a full season at Elite Motorsports with multiple teammates has made a difference. Enders-Stevens has nine event wins on the season and has absolutely demoralized the competition at Las Vegas with four straight event wins to go with 22 round wins in a row.
When your season is only 24 races long, that's called serious world domination.
NASCAR's only big deal among female racers is Danica Patrick. She's a marketer's dream, but hasn't produced much in the way of winning on the track. Jennifer Jo Cobb hasn't gone much beyond the Camping World Truck Series and hasn't won, either.
But the NHRA has multiple ladies who've been successful in addition to Enders-Stevens, who has 21 career victories. Alexis DeJoria has three Funny Car career wins, Courtney Force has eight wins and some famous family in father and 16-time champion John Force, while sister Brittany has been to six final rounds in her budding career.
Living proof that when it comes to drag racing, the girl power is far greater.
And to put a bow on the madness, Jeff Gordon won't be shut out of the win column in his final season after all. It came with help from the Matt Kenseth-Joey Logano feud that officially reached the boiling point.
With 47 laps to go in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Kenseth -- driving a car that was far from competitive -- ran down Logano and ran him into the wall, effectively ruining his day and a free pass for the 22 into the final at Homestead in three weeks.
But while the social media universe has thrown out every bit of ugliness known to man, there's one fact that can't be ignored. Unless NASCAR parks Kenseth for next week's race at Texas, the battle is far from over. It's become personal instead of professional, and that's a shame.
Followers and comments are welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.
NEXT WEEK'S RACES
Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Fort Worth, Texas
-SPRINT CUP: AAA Texas 500, Sunday, 2 p.m  ET/11 a.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.
Race distance: 501 miles, 334 laps
2014 champion: Jimmie Johnson
-XFINITY SERIES: O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps
2014 champion: Kyle Busch
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Winstar World Casino 350, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 350 kilometers (219 miles), 146 laps.
2014 champion: Kyle Busch

Logano sweeps Contender races amid controversy

As the CampingWorld.com 500 unfolded Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, there were more than enough good storylines to get and keep fan interest.

We knew four more drivers would see their Sprint Cup title dreams come crashing to an end. We knew the so-called Big One could happen at any time with all of the inches-apart, three- and four-wide pack racing that happens on NASCAR’s biggest track that measures 2.66 miles around.
At first, there was the serious prospect that the 188-lap race would be run completely caution-free, but that thought was dashed when Justin Allgaier lost his engine at lap 132. When the only other yellow flag flew, all insanity broke loose.
And Halloween is still a few days away. Then again, what followed in the closing laps was crazy and chaotic all by itself.
That is, before defending champion Kevin Harvick got involved.
The race’s second caution came out at lap 185 when Jamie McMurray lost his engine and forced a green-white-checkered finish, the only attempt NASCAR would allow. As USA Today motor sports writer Jeff Gluck wrote, the finish became “simply a colossal embarrassment.”
It all started when, on the first restart attempt, an 11-car group at the middle of the pack got tangled before the leaders crossed the starting line.
On the second try at the first restart, Harvick, who had an engine that was basically on its last legs, turned into Trevor Bayne and caused a wreck that handed the victory to Logano over Dale Earnhardt Jr., completing a sweep of the three Contender round races.
At a track where son and his late father combined for 16 wins, including Junior’s most recent one in May, the fans in attendance were none too pleased – along with several drivers – at the end result.
With the field frozen at the point of the wreck, Harvick finished 15th to keep his chances to repeat alive. Harvick finished six points ahead of Ryan Newman, who was eliminated at Talladega along with Kenseth, Dale Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
Kenseth, Hamlin, and Bayne did plenty to express their disgust at the outcome.
“What a joke we have a car with no motor wreck the field to end the race,” Hamlin tweeted afterward. “Complete crap. Sorry to anyone who spent $ coming to this circus.”
Kenseth doesn’t do Twitter, but he had plenty to say about Harvick’s intent.
“He clipped him and caused a wreck because he knew he’d make the (next round of the) Chase that way,” Kenseth said in the USA Today story.
The winner of five races in 2015 told USA Today’s Mike Hembree the closing laps “wasn’t really racing to be honest with you. It was just a bunch of games going on.”
Bayne added his thoughts this way: “That’s a crappy way for Harvick to have to get in the Chase, is to wreck somebody -- what I believe to be on purpose.”
NASCAR didn’t think so, at least not yet, following a video review by officials.
“We don’t see anything there that is suspect so far,” NASCAR vice chairman Mike Helton said.
Enter those fantastic key words: So far. Could there be more to come on this? Will any new evidence come to light that restores some happy vibes to a race that turned memorable for nothing but ugly reasons?
As the Chase heads to the final round over the next three weeks at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix, only fortune tellers may know for sure.

Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval), Martinsville, Virginia

-SPRINT CUP: Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 powered by Kroger, Sunday, 1:15 p.m. ET/10:15 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 500 laps, 263 miles.

2014 champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Kroger 200, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles.

2014 champion: Darrell Wallace Jr.

-XFINITY SERIES: Off until Nov. 7 for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

Logano takes out Kenseth, wins at Kansas

He didn’t have anything to lose after his win last week at Charlotte, but Joey Logano wasn’t about to lie down for anyone as he raced for another victory in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.
Matt Kenseth, in desperate search of anything resembling a shred of momentum and title-chasing hopes, found out what that meant in the closing laps around the 1.5-mile oval.

Logano pulled off the bump-and-run on Kenseth with five laps to go to take the lead and held on in a green-white-checkered finish to pick up his second straight win and give the remaining drivers in the Contender round of the Chase plenty to think about with the next elimination on deck Oct. 25 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The proof is clearly in the points. After Logano, only seven more drivers will keep championship hope alive, and second through 10th place is separated by a total of 20 points.
That will make Talladega – already an unpredictable wild-card when the Chase isn’t involved – a viewing and racing experience that will border on downright insane.
With Kansas in the rear-view mirror, Martin Truex Jr. would be the last driver to advance to the Eliminator round of the Chase. He has a six-point cushion on Kyle Busch and is eight points ahead of Ryan Newman.
And on the flip side of the coin, Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. may want to get advice from Kevin Harvick on how to win when their backs are clearly against the wall.
Kenseth may have gone from leading 153 of the 267 laps to finishing a decent 14th, but it wasn’t nearly good enough to counter last week’s 42nd-place showing at Charlotte. He’s in 12th, 35 points behind Truex Jr.
Directly in front of Kenseth sits Dale Jr. at 31 points behind the cutoff. He may have won the GEICO 500 at Talladega in May, but there’s no amount of looking at past film that can be done to figure out a way to win again. This race, the CampingWorld.com 500, is all about keeping the car in one piece and making moves toward the front at the right times. Those who do will continue on in the Chase, while the rest will be left to lament what might have been.
For those who love drag racing, the NHRA Toyota Nationals is on deck Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s the penultimate stop of the season to determine the 2015 champions in the four professional classes – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock car and Pro Stock motorcycle.
After the weekend’s action finished up at Texas Motorplex outside of Dallas, three champions could potentially be crowned in two weeks. In Top Fuel, Antron Brown enjoys a 132-point cushion over Tony Schumacher and in Pro Stock, defending champion Erica Enders-Stevens leads Greg Anderson by 154.
Enders-Stevens is not only closing in on another championship, she has ruled the day at Las Vegas with three straight event victories and an 18-round winning streak. At 20 points per round win to go with additional bonuses for qualifying position and setting new track records, don’t be surprised if Enders-Stevens exits Las Vegas with her second golden Wally championship trophy.
Brown may have the inside track on his second title in the last four seasons (2012), but Schumacher has a history of stealing thunder in shocking fashion as his eight championships in the category, including 2014, will attest.
Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle will have title fights that go down to the wire when the series hits the season finale at Pomona, Calif. on Nov. 12. Del Worsham, who won at Las Vegas last fall, also won at Texas over Jack Beckman in the final and increased his lead to 38 points.
In PSM, Andrew Hines probably breathed a sigh of relief after teammate Eddie Krawiec lost to Jerry Savoie in the final round at Texas. The end result means Hines, in search of a second straight championship, kept a 21-point lead heading to Las Vegas.
Jason Line (2012 in Pro Stock) and John Force (2013 in Funny Car) have won NHRA championship Wally trophies in the Countdown era at Las Vegas. If the current battles are any indication, it’s worth making the trek south in two weeks to see who may be next.

Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile D-shaped oval), Talladega, Ala.

-SPRINT CUP: CampingWorld.com 500, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 500 miles, 188 laps

2014 champion: Brad Keselowski

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Fred's 250 presented by Coca-Cola, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 250 miles, 94 laps.

2014 champion: Timothy Peters.

Kenseth wins Charlotte pole, JGR strong again

As the Contender round of the Chase begins, qualifying happened Thursday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the final Saturday night race of the season, the Bank of America 500.
Once again, the Joe Gibbs cars were all strong and will start up front, led by Matt Kenseth on the pole. Kyle Busch -- who still hasn't won a Chase race since his rookie year in 2005 -- joins him onthe front row, Denny Hamlin starts fifth and Carl Edwards goes off from eighth.
Among the other notables in the 12 who are still alive for the Sprint Cup title, Jeff Gordon has the toughest challenge as he will start 22nd. Race winners don't come from outside the top 10 very often at Charlotte, but Brad Keselowski won the fall race at CMS from 23rd two years ago.
In fact, four of the last 10 winners have started from 15th or worse, so it really can happen. Just don't put any money down on it.
Your link to the full field for the Bank of America 500 can be found here. Thank you for checking in.

Best of times, worst of times at Loudon

On any other day – at least one in the regular season – Matt Kenseth’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway would have been a bigger story for some obvious reasons. A Chase berth secured along with a chance at his second Sprint Cup championship.
While Sunday’s victory at the Sylvania 300 was the best of times for Kenseth – including a ticket to the Contender round of the Chase – it was overshadowed by the worst of times for other drivers with one more race left in the Challenger round.

Kenseth was able to keep his chances at another Sprint Cup trophy alive because defending champion Kevin Harvick got overconfident for the second straight week. This time, the fuel tank of the No. 4 went dry after leading 216 of the 300 laps and put Harvick’s chances at repeating on life support.
As the series heads to Dover International Speedway this weekend, Harvick is one of the four drivers who will be eliminated from title contention unless they do one thing.
It’s winning time.
Harvick’s misfortune came late in Sunday’s race with a 21st-place finish, but there were other exhibits of malaise that turned the standings on its collective head.
Surprisingly, Kyle Busch was the first victim. When his right front tire blew out at 160, it required extensive repairs to the No. 18 Toyota and Busch ended up 37th.
The end result: Busch fell from fourth all the way to 13th. The good news: Busch is only one point behind bubble driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 25th on Sunday.
Adding to the stress for Dover, two more drivers are adding to the potential chaos. Busch is tied with Paul Menard, and Jamie McMurray is a single point in front of Earnhardt in 11th place. Only two of the quartet will make it to the next round.
Even further up the standings, that pesky issue of restart enforcement claimed a pretty big victim at New Hampshire. Brad Keselowski was busted for jumping the restart with 58 laps to go while battling with Greg Biffle for the lead.
Keselowski fell back as far as 25th, but rallied to finish 12th and took out his frustration by calling NASCAR “an entertainment sport, not a fair sport.”
The 2012 champ is in a relatively safe position – eighth in points, 16 clear of Busch and Menard – but his comments make you wonder about how much truth is behind the words and how much is emotion.
Keselowski has an intelligent head on his shoulders, but the statement he made Sunday was as thick with emotion. When a championship is on the line, anything that throws the dream even the slightest bit out of whack brings out the competitive beast in anyone, but especially if he drives fast in circles for a living.
With one more race before the first four drivers see their title dreams fall to pieces, figure this as you get ready for this weekend’s race: winning is still the biggest point of emphasis, and a little help along the way – from rules, the fuel tank, or divine intervention – never hurts.

Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports. Tom will be at next week's NCWTS Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 501st race in the history of the series, and have discussion on reports of Tony Stewart's retirement after 2016 later this week.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval), Dover, Delaware.

-SPRINT CUP: AAA 400, Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET,/11:30 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps

2014 champion: Jeff Gordon

-XFINITY SERIES: Hisense 200, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

2014 champion: Kyle Busch

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Rhino Linings 350, Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Saturday, 10 p,m. ET/7 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 350 kilometers (219 miles), 147 laps.

2014 champion: Erik Jones.

