NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Hamlin Chimes In With Fifth Martinsville Victory
With past nemesis Brad Keselowski beating on his bumper in the closing laps of Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Denny Hamlin kept control of his car and sped to his first checkered flag since he won at Talladega on May 4, 2014.
The victory marked Hamlin’s fifth at Martinsville, his most at any track. He is now all but guaranteed a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – bad news for his competitors, as Hamlin made the Championship 4 last season.
During the race, the No. 11 driver posted three of the four fastest laps, including the quickest one (96.310 mph on lap 66).
Hamlin, who calls Chesterfield, Virginia home, notched his 25th career win, tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Weatherly for the most victories by a driver from the Old Dominion State.
On the season, he boasts three top-five finishes and a 102.5 driver rating.
Harvick’s String Of Top Twos Comes To An End
Kevin Harvick raced well on Sunday at Martinsville with the most laps led (154) and the second-highest driver rating (129.0), but did not race well enough to continue his streak of eight consecutive top-two finishes. He placed eighth.
The No. 4 Chevrolet driver’s streak was the longest since 1975, when NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty strung together a record 11 consecutive top-two finishes.
Harvick’s run began on Nov. 2, 2014 when he finished runner-up to Jimmie Johnson at Texas and contained four wins (Phoenix, ’14 and ‘15; Homestead, ‘14; Las Vegas, ‘15) as well as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
Below is a list of time units Harvick’s streak can be measured by:
147 days
4 months, 27 days
21 weeks
3,528 hours
211,680 minutes
12,700,800 seconds
Harvick’s hot start has helped him build a comfortable 24-point lead over Joey Logano in the standings.
Truex Jr. Leads Furniture Row To Another Top 10
In one offseason, Martin Truex Jr. has transformed his performance.
After the first six races of 2015, the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet driver claims six top 10s – one more than the five he collected in all of last season. The six consecutive top 10s are also a career best for Truex.
He joins Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano as the only drivers to start the season with top 10s in all six races. The record for consecutive top 10s to start a season is 11, set by Morgan Shepherd in 1990.
At Martinsville, the New Jersey native led a season-high 23 laps on his way to a sixth-place showing. Still hunting for his first win, he ranks third in the points standings, eight notches below Joey Logano for second and 32 behind Kevin Harvick’s torrid first-place pace.
Entering the Ducker Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 11 (7:30 p.m. ET on FOX), Truex claims a 101.2 driver rating, 6.2 average finish and 26 fastest laps.
Danica Patrick Posts Strong Finish At Martinsville; Sets Female Mark
Danica Patrick joined Janet Guthrie as the female with the most top-10 finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition (five), following her seventh-place showing at Martinsville.
Patrick’s finish tied the second-best result of her career (Kansas-1, 2014). Her previous high showing was sixth at Atlanta last season.
The No. 10 Chevrolet driver battled from a lap down to finish better than all three of her Stewart-Haas Racing teammates: former NSCS champions Kevin Harvick (8th), Kurt Busch (14th) and Tony Stewart (20th). She currently ranks 16th on the Chase Grid and would qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs if they began today.
Ragan Rallies For High Finish
David Ragan navigated Martinsville Speedway almost as well as Ferdinand Magellan navigated the high seas, working his way from the 20th starting position to a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s STP 500.
Not only was the showing Ragan’s best since subbing for Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but it was also his best finish since winning the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 5, 2014.
Ragan’s performance was just one highlight on the day for JGR. The Huntersville, North Carolina-based organization placed three drivers in the top five: winner Denny Hamlin, fourth-place Matt Kenseth and Ragan.
JGR newcomer Carl Edward stayed up front most of the day with a 7.5 average running position and 13 laps led, but had a tough-luck 17th-place finish.
Team Penske Off To Impressive Start
One year after leading Team Penske to its organization record for wins in a season with 11, Brad Keselowski (six wins; most in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) and Joey Logano (five wins; second-most in the NSCS) have carried their performances into 2015.
Logano ranks second in the NSCS points standings – 24 points behind Kevin Harvick – and claims one win, three top fives and six top 10s. Keselowski sits fourth in the NSCS points standings – 57 points behind Harvick – and owns one win, two top fives and five top 10s.
