Chase Elliott looking to continue solid start to season at Texas
With five Nationwide Series starts under his belt, Chase Elliott is off to a good start this year with JRM Motorsports as he has posted four top 10 finishes, highlighted by a fifth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I think so far it’s been okay,” Elliott said speaking of his season to date. “I think there’s been some ups and downs, and some weekends there’s been things that we could do a lot better. I think every weekend there’s been room for improvement and hopefully we can find those areas and try to improve things and get to where we need to be.”
Going into the year, some people had high expectations on Elliott based on how highly he was spoken by Rick Hendrick, being son of Bill Elliott and his success in the limited number of dates that he ran in the Camping World Truck Series last season. In nine starts last year, the 18-year-old posted five top-fives and seven top-10s, including a win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
“I felt like we had a good truck and put ourselves in a good position,” Elliott reflected back on his first win. “You never want to win one with controversy but unfortunately we did with getting into Ty (Dillon) there. But sometimes it happens and it was nice to get that win. Hopefully we have success this year on the road courses.”
So far matching pre-season expectations, Elliott attributes that to the experience surrounding him.
“I think a lot of is because of the team with Greg Ives having experience, having run the whole season and being able to jump in with a team that had success last year at these bigger tracks,” Elliott said. “Even though we’ve had good runs, I feel there’s room for improvement in being able to keep up with the really good cars. I honestly thought there was a lot of room for improvement at Bristol, too. So far, I feel like we’ve had some decent runs – but not where we need to be.”
After a weekend off, the Nationwide Series returns this weekend with a trip to Texas Motor Speedway, a track that has featured first-time winners in the past. Elliott says he’s excited going into this weekend.
“I feel like we had a fairly good run at Las Vegas and I feel like Las Vegas will be really similar to Texas,” Elliott added. “I’ve never been there before, but watching, it looks like it’ll be a fairly similar race track. Looking to taking some of the things that we learned at Las Vegas to Texas and having a better run there.”
Elliott will have teammates Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to lean on as JRM has entered four cars into this weekend’s event.
“Honestly, so far I feel like there’s been a lot of great supporters all the way around,” Elliott commented. “At JRM, I feel that everyone has welcomed me with open arms and I feel like having the support from those guys and being able to learn from guys that have won races at all levels from Sprint Cup to Nationwide. A lot of those guys have a lot of great experience and I’ve tried to take in as much experience as possible from them.”
With Earnhardt and Harvick entered into this weekend’s race beyond others, the topic of Sprint Cup Series drivers running Nationwide Series races is certianly at the forefront. Elliott says for him, he’s always supported the “double dippers”.
“I feel like it’s a good thing for the Nationwide Series,” he commented. “I feel it definitely makes it for challenging as those guys are at the level that they’re at for a reason. I feel like they deserve to go race whatever when they want to and I feel it’s good to have them as you can learn a lot from them and I enjoy having them around.”
Throughout his whole career, Elliott has had his father to lean on for advice as Bill Elliott can be seen on the radio each weekend at the track, sharing his thoughts. Over the course of his career to date, the second generation driver say there isn’t a piece of advice that his dad has given him that stands out.
“There isn’t one piece that stands out as they’ve all been important,” Elliott said. “From watching him over the years to the pieces of advice that he gave me along the way.”
Remembering a Champion-Alan Kulwicki
Today is April 1st, a day that for many is a fun and prank filled day with friends. For some it is a sign that spring is right around the corner. However, for some long time NASCAR fans it’s bittersweet, as we remember a Champion, a friend and someone who we lost too soon, Alan Kulwicki.
I remember hearing the news, hoping it was an April Fool’s Day joke, one in poor taste. But deep down we knew the truth, we just didn’t want to hear it. We didn’t want to believe that our reigning NASCAR Winston Cup Champion’s plane had crashed as he was coming into Bristol for the race that weekend.
Alan Kulwicki, born December 14th, 1954 was lost to us on April 1st, 1993. He was from Greenfield, Wisconsin which was the stomping ground for many of NASCAR’s finest drivers such as Dick Trickle and Matt Kenseth. He drove in the mid-west ASA Series, winning championships at Slinger and Kaukauna, which are two of the best tracks in Wisconsin, prior to packing up and moving south to make his NASCAR dream come true. He was looked at differently from some of the other drivers, showing up to the track carrying a briefcase. He was the first college graduate to go into NASCAR as a driver, graduating college with a degree in engineering.
One of Alan’s favorite songs was Frank Sinatra’s my way, and that is how he did it. He was NASCAR’s” Rookie of the Year” in 1986. One of the most endearing thing’s about Kulwicki was the comb he always had on hand, even keeping one in the car so that when he took off his helmet he could comb his hair. He was always camera and picture ready.