Hamlin wins, Harvick fumes at Chicagoland

With all that went on from the opening race of the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, NASCAR fans may need a few extra minutes of water-cooler talk time to process all that went on.
The main exhibit came with Denny Hamlin. He’s part of the red-hot Joe Gibbs Racing team, but no one expected what he pulled off on a perfect day for racing in the Midwest.

Hamlin, torn ACL in his knee and all, not only survived a spin early in the MyAfibRisk.com 400, but led nine laps and took the checkered flag to punch his automatic ticket into the Contender round of the Chase.
Hamlin’s effort leads to Exhibit B, better known as how karma bit defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick squarely in the backside and dealt a serious blow to his chances of repeating.
Earlier in the week, Harvick flashed some serious bravado by declaring this about the JGR drivers, as written by Kenny Bruce in a story published on NASCAR.com after Chase media days Thursday:
"I wouldn't consider us behind the Gibbs cars," Harvick said. "I've raced against the Gibbs cars. I think we're going to pound them into the ground, that's what I think. Hopefully they can beat themselves."
That certainly didn’t happen Sunday.
Strike one in the bulletin-board wars, not to mention a pretty good pounding, went against Harvick, and pretty badly at that. Hamlin came all the way from 29th – with qualifying rained out, the field was set on speeds from the first practice session – and won the race. Harvick, who started on the pole as fastest from at that same session, got together with Jimmie Johnson, took a hard hit into the wall at lap 139, and finished 42nd, matching his absolute worst finish of the season (Pocono 2).
Adding to the indignity of the moment, it was just the fifth time all year Harvick has finished outside the top 10 in 27 races. To top it all off, the other JGR drivers all finished in the top 10 – Carl Edwards was second, Matt Kenseth finished fifth and Kyle Busch came home in ninth.
Cameras caught Johnson trying to talk with Harvick at his hauler over what happened after the race, but Harvick was in no mood, giving Johnson a few good shoves before his PR guy is shown leading him into a waiting car.
Johnson never made a move toward Harvick to escalate things, and it was probably for the better.
As things stand, Harvick has every right to be mad, but it’s mainly because his mouth wrote the check his car couldn’t cash. With only two races to run before the bottom four in the standings are eliminated, Harvick basically has one mission.
It’s win or get ready to hand off the championship trophy to someone else.
History is on Harvick’s side in the battle to be the champ. One year ago, he had to win at Phoenix to advance to the Championship round at Homestead. Then he had to win at Homestead to win the title, beating Ryan Newman by only a half-second.
That was then. The odds are a lot longer now.
After Chicago, Harvick is 22 points behind Jeff Gordon, who holds the 12th and last transfer spot into the next round. The deficit is not impossible to overcome, but with only two races to do it, a win at either New Hampshire this weekend or Dover on Oct. 4 will take the pressure off.
Harvick was runner-up at Dover in May and finished third at New Hampshire in July, so the experience is there.
In order to overcome the disaster that was Chicagoland, the champ needs to keep his head down, his mouth shut, and do the necessary work to keep his title hopes alive.

Followers and comments welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058-mile oval), Loudon, New Hampshire.

-SPRINT CUP: Sylvania 300, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 300 laps, 317.4 miles.

2014 champion: Joey Logano

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: UNOH 175, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 175 laps, 185.15 miles

2014 champion: Cole Custer

-XFINITY SERIES: VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300, Kentucky Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval), Sparta, Kentucky, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

2014 champion: Brendan Gaughan

Kenseth wins Richmond, Chase field is set

Aric Almirola tried his best to do what he had to do, but came up just short. In the end, Matt Kenseth dominated and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, earning his fourth victory of the 2015 season by leading 352 of the 400 laps. It was Kenseth’s second-highest total of laps led in a race in his career.

With the top 16 drivers now officially locked in for this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup that begins next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, Almirola made a strong push late in the race to make the playoff field for the second year in a row. After beating Kyle Busch off pit road on the race’s final pit stop, he restarted third with 17 laps to go.
The driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Foods/Waffle House Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports couldn’t challenge Kenseth and ended up fourth, just his second top-five finish of the season. It wouldn’t be good enough to make the Chase.
In total, 11 of the 16 drivers who qualified for this year’s Chase got in with race victories, down two from last season’s total of 13. Kenseth joined Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch with the highest win total of the regular season at four apiece.
Jeff Gordon is among the five non-winners in the field and will get one last shot at capturing his fifth Sprint/Winston Cup championship. Gordon has been shut out of Victory Lane in a season only three times in his 22-year career – his rookie season of 1993, 2008 and 2010. He’s been stuck on 92 career wins since last year’s fall race at Dover.
Ryan Newman and Paul Menard are also competing for this year’s title for Richard Childress Racing, and Newman could potentially surprise the field again. Newman made the championship race a year ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway and fell a half-second short of Kevin Harvick, who won the Ford EcoBoost 400 and his first Sprint Cup crown.
Newman posted only three top-10 finishes (8th at Daytona and Michigan, 10th at Bristol) in the last 10 races. He’ll need similar finishes if he wants a chance at the title again. Newman hasn’t won since the 2013 Brickyard 400 and has led only 19 laps all season.
Menard won the XFINITY race on the road course at Road America in his home state of Wisconsin last month, but has just one career win in 317 Sprint Cup starts. His last top-10 finish came at Michigan in June and he was 26th at Richmond on Saturday.
Menard has led one lap all season (Texas), but his point total was good enough to get him in the playoff field.
Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer are the other non-winners who made the Chase. Like Newman, McMurray hasn’t won a Cup race since 2013 (Talladega 2), but he’s been consistent. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has been anywhere from 11th to 16th in the final running order in nine of the last 11 races, including 13th at Richmond on Saturday.
Bowyer had one of the worst distractions a driver could possibly endure when Michael Waltrip Racing announced Aug. 19 it wouldn’t be racing full-time at season’s end. Bowyer responded with a fifth-place showing at Bristol, 17th at Darlington and 10th at Richmond.
The Emporia, Kansas native has eight Sprint Cup wins in 351 starts, but none since 2012 (Charlotte 2). Bowyer had three wins that year and finished second in points to Brad Keselowski.
As for the rest of the contenders, here's how they'll line up:
-Kenseth: Wins at Bristol 1, Pocono 2, Michigan 2 and Richmond 2. Could be an interesting champion because it's been 12 years since he won his only Sprint Cup title. If he pulls it off, Kenseth matches Terry Labonte, who won his titles in 1984 and 1996.
-Johnson: Always a contender, as six Sprint Cup titles -- all in the Chase era -- can attest. Wins at Atlanta, Texas, Kansas and Dover.
Hasn't been struggling, by any means, but may be thankful Michigan isn't among the Chase tracks. He was 39th in June and 19th in August. Side note: Johnson turns 40 on Thursday.
-Kyle Busch: Story of the year with his comeback from broken ankle and fractured leg. Met every criteria to get in the Chase and may be a serious contender to match big brother Kurt with his own Sprint Cup trophy.