Combined, the tandem boasts two wins (33.3%), 11 top 10s (91.7%) and five top fives (41.6%) in 12 total starts.
In addition to their gaudy traditional statistics, Keselowski and Logano have posted stellar loop data results. Logano is second in the NSCS in driver rating (115.3), average running position (5.925) and fastest laps run (117). Keselowski ranks third in the NSCS in driver rating (104.6) and fastest laps run (112), and is fourth in average running position (9.664).
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Season Update: Who’s Hot, Hotter And Hottest
As the NASCAR XFINITY Series pauses this holiday weekend, the opportunity arises to take a look at who has been standing out through the first five races of the season. Below is a look at the hottest championship contending drivers in 2015:
HOT
Regan Smith – Smith is seventh in the series standings, 30 points behind the standings leader Ty Dillon after five races. Smith opened the season with a DNF at Daytona and since then has been climbing up the standings with four consecutive top-10 finishes. His season-to-date Driver Rating (101.2) is ranked second in the series. Despite the slow start, expect Smith to contend for the title this season; he hasn’t finished lower than third in the points since he joined JR Motorsports in 2013.
Brendan Gaughan – Coming off a runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway, Brendan Gaughan is sixth in the series standings, one point behind Darrell Wallace Jr. in fifth and 23 points back from the standings lead. Gaughan has posted one top five, three top 10s and an average finish of 11.4 this season.
Darrell Wallace Jr. – Wallace is ranked fifth in the series driver standings, 22 points behind the standings leader after five races. This season he has posted one top 10 and an average finish of 11.4. Wallace also leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. Through fives races Wallace has the eighth best driver rating (92.0) and the sixth best average running position (10.254).
Ryan Reed – Reed kicked off 2015 with a big win at Daytona and since then has held his own posting an average finish of 11.2. Reed is currently fourth in the series standings, four points behind third-place Chase Elliott and 19 points back from Ty Dillon in the standings lead. Reed has spent 74.5% of his laps completed on the lead lap this season. His driver rating of 86.3 is ninth best in the series.
HOTTER
Chase Elliott – Elliott has spent most of 2015 climbing back up the standings after starting the season with a 28th-place finish at Daytona. Following Daytona, Elliott has rallied off three top fives and four top 10s putting him third in the series standings 10 points back from second-place Chris Buescher and 15 points behind Ty Dillon. Elliott is back in championship form; in his last four races he has posted an average finish of 5.25. His loop data for 2015 also supports his ascension in the points; he is ranked fifth in driver rating (100.0), and third in average running position (8.694).
Next week the XFINITY Series returns to Texas Motor Speedway, the track Elliott posted his first series career win.
Chris Buescher – Buescher’s success is no fluke, the Roush Fenway Racing driver currently sits second in the standings just five points behind Ty Dillon in the lead after five races. Buescher has posted three top fives and an average finish of 7.8 – second only to Ty Dillon among championship contenders. In five races this season Buescher is ranked fifth best in average running position (8.928), fourth best in driver rating (100.5) and second best in percentage of laps in the top 15 (94.4%).
Next week will be particularly special for Buescher as the series heads to Texas. The young standout driver hails from Prosper, Texas; which is about a 51-minute drive northeast of Texas Motor Speedway.
HOTTEST
Ty Dillon – Dillon is a man on a mission this season and it is championship or bust for the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team. He sits atop the championship standings five points ahead of second-place Chris Buescher. The 23 year old has posted two top fives, four top 10s and a series-leading average finish of 6.8. Dillon opened the 2015 season with back-to-back third-place finishes. He leads the series in percentage of laps run on the lead lap in 2015 with 97.96% and is also ranked sixth in driver rating (98.9) and fourth in average running position (8.853).
Barring any unforeseen incidents on the track, Dillon’s rein over the points should continue at Texas. The North Carolina native has an average finish of 12.0 at the 1.5-mile speedway.
The Series ‘Where The Names Are Made’
The NASCAR XFINITY Series prides itself as the series where driver’s names are made and that couldn’t be more evident than when you look at the current top five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points; three of the top five are former NASCAR XFINITY Series champions, including two-time series champions Kevin Harvick (2001, 2006) and Martin Truex Jr. (2004, 2005) and Brad Keselowski (2010).