The one thing that still lives on today is when he won his very first NASCAR race at Phoenix International Speedway in 1988. He turned his car around so that the driver’s side window faced the grandstands and he did what he called the “Polish Victory Lap.” This backwards lap is still done by drivers today in his honor. He was the underdog in NASCAR and became known as NASCAR’s Mighty Mouse, even having cloth patches with AK7 and Mighty Mouse on them. I still have mine.
The year was 1992 and it was a wistful, exciting feeling going into the last race of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway, formerly Atlanta International Raceway. It was Richard Petty’s last Cup race of his career and Jeff Gordon’s first. The Championship could have gone to three different drivers; Davey Allison the front runner, along with Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki. Allison’s hopes ended in a crash which took him out of the race but Elliott and Kulwicki ran hard races. It was coming down to a tight finish and the bonus points for leading the most laps pushed Kulwicki 10 points ahead of Elliott to win his first, and sadly his only, championship. In Victory Lane you could not have seen a happier man and even more so he did it “his way”.
Alan was only 38 when he passed and there is no doubt he would have made an even bigger mark on NASCAR had he lived. I ask that you take a moment and remember Alan Kulwicki. He was a clean driver, a determined driver and any future driver in NASCAR could learn a lot from him. So today it’s bittersweet thinking of the past, but I think of him next to his Hooters No. 7, lifting that trophy over his head and reflect; a better champion we could not have asked for.
IndyCar Lap 82 Restart Controversy: Will Power, Speed and Restart Cone
Every race has a pivotal moment and the IndyCar season opener was no different as a lot of people have been talking about the lap 82 restart. Will Power brought the field down and it appeared he slowed, which caused the whole field to accordion. As a result contact was made in the second half of the field, ending the race for both Marco Andretti and Jack Hawksworth.
So who is to blame for this restart?
“Yeah it’s hard to see because I was pretty far back, but Will just stopped,” Andretti commented. “Once you go, you gotta go. It was a bit of an accordion effect, and I just got caught up. That’s what happens when you’re in the back, so I’ve really got no one to blame but myself.”
“I don’t know what the leader was doing,” Hawksworth said. “Everybody went and then they all stopped and somebody hit me.”
Some people were quick to blame Will Power as he is the leader and controls the restart so that seems like the natural thing to do.
“I lifted a little but I didn’t touch the brake at all,” Power commented. “They can check my data. I did not brake-check or touch the brakes at all.”
Hunter-Reay was asked about Power possibly lifting, and the 2012 champion said a lift in first gear is very strong.
“It’s almost like hitting the brakes,” Hunter-Reay commented. “He certainly stacked up Helio on the first one, that’s why I got a big run on Helio and passed Helio. The next one he just went. The next one was OK.”
Castroneves noticed Power’s way of restarting at that point, being second at hte time, and called it a “trick” and says that tricks aren’t a bad thing as they’re part of battling for the win.
“He knew where I was going, so he did something that I was not expecting and it caught me a surprise,” Castroneves added. “That does not take away anything from the win he did today. Cindric and himself did a very good strategy with the tires, better tires in the end.”
Possible lift, brake and Power’s own intentions aside, some people commented that perhaps Power brought the field down a little too slow and that caused the issues with people in the second half of the field speeding up to catch up to the tail of the speed.
“In my opinion, the leader shouldn’t brake check or stop and then go,” Hunter-Reay commented. “I didn’t see that being very intentional from Will that way. What I saw it was he kind of set his own pace at that time. It’s up for argument that maybe that was too slow. Definitely could have been too slow. It was very slow. But I feel like the leader should accelerate when he needs to and set the pace he wants because he’s leading the race, but he needs to do it in a safe and predictable manner. We could argue if that was the case today.”
Though perhaps Power wasn’t speeding up as quickly as everyone timed due to other things that happened.
Power’s race strategist Tim Cindric commented during the race that they waved the green before the leader got to the acceleration cone and that’s why everybody went before his driver.
“Basically the pace car pulls off and you can set the pace you want. I wasn’t even in the zone,” Power noted post-race. “We weren’t even in the zone that you have, the 200 yards or whatever it is, to decide for the leader to go when he wants. They actually threw the green before I was even in the zone, so it was confusing to me. So the next restart I just went because I figured, They’re going to throw the green anyway. To me, the only problem people would have had would have been if they gassed back to get a big run.”
For that reason, Andretti suggested that’s a good reason why they shouldn’t use the cone.
“I’m not complaining, but the leader should dictate it,” Andretti added. “He probably questioned himself because he might have gotten penalized or something, but you should penalize the leader, he can go when he wants.”
Restarts issues and controversy is no stranger to the Verizon IndyCar Series as fans can pull many examples from the past. If officials want to keep fans an gain more, they need to avoid issues of this nature in the races moving forward this year.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: After two straight races outside the top 20, Earnhardt finished third at Martinsville and reclaimed the lead in the Sprint Cup points standings. He leads Matt Kenseth by nine.
“I’m thinking about taking Graham Rahal’s Indy car for a spin,” Earnhardt said. “I doubt Junior Nation cares too much about seeing me in an Indy car. They don’t care about open wheels, just open containers.”
2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led 296 laps at Martinsville, but couldn’t hold off Kurt Busch down the stretch. Busch took the lead with ten laps to go and Johnson took second. Although winless on the year, Johnson is fifth in the points standings, 18 out of first.
“With eight wins at Martinsville,” Johnson said, “I’m practically a sure thing. Ironically, ‘automatic’ lost out to ‘automation,’ that being the No. 41 car sponsored by Haas Automation. I couldn’t hold Busch off. I drove the wheels off the No. 48 Lowe’s car. Kurt drove the hood off the No. 2 Miller Lite car.”
3. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 13th at Martinsville, leading the way on a disappointing day for Roush Fenway Racing. He is third in the points standings, 10 out of first.
“Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch had quite a battle,” Edwards said. “They exchanged sheet metal, insults, and fingers. And speaking of ‘birds,’ the No. 99 car with the Aflac duck on it should be one of the favorites at the Duck Commander 500 at Texas. If we win, you could call it the ‘Duck Commandeer 500.”
4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth posted his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a sixth in the STP 500. He moved up three places to second in the points standings, and trails Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by nine.
“Denny Hamlin had some metal removed from his eye,” Kenseth said. “And that calls for some ‘cornea’ jokes. I think it was glass. That may explain the ‘Who shard-ed?’ buttons that the No. 11 team wore at Martinsville. Many are questioning Denny’s character, accusing him of only caring about himself. Well, let me tell you, Denny’s passed the ‘eye’ test, and he’s passed the ‘me’ test.”
5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite car suffered major damage early when Kurt Busch plowed into it as Keselowski was trying to leave the pits. With his front end wrecked, Keselowski finished 38th, 31 laps down, and fell three places in the points standings.
“Kurt won a grandfather clock for his win,” Keselowski said. “And trust me, his time is coming. When I see him next, there will be one hand on his nose, and one hand on his mouth.”
6. Joey Logano: Logano continued his strong year with a fourth at Martinsville, aided by a solid qualifying run of third. He is seventh in the points standings, 40 behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
“I doubt we’ve heard the last of the Brad Keselowski-Kurt Busch incident,” Logano said. “Brad’s angry. Kurt’s just as angry, if not angrier. How can you tell? Because he’s got his ears pinned back.”
7. Jeff Gordon: Gordon suffered front-end damage early at Martinsville and struggled the rest of the way, yet managed a 12th-place finish. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 11 out of first.
“Texas is next on the agenda,” Gordon said. “They’re calling it the ‘Duck Commander 500’ in honor of Duck Dynasty. Robertson family patriarch Phil Robertson is set to wave the green flag. However, there’s no chance in hell he’ll be waving the ‘P-Flag.’”
8. Kyle Busch: Busch started on the pole at Martinsville and led some early laps before handling issues stifled his efforts. He eventually finished 14th and is now sixth in the points standings, 38 out of first.
“Congratulations to my brother Kurt,” Kyle said. “That was an impressive win. He held off Martinsville master Jimmie Johnson. This pasty white boy’s not hip to the current street lingo, but this seemed to be a case of ‘Bro’s Before Lowe’s.’”
9. Kurt Busch: Busch bounced back from early contact with Brad Keselowski to pass Jimmie Johnson with ten laps to go, and won the STP 500 at Martinsville.
“Unlike some drivers who are expecting children,” Busch said, “I don’t have a baby on the way. But there was a ‘baby’ in the way. I’m sure Brad will say I haven’t heard the last of me. That’s okay, because he has heard the ‘first’ of me.
“Kyle started in the lead, and I finished with the lead. That’s great publicity for Sprint’s new cell phone plan. But neither of us has any friends, so it’s not the ‘Framily’ plan, it’s just the ‘Family’ plan.”
10. Austin Dillon: Dillon posted a solid 15th in the STP 500, the top finish among rookies at Martinsville. He is ninth in the points standings, 48 out of first.
“I really wish I could have won the race,” Dillon said. “Then I would have a grandfather clock to go with my grandfather. Without Richard Childress, I doubt I would be in a Sprint Cup car right now. He’s no clock, but he tells me when it’s ‘time.’”
