Dale Earnhardt Jr. comes up just short of winning in Las Vegas
With already having locked in his Chase birth, there was a simple attitude going into Sunday’s race at Las Vegas for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Steve LeTarte – do what it takes to win, even if it takes trying out a game. The pair tried their hand at a gamble to win the race, though came up a couple ounces sort of gasoline as the No. 88 Mountain Dew/Kickstart Chevrolet stuttered coming out of turn four.
Still, Earnhardt Jr. brought home a solid finish as he grabbed second behind Brad Keselowski. For that reason, Earnhardt Jr. says their attempt a gamble paid off.
“We weren’t going to — as much as you want to win, and believe me, we were out there trying to win, you do take pride in a good performance, a good finish, and we weren’t going to run in the top 5 if we hadn’t have used that particular strategy, if we’d have run the same strategy as our competitors we would have probably run just inside the top 10 where we were all day,” Earnhardt Jr. commented. “At least it felt like I was around eighth all day. I just couldn’t get any ground, and we fought the car all day. Just the air is so dirty behind everybody, the further back you get you’ve got less and less grip. Once we got the lead, it was like driving a Cadillac.”
Earnhardt said that once he got a good lead after the late race restart with 30 to go, he started to lift early to try and save fuel.
“I felt like if we were good enough to hold him off, then we’d win the race. If we weren’t, we would have saved enough fuel to have finished the race, at least get to the end,” Earnhardt said. “I can run out of gas on the back stretch and be okay, but if I run out off of 4 coming to the white it would’ve been big trouble, so I had to save a little bit. So I let him catch us and once he got there, I ran as hard as I could and could pull back away from him.”
Earnhardt added that he’s proud of the effort by the whole team and the strategy that they tried.
“It’s disappointing, but at the same time the good Lord has blessed me with a good team and good fortune and great opportunity, so I don’t want to get too down and think about the positives and be productive so we can go to Bristol and try to win there,” Earnhardt continued.
The startegy that was played by Earnhardt and team was outside of what others had done as most teams came down pit road under the late caution to top off with gas. However, the No. 88 team chose to take the gamble.
Earnhardt stressed that it was because they were locked in the Chase with the Daytona 500 that they could the gamble and hope it paid off. For that reason, he feels that the new format is a positive in a way to create added entertainment for the sport.
“It gives us freedom, and it’s nice to have that freedom to do the things that we did today, even though we knew our odds weren’t good,” Earnhardt added. “We really shouldn’t have made it, and we didn’t, but we got to try because of the new system. So yeah, I think it’s pretty cool.”
With the second place finish at Las Vegas, Earnhardt is only the second driver in series history to start off the season with three top two finishes; Richard Petty was the last to do it in the mid 1970s. Certainly, it helps keep the confidence and the momentum going, though also shows the growth in Earnhardt and LeTarte over the past couple of years.
“When we first got together we’d run our guts out to run in the top 15. Then the next year we’d run our guts out to run in the top 10, and you wondered when you’d get up to fifth and start running in the top 5 regularly,” Earnhardt said. “We started doing that finally last year, and so our team just keeps stepping up this ladder. It just makes total sense to me how that process has went, having lived it and having seen the progression. So the sky’s the limit for us, and if we are smart and keep our composure and don’t get foolish and don’t get too proud of ourselves, just keep it in perspective, we’ve got a great opportunity this year to be this competitive every week.”
With coming so short at winning, it can definately be disappointing and bring down the attitude. However, rather than be disappointed with the performance, Earnhardt Jr. kept a postive outlook – something that was not common in years before. Earnhardt says that’s part of the growth of him as a driver as he learned previously that getting angry and frustrated doesn’t help.
He recalled back in 2008 when he ran out of gas with two laps to go at Pocono Raceway with his cousin Tony Euy Jr. crew chiefing. He said he came in, took his helmet off and bashed in the fender – basically, making an ass of himself.