Crew Chief Spot Light: Greg Erwin
With five races in the books the teams that look to be the ones to beat have risen to the top, but they can’t get there without the leadership of a good crew chief. Below is a look at the crew chief that has his team leading the NASCAR XFINITY series owner point standings:
Greg Erwin has replaced Jeremy Bullins this season atop the pit box for Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford with drivers Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Erwin has worn many hats in the NASCAR world from engineer to competition director, but this season his talents have been directed towards bringing Roger Penske his third consecutive owner title in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. So far this season the No. 22 team is on the right track, they currently lead the owner standings by eight points over JR Motorsport’s No. 88 team. Erwin has led his trio of drivers to one win, four top fives and two poles in the first five races of the season.
Erwin, a Hatboro, Pennsylvania native, earned a degree in engineering from Clemson University in 1992. He started out in NASCAR as an engineer for several teams. He then transferred over to the research and development side of the sport for a few years before beginning his full-time crew chief career with Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with driver Greg Biffle. From there, Erwin moved to Team Penske as the competition director for their NASCAR XFINITY Series program and now he leads the No. 22 team.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.
Two-time series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced he will be pulling double duty next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, running in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. Earnhardt has made two series starts this season posting one top-10 finish. … After five races Darrell Wallace Jr. leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by eight points over second-place Daniel Suarez and 11 points over third-place Ross Chastain. … Chevrolet leads the manufacturer standings by seven points over Ford in second-place after five races this season. Toyota is currently third; 26 points back from the standings lead.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Triple Threat: Logano Joins Exclusive Club Of Winners In All Three NASCAR National Series
NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, NASCAR XFINITY Series rides, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series trucks.
Joey Logano can drive them all.
And win.
The Middletown, Connecticut native piloted his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Ford to Victory Lane in Saturday’s Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series triumph – making him only the 26th driver to win a race in all three of NASCAR’s national series.
Logano’s victory was his first in seven career NCWTS appearances and the second win for Brad Keselowski Racing this season. His 19-year-old teammate Tyler Reddick took the checkered in the season opener at Daytona.
Prior to Logano, the last driver to collect wins in all three of NASCAR’s national series was his owner/teammate Brad Keselowski (Bristol, NCWTS, 10/20/14). Other notables to accomplish the feat include NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Terry and Bobby Labonte.
Custer’s Last Stand
On paper, Cole Custer’s 16th-place finish in Saturday’s Kroger 250 at Martinsville doesn’t do justice for the performance he put on during his highly anticipated season debut in JR Motorsports’ first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
Running third on the 246th lap despite two earlier pit road speeding penalties, the 17-year-old NASCAR Next member saw his one shot at the win.
Coming out of Turn 1 behind Matt Crafton and Joey Logano, Custer squeezed his No. 00 Chevrolet between the two veteran drivers and split through them for the lead. He led for two laps, looking like he could pull out the victory, until Crafton tracked him down and made contact, ending Custer’s chances at his second career victory.
On the weekend, Custer posted the fastest time in NCWTS practice (96.068 mph) and finished second in qualifying. His next truck series start will take place in the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway on May 29. Custer is scheduled to run eight more NCWTS races this season, all for JR Motorsports.
Standings Shuffle: Crafton Cream Of The Crop
Following his runner-up showing at Martinsville, defending two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton leapfrogged Tyler Reddick for the standings lead. Reddick dropped to second (-2), followed by Sunoco Rookie of the Year frontrunner Erik Jones (-6), Johnny Sauter (-16) and 2012 NCWTS title-winner James Buescher (-28).
Crafton ranks tied for the series lead with a 3.7 average finish, and paces the circuit with 186 laps led (more than four times as many as second-place Reddick) and a 115.7 driver rating.
The wheelmen and wheelwomen of the high-octane, paint-trading NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be back in action on Friday, May 8 at Kansas Speedway (8:30 p.m. ET). All of the races can be seen on FOX Sports 1 (aside from Talladega in the fall, on FOX) and heard on MRN, as well as SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Next Race: Duck Commander 500
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, April 11
The Time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX, 7 p.m. (ET)
Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 334 miles (501 laps)
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Next Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 300
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Friday, April 10
The Time: 8:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. (ET)
Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Kansas 250
The Place: Kansas Speedway
The Date: Friday, May 8
The Time: 8:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 167 miles (250.5 laps)