Wins at Sonoma, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Indianapolis, all four coming in a five-week period. Only blips since starting his hot streak: 17th at Daytona, 21st at Pocono and 11th at Michigan. None of those tracks are in the Chase.
-Joey Logano: Three wins on year at Daytona 1, Watkins Glen and Bristol 2. Made final round last year, finished fourth. Since the June Pocono race, where he finished fourth, the Penske Racing driver's worst runs were 22nd at Daytona and 20th at Pocono in August.
Everything else has been no worse than seventh. That's how titles are won.
-Kevin Harvick: Has two wins on the year at Las Vegas and Phoenix, but also one other amazing stat that sticks out like Superman's chest. The defending Sprint Cup champion has finished second 10 times in the first 26 races.
A few more of those may not ease the pain of coming so close so many times, but holding the trophy again at Homestead will be as soothing as an ocean breeze.
Harvick hits the 40-year-old milestone on Dec. 8.
-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Is this the year for Junior Nation to celebrate their driver's first Sprint Cup title? Hendrick Motorsports hasn't won since Junior did it at Daytona in July, so the curiosity factor is there.
Earnhardt's other win came at Talladega, and the field is cut to the Eliminator round after they race there on Oct. 25. Will be one huge party if he finishes the sweep.
-Kurt Busch: Wins at Richmond 1 and Michigan 1. Didn't have the injury issues his little brother did, but missed the first three races due to a NASCAR-mandated suspension for legal matters in the case of alleged domestic violence with ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.
It's been 11 years since he won his Sprint Cup title. Since finishing second to Kyle Busch at Sonoma, Kurt was fifth at Kentucky, then 10th at Loudon and Daytona.
On the flip side, he was eighth at Indianapolis, 37th at Pocono 2, and fifth at Watkins Glen. The first three-race block will be the preferred finishing order to advance out of the Challenger round.
-Carl Edwards: Wins at Charlotte and Darlington.
The memory of finishing in the flat-footed tie for the 2011 championship with Tony Stewart not withstanding, Edwards is in a good place on a race team that's absolutely on fire. Won't be surprising if all four of the Joe Gibbs cars make it to Homestead for a title shot.
-Brad Keselowski: The 2012 Sprint Cup champ earned his win at Auto Club Speedway in March. Since finishing 29th at Daytona in July, BK hasn't missed a top-10 finish, including three runner-up efforts (New Hampshire, Pocono 2 and Darlington). It's the roll you want to be on with this championship format.
-Martin Truex Jr.: Won at Pocono 1 to earn his third career victory. The Furniture Row No. 78 may be a single-car operation based out of Denver, but the New Jersey native has benefited from being there. Truex has led 497 laps this season, second-highest total of his career (581 in 2007).
-Denny Hamlin: Saving the best for last, so to speak. Hamlin's win was at Martinsville in April.
Hamlin tore the ACL in his right knee Tuesday, yet finished sixth at Richmond.
He tore up the other knee in 2010 and nearly -- check that...probably should have -- won the Sprint Cup title.
Hamlin made the final four a year ago. Don't be surprised if he plays well through the pain and gets there again.
For the second year in a row, there are three rounds of three races each that trim the Chase field down to the final four who battle at Homestead to determine who will be celebrated as the Sprint Cup champion for 2015 in Las Vegas in December.
A race win gets a Chaser into the next round, but good finishes can also carry him through. With five non-winners in the field, it’s anyone’s guess who will hold the big trophy.
If last year’s title fight was any indication, race fans are in for another treat this time around.
Followers and comments are welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Chicagoland Speedway (1.5-mile superspeedway), Joliet, Illinois.

-SPRINT CUP: MyAFibRisk.com 400, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affilate.

Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

2014 champion: Brad Keselowski

-XFINITY SERIES: Jimmy John's Freaky Fast 300 powered by Coca-Cola, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

2014 champion: Kevin Harvick

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: American Ethanol E15 225, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps.

2014 champion: Kyle Busch.

A Bristol race worth the noise

This post begins with a bit of a disclaimer. With nearly two decades of journalism work, I've learned that the only cheering worth doing is cheering for a good story.
The Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday gave me plenty of reasons to cheer. I can say without shame that the duel between Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick over the closing laps had me screaming out loud with every pass attempt by the 4 car.
When the last attempt for the lead didn't stick, Logano got the separation he needed and held off Harvick to win the Bristol night race for the second year in a row.
And I'm still catching my breath more than an hour after the race ended.
The best story of the night came with (gasp) a Joe Gibbs Racing driver getting nowhere near Victory Lane. After his win at Michigan, Matt Kenseth lost an engine at lap 110 and finished 42nd.
Even with the disappointment, Kenseth delivered one of the funniest quotes of the night, if not the season on if there was any warning about the engine in his No. 20 Toyota:
“They never warn you. It would be cool if they would send you a text or something."
Ahh, NASCAR drivers can deliver the comedy when it's required, and that is good.
Kyle Busch led 192 laps, but didn't win. He rallied from a loose wheel, fell two laps down, got both back, including one earned the old-fashioned way with a pass of the leader. In the end, a pit-road speeding penalty at lap 432 was Busch's final downfall.
He still finished eighth and has a 46-point cushion over 31st-place Cole Whitt. I'll say it right now -- with two races left until the Chase, Kyle Busch can begin planning his championship push.
Whether he does anything with it is still to be determined.
Carl Edwards led 74 laps, but could only manage a 7th-place finish.
And pole-sitter Denny Hamlin was out front for 54 laps on the way to coming in third.
Among the other random thoughts from the "World's Fastest Half-Mile:"
-With the distractions of the impending shutdown of Michael Waltrip Racing, Clint Bowyer had a tremendous run. The No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota challenged for the lead on several occasions, but finished fifth and improved his chances at getting in the Chase.
Bowyer is still the last driver on the bubble, but his cushion on Aric Almirola improved to 35 points, a gain of 12 that will be key down the stretch.
There's not much room to wiggle, but staying as close to mistake-free as possible at Darlington and Richmond will be a big key to close the deal.
-Jeff Gordon got near the front for a while over the final half of his final Bristol race, but finished four laps down in 20th.
At this point, he's comfortably in the Chase, but a zero in the win column can't be an option.
-Will we have a Ryan Newman sequel? In his 500th career start, Newman finished 10th and is second among the five non-winners who would be in the Chase.
Heck, Paul Menard is an even more engaging possibility. Menard was 24th at Bristol and still hasn't been anywhere near the top 10 since finishing eighth at the Michigan race in June.
Menard's average finish since Michigan 1 is 15.8, yet he's only nine points behind his Richard Childress Racing teammate AND two ahead of Gordon.
Go figure.
-Thank goodness we have a week off. Time to process everything for the stretch drive, but we'll enjoy the Truck and Nationwide Series races in the meantime.
Speaking of the trucks, if you're not a Ryan Blaney fan, here's one huge reason why you should be.
When the Xfinity Series raced at Indianapolis, Blaney was two corners away from a win, but got passed by Kyle Busch and finished second.
The following week at Iowa would have made Taylor Swift smile. Blaney shook off that disappointment with a dominating effort at the U.S. Cellular 250, leading 252 laps (two more than the actual distance due to a green-white-checker finish) and picking up the win.
On the truck side, Blaney got bit by the Busch nightmare, finishing second -- again -- by .157 seconds.
And in another Groundhog Day moment, Blaney turned that misfortune around and found a way to win the UNOH 200 at Bristol on Wednesday despite -- get this -- falling back as far as 21st by lap 50 and not even sniffing the top 10 in the running order consistently until there were 50 laps to go.
Somehow, even after a 46-minute red flag for rain that came with 34 laps left, Blaney evened the score again and beat Busch. His final margin was .512 seconds.
Now you know why cheering for good storylines can work.
Followers and comments are welcome on Twitter @Tomzsports.
NEXT WEEK'S RACES
-XFINITY SERIES: Road America 180 Fired Up By Johnsonville, Road America (4.04-mile road course), Elkhart Lake, Wis., Saturday, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 182.16 miles, 45 laps.
2014 champion: Brendan Gaughan
-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Chevy Silverado 250, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (2.5-mile road course), Bowmanville, Ontario, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.
Race distance: 250 kilometers (157.4 miles), 64 laps.
2014 champion: Ryan Blaney.

No surprise here...JGR rules again at Bristol

The race may not be happening for a few more hours (about nine at the time of this posting), but it's Bristol, baby. Not just any other race, but the Irwin Tools Night Race held qualifying late Friday afternoon.

And in a repeat of last week -- with a slight tweak on the names -- Joe Gibbs Racing drivers will occupy the top three spots at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile."

Denny Hamlin won the pole for Bristol with a lightning-quick run of 131.407 mph, just in front of teammate Kyle Busch, who ran his No. 18 Skittles Toyota around Bristol at 131.263 mph. Carl Edwards will go off third after posting a qualifying speed of 130.655 mph.

Matt Kenseth, last week's winner from the pole at Michigan, qualified a little further back in 13th.

The top three in qualifying from a week ago were Kenseth, Hamlin and Edwards, with Busch finishing sixth.

Got the idea? Better do it now because the Gibbs cars are on a major roll and will be in the title conversation throughout the Chase.

As for those who were in the big news of the week, soon-to-be free agents David Ragan qualified fourth and Clint Bowyer qualified ninth. With the dissolution of Michael Waltrip Racing effective at season's end, the duo is basically in full-on audition mode.

While the racing will probably be the complete opposite of the snoozefest that happened at Michigan, the same fact of life applies for Bristol. If you start near the front, chances are good you'll end up there, too.

Among the last 10 races, the only disturbance in the winning force happened when Kyle Busch came from 19th in the spring race of 2010. Since then, no race winner has started from worse than 12th.

And since my local paper didn't publish it (again), here is your lineup for tonight's Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. Enjoy.