“I learned a lot from that experience,” he commented. “It took a lot — my team was disappointed in my actions, and my cousin was disappointed in my actions and the way I was, so when we ran out — when we run out of gas now, you know, you’ve got to try to be positive, because those kind of things, when you crash, wreck, blow up, those kind of things, there’s an opportunity there for it to be worse, and you make it worse than it is, or for you to try to clean up the mess and carry on. Throwing a tantrum and getting upset and mad about it don’t do any good for your team. They don’t feed off of that. If anything it brings your team down.”
Instead of being frustrated, there were positives in how the strategy worked for them and how they ran inside the top 10 throughout the day.
“It hurts to lose like that,” Earnhardt admitted, though. “We’d definitely love to be in victory lane right now, but our time will come. We’ll keep going.”
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt 400
From the Team Penske pole repeat to the Most Interesting Man’s command to start the engines, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 17th annual Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Surprising: Boy, is he ever back…in so many surprising ways. With his crew chief Paul Wolfe back on top of the pit box after being out one race for the birth of his baby, driver Brad Keselowski sailed on past the out-of-gas Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make his way right back to Victory Lane.
The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford also went back to back for the race weekend, becoming the first driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Cup races at Las Vegas in the same weekend since 2000 when Jeff Burton did it.
Finally, Keselowski himself noted after crossing the finish line that he was back in the Chase, having scored the first win for Team Penske of the young 2014 season. He is also back in the point standings, just one point shy of the top spot.
Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. joined fellow competitor Martin Truex Jr. in trying to look on the bright side of life after finishes that did not quite live up to their expectations.
“We knew we were a lap short,” Junior said after finishing second on fumes. “We tried to save as much as we could.”
“We took a gamble and didn’t win the race, but it still worked in our favor to run second,” the driver of the No. 88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet continued. “It sucks to lose like that, but we can’t let that be a negative. The only way to be productive is to be positive.”
“We have got to look at the positives in today and keep working toward our goal of winning some more races.”
“We were better than 14th, no question about that,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “We ran in the top-10 for most of the race but lost track position at the end.”
“On the bright side this was our best performance as a team, much better than last week at Phoenix,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “We had good pit stops all day and I really like the gains we made this weekend.”
Adding to their bright sides was the fact that Martin Truex Jr. made his 300th career start and Dale Jr. became only the second driver, next to the King, to begin a race year with three top-2 finishes in a row.
Surprising: Danica Patrick was the best of the Stewart Haas crew, finishing 21st. Teammates Kurt Busch finished 26; Tony Stewart 33rd and Kevin Harvick 41st with a wheel hub issue putting him 30 laps down.
“Obviously you always want more, but I’m happy with it, especially after what we’ve gone through the last two weeks,” Patrick said. “It’s a good day and gives us something to build on going to Bristol.”
Driver and team owner summed up the surprisingly poor overall team performance with three words, “Something wasn’t right.” In fact, Stewart asked that his car at least not be touched after the race so it could return to North Carolina for diagnosis of its troubles.
Not Surprising: With a sense of urgency, given his wife was due with their first child at any minute, Paul Menard drove right up to the third spot in his No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet. And not surprisingly given his record there, this ended up as Menard’s third top-10 finish in eight races in SinCity.
“It’s big for sure,” Menard said. “This Quaker State/Menards Chevy was hauling ass on long runs. Had a lot of those today and it kind of played in our favor.”
“And now I want to get home as soon as possible.”
Surprising: For the first time back on the race track since announcing his departure from full-time racing and his soon-to-be broadcast career and for his first time behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry, Jeff Burton had a surprisingly good run.
In fact, the driver of the No. 66 Let’s Go Places Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing brought it home top-20, finishing in the 17th spot.
“That was a lot of fun,” Burton said. “That was a good day for the No. 66 guys. Chad (Walter, crew chief) and the guys were a pleasure to work with this weekend.”
Not Surprising: While Carl Edwards was pleased with his top-5 finish in his No. 99 Aflac Ford, he could not help but mourn the passing of William Clay Ford, Sr., the grandson of Henry Ford.
“We’re all thinking of the Ford family,” Edwards said. “For Brad in a Ford to win both of those races (Nationwide and Cup), I think it says a lot.”
NASCAR echoed Edwards’ sentiments with Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, issuing these words, “He will be remembered as a man of style, for both the automobiles he built and the life he led. He was a giant….who forever will be missed.”
Surprising: With the new Chase system focusing on race wins, it was surprising to hear at least one driver talk about a good points day after the Kobalt 400.
“It was a good effort for the team and it was a good points day,” Ryan Newman said after finishing seventh in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet. “If we keep running like that, we’ll put it in the top five and if we do that we’ll win.”
Not Surprising: That Austin Dillon is just good so it was not surprising that he not only had a good finish in 16th, the highest finishing rookie, but as a result, he now sits as the highest rookie in the point standings. In fact, Austin Dillon is 13th in the point standings, ahead of the likes of Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.
Surprising: While Kyle Busch is usually a favorite with the kids due to the M&Ms candy on his car, he felt more like a kid’s toy, in this case a yoyo, after a grueling day in his home town.
“We had a really up and down day with our M&M’s Peanut Camry,” Busch said. “We started off getting blocked in the pits and had to come from the back.”
“The car was too loose on the first run and we tightened it up and it was really fast for a while,” Busch continued. “But, we kept adjusting on it to try and help the tight in the center of the corner and it was just getting looser and looser, especially on the last run. Just disappointing when we looked like we had a good car earlier in the race.”
Not Surprising: With three top-ten finishes to his name, Jeff Gordon is one happy camper so far this season. And to finish top-ten at Las Vegas, admittedly one of his struggles tracks, he was almost giddy.
“I knew today was going to be one of the most challenging races that we were going to have, possibly all year long,” Gordon said. “And so, I feel like this team did an incredible job. I think we were much better than ninth, but at the same time, this I think is one of my worst tracks right now.”
“We’re off to a fantastic start. We’re very motivated by that. We’re excited.”
NASCAR Champions Featuring Ned Jarrett
Cup Champion: 1961 and 1965
Born: October 12, 1932
Hometown: Newton, N.C.
Career: 1953-1966
Ned Jarrett was the quintessential NASCAR champion. His consistency coupled with the ability to win races led to two Sprint Cup championships.
He called himself “a thinking man’s race driver” and said “I never considered myself to be a thrill seeker.” His unassuming demeanor earned him the nickname “Gentleman Ned,” but his competitiveness on the track was undeniable.
In 353 Cup starts he earned 50 victories and 35 poles. He is tied for 11th place in all-time wins with Junior Johnson. In 1964 and 1965, he led the series in wins with 15 and 13 respectively. He also made a name for himself in the Sportsman Division, winning two consecutive titles in 1957 and 1958.
Jarrett won his first Cup championship in 1961. He only had one win but finished the season with 34 top 10s in 46 starts. In 1965, he captured his second series title picking up 13 wins and 42 top fives along the way. Jarrett added to his list of accomplishments that year by winning the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway by 14 laps, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.
Jarrett was only 33 when he retired from racing in 1966. It was a decision based on his desire to leave when he was on top.
“People have a tendency to remember you for the last thing you did,” he explained. “I was still the reigning champion when I drove my last race.”
He then decided to reconnect with his roots as owner and promoter for Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. In 1976, he sold his ownership in the track and began looking for another way to make a living. It was at this point that Jarrett returned to the sport as a radio broadcaster and eventually he found his way to television where he flourished.
Ned Jarrett was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011, displaying the same humility that has endeared him to followers of the sport.
“God has truly blessed me in so many wonderful ways,” he said. “He gave me some talent, willpower, strength and many opportunities to use those attributes.”
Jarrett’s achievements on the track and in the broadcast booth have made him an integral part of NASCAR’s legacy and one of its most influential ambassadors.
Accomplishments:
1957 – Sportsman Division Champion
1958 – Sportsman Division Champion
1961 – NASCAR Grand National Champion (Now Sprint Cup)
1965 – NASCAR Grand National Champion (Now Sprint Cup)
1973 – Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame
1991 – Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
1997 – Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
1997 – Inducted into Talladega Walk of Fame
1998 – Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers
2011 – Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame
The Final Word – Earnhardt and Keselowski rule Cup, Cup guys rule Nationwide and SHR is run out of Vegas
Three races in, and the story of the 2014 Cup season is the success of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He wins at Daytona, finishes second in Phoenix, and a hiccup in his fuel pick up was all that kept him from victory at Las Vegas. That and Brad Keselowski. Still, take a gamble, have it turn sour, and still come home second is not all that bad.
As for Brad, he joins Junior and Kevin Harvick atop the standings with a win apiece. He was in the front row when it started, again, and saw his season output now read as an almost as sizzling third, to third, to first. It would almost seem that this season’s early winners are also the most charmed, or simply the best out there. Almost.
That brings up to Kevin Harvick. His Phoenix victory came off a 13th place result at Daytona, which led into a 41st place conclusion in Las Vegas. Talk about rolling craps, and I’m not even referring to the dice game. Among the Stewart-Haas quartet, Harvick was the lone bright spot, even led for 23 laps. Then he broke his left front wheel hub and that made driving just a bit difficult. It is much easier when all the wheels on the car go round and round, and one did not really want to.
You know your operation had a bad day when Danica Patrick, at 21st, was your best finisher. SHR saw Kurt Busch come home 26th three laps down. As for Tony Stewart, he was four off and 33rd. Even Patrick had a better car than these two right out of the gate. Hell, you probably have a better contender sitting in your driveway right now.
Life has been good for both Hendrick and Penske. While Keselowski was winning, team mate Joey Logano was fourth, just as he was last week, to go with an 11th at Daytona. Junior’s trophied mates also have been hot to start. Jimmie Johnson matched his Phoenix finish by finishing sixth, to go with Daytona’s fifth place result. Jeff Gordon went from fourth, to fifth, to “slumping” to ninth at Las Vegas. Still, it is early and there are others in the neighborhood who hope to raise some arguments of their own as they head to Bristol.
Regan Smith continues to lead the Nationwide ladder. After winning at Daytona, he has come up with Top Tens the past two events. That is good. That makes him relevant. That should give him TV time. So, does anyone give a damn that the past two events have been won by Cup drivers Kyle Busch and Keselowski? I mean, I give his crew credit for getting his car back in contention on Sunday, but it is hard to be impressed when a former Cup champion kicks ass against an under-funded, less experienced field. Cup drivers took five of the six top spots. Only Keselowski deserved any face time, and I am not even sure about that.
If they wanted to talk to the relevant guys who took part on Saturday, you can give Keselowski a moment to celebrate his win, then move on to the fifth place Chase Elliott, Brian Scott in seventh, Trevor Bayne in eighth, and the over-all leader in Smith. You know, those who are actually running for a championship, those who are trying to work their way up, not just slumming to make the track owners and some sponsors happy.
Those who matter would include…
|
|
Driver |
Races |
Win |
T5 |
T10 |
Points |
Diff |
|
1 |
Regan Smith |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
117 |
— |
|
2 |
Trevor Bayne |
3 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
114 |
-3 |
|
3 |
Elliott Sadler |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
108 |
-9 |
|
4 |
Ty Dillon |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
105 |
-12 |
|
5 |
Chase Elliott |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
103 |
-14 |
In short, let the Cup guys run but if they do not win, they do not matter. Put the focus on those in Nationwide who do. Just a thought.
Bristol is next up on the calendar for this weekend. Two springs ago Elliott Sadler won the Nationwide race there. Joey Logano won it that fall. Kyle Busch has won five of the past seven, including season sweeps in 2011 and last season. Whoop-de-bloody-do.
Kyle has won four of the past ten Cup races there, as well, though none of the past five. Matt Kenseth hopes to repeat from the fall, Kasey Kahne from last spring, Denny Hamlin from before that, and Keselowski had back-to-backs before being shut out these past three. Usually the winner at Bristol is someone who matters, someone with title thoughts on his mind. More than likely, he will come from our sweet 16…
|
|
Driver |
Races |
Win |
T5 |
T10 |
Points |
Diff |
|
1 |
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
133 |
— |
|
2 |
Brad Keselowski |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
132 |
-1 |
|
3 |
Kevin Harvick |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
83 |
-50 |
|
4 |
Jