Harvick wins O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 pole; four drivers miss qualifying
At first it looked as though Kevin Harvick wouldn’t be able to get on track during the first round of qualifying due to being one of the 17 drivers with issues in pre-qualifying technical inspection. However, in the last two minutes of the first round, Harvick was able to get his No. 5 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet on track and make his lap, topping the charts.
Harvick backed up that time in the following two rounds of qualifying to score the pole for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick scored his first Texas Motor Speedway Nationwide Series pole with a lap of 29.195 seconds. It marks Harvick’s 25th career Nationwide Series pole.
“I messed up the entry getting into three but it still drove good,” Harvick commented post-qualifying. “We had a little bit to overcome but the guys have been working hard and its nice to have all the JR Motorsports cars up front.”
Matt Kenseth qualified his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the second spot for his sixth top-10 start of 2014.
“We are a little off on balance so hope the balance is good tonight and we can hang up front there,” Kenseth said.
Points leader Regan Smith qualified third, followed by his boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler. Chase Elliott was the highest qualifying rookie in sixth and puts all four JR Motorsports cars in the top six.
Brendan Gaughan was seventh, followed by Trevor Bayne, Ryan Blaney and Dylan Kwasniewski. Blaney was the last driver to take to the track in the first round as he got done with inspection and was on track with 40 seconds remaining on the clock.
Blaney and Harvick were among the 17 drivers that had problems in pre-qualifying inspection as a result of “camber, toe and rear-end housing issues” per NASCAR’s Director of Competition Robin Pemberton. Pemberton added that many of these teams had these issues during yesterday’s inspection before practice.
NASCAR implemented a new procedure for technical inspection, using the same format that they use in the Cup Series with putting the cars on a plate and measuring that way.
“New procedure for the Nationwide cars and lots to be learned by everybody,” Pemberton noted.
Fontana winner Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon each were unable to post a lap as a result of not being able to get through pre-qualifying inspection without issues before round one of qualifying was complete. As a result, they will make up the last four spots on the starting grid.
Denny Hamlin: Things to consider moving forward following Martinsville
In the midst of a two-week whirlwind period, lot of has gone down with relation to Denny Hamlin, health issues and the metal in his eye. There’s a lot to be learned from the discussion and certainly things that should be noted moving forward.
1. When a driver speaks, they should be believed for saying truth not as a lie
When Denny Hamlin stated that he missed the race at Fontana due to metal in his eyes, some people stated that they didn’t believe him. Some felt it was a cover-up to cover for something else. Some were saying he was covering a drug test and not wanting to race that weekend on track. After all, it was the track that he got hurt at previously.
Doubting someone is speaking the truth especially on an issue of this nature is not something to be commended or accepted at all. Hamlin could say whatever he wanted, but NASCAR would have copy of doctor’s report and be able to check. In that matter, why would he lie? Obviously, that’s what had him fired up last weekend.
“People who think negatively of me or think that we side-stepped some sort of drug test or something is ridiculous,” Hamlin said. “I’m in one of the top-three cars in NASCAR, I would have to be an absolute moron—moron to risk that. I have a daughter that I have to provide for for a really long time. For people to question who I am inside and outside the race car, I’ve never done anything to even put that in question.”
2. Balancing what should be known, and what should not be known
A person’s health is called their business and a doctor isn’t allowed to comment per ‘patient-confidentiality’ agreement. However, when you’re out there racing against 42 other drivers, those other drivers may worry about your health and whether you are able to compete.
While some people may want a statement released for every situation, it should be sufficient enough to look at NASCAR’s clearance of the driver as why would Dr. Petty clear a driver and risk everyone’s lives without full belief in that driver’s health?
3. Each driver should watch their own behavior surrounding the situation
Whether the direct individual involved or whether not, all driver should watch their behavior.
In this particular situation, there were lots of questions being asked by everybody – though those questions took an even bigger turn with Earnhardt Jr.’s quote mid-week last week to the USA Today.
“I’m worried the perception is bad for NASCAR and the perception is bad for Denny.” Earnhardt Jr. told the USA Today. “If Denny didn’t race because his vision is blurred and he had a sinus infection, NASCAR should put out a release and say, this is the timeline of the events and this is why we made this choice and this is protocol for going forward.”
Instead of releasing a public statement, it may have been better for Earnhardt to either contact NASCAR or Denny Hamlin with his concerns.
Beyond simply stiring more discussion, some people have interpreted Earnhardt’s thoughts into wanting to peep into Hamlin’s life. Based on those words above, he wasn’t trying to peep into Denny’s health or find answers to that or doubt Hamlin’s situation. Earnhardt was more questioning it because he wanted to know how NASCAR handled it and a timeline basis for situations like this that may come up in the future so drivers know what they’re getting into if they have a similar deal. Isn’t that a question that would be better asked in a question to Mike Helton and NASCAR, rather than the public?
4. Focus should remain on-track rather than off-track
Rather than being focused on the off-track stuff and letting it get to him, Hamlin should keep his focus where he needs to – on-track. Last week, Hamlin was not in contention throughout the day at one of his back tracks. Could he have been distracted? Possibly.
As they say, the results will speak for themselves and rather than being concerned with everything, energy directed towards on-track performance could bring Hamlin a win.