Fuel-mileage gambles backfire at Pocono

When it comes to NASCAR racing at any of the three national series, discussion of fuel mileage makes most people who don’t have an engineering background cringe.
They’ll cry that watching the cars go around a race track for an extended period of time gets boring after awhile, or “it’s just cars turning left and going around in circles all day.”
Those who saw the Windows 10 400 on Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway and believe in the power of logical thinking got a tension-filled finish as the race leaders tried to travel the final 92.5 miles (37 laps on the 2.5-mile triangle track) on a single tank of gas.
Something that should be noted here: a typical tank in a NASCAR Sprint Cup car holds around 18.5 gallons of fuel and averages around 4.5 miles per gallon.
Joey Logano tried to make it. His tank on the No. 22 Ford ran dry with three laps left.
So that opened the door for Kyle Busch, who was only going for his fourth win in a row. He fell a very long straightaway short of the finish line before his fuel cell expired.
Martin Truex Jr. was going for the season sweep of the Pocono races. He never got to the front as his tank burned the last drops of gas before the white-flag lap.
Matt Kenseth, who had never won at Pocono before, let alone in a fuel-mileage fight to the finish, captured the best of both worlds and picked up his second victory of the season.
In the big picture that is the final run to the Chase, Busch’s fuel-mileage gamble didn’t put him into the top 30 in points, but it didn’t push him two steps backward, either. With only five more races to run before the Chase field gets locked down, Busch actually gained some ground, but still needs 13 more points to meet the last condition and get into the run for the title.
In the final finishing order, Truex Jr. was 19th, Logano 20th and Busch 21st. From racing for the win, that’s how badly any gamble on fuel mileage can hurt.
For those who were a little more prudent on fuel – the final 63 laps were run under green – the rewards were great. In addition to Kenseth, who finished a comfortable nine seconds ahead of Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle completed one of the more unlikely top-5 runs they’ve had in a long while.
Biffle sat 14th in the running order with 10 laps to go, Gordon was 16th and Dale Jr. was 17th. For Biffle, it was just his second top-5 run of the entire year and first since a runner-up to Carl Edwards at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May.
That’s how fast things can change. One driver’s heartbreak is another one’s nirvana, or so the saying goes.
For Kyle Busch, though, Sunday’s disappointment is only a minor bump in the road. As the series hits the road course at Watkins Glen next weekend, Busch already has two wins there (2008, 2013) and an average finish of 11.3 in 10 career starts.
He’s also the last driver to sweep the road course races (Sonoma), having done the double in 2008.
As the final five races to the Chase unfold, keep your eyes open the rest of the way. You just never know where the next roll of the automotive dice will lead.

-Among the cooler developments of the race weekend, Saturday's XFINITY Series race was nothing short of awesome, especially for how the win unfolded.

Ryan Blaney should have won last week at Indianapolis, but made one measly mistake that was just enough for Kyle Busch to slide by him on the final lap and get the victory. With Busch and the rest of the Cup regulars staying away, Blaney didn't have it easy in the stretch run at Rusty Wallace's 7/8-mile oval.

The 22 had to survive four restarts over the final 24 laps, but Blaney held off a charging Brendan Gaughan early and Regan Smith late to earn his first win of 2015. Blaney led 252 laps -- two more than the original advertised race distance -- and it was just barely good enough.

Let that effort be a lesson to all of us. If you make mistakes, you get back up, dust yourself off, and come back better than you were before.
One other note to update everyone on, since the Utah papers did not do so: Michael Self, who makes his home in Park City, made his XFINITY debut at Iowa on Saturday night. After qualifying 19th, he was running really well and staying on the lead lap in the 01 for Nebraska Transport Company in a Chevrolet, but made contact with the wall at lap 145 and ended up 32nd.

Tom Zulewski has covered multiple forms of auto racing in his 18 years as a sports journalist. Readers from wherever they are in the world can join the merry band of Twitter followers @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile road course), Watkins Glen, N.Y.

SPRINT CUP: Cheez-It 355 at the Glen, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 355 kilometers (220.5 miles), 90 laps

2014 champion: A.J. Allmendinger

XFINITY SERIES: Zippo 200 at the Glen, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 200.9 miles, 82 laps.

2014 champion: Marcos Ambrose.

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until Aug. 15 for the Careers for Veterans 200 Presented By Cooper Standard and Brad Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation at Michigan International Speedway.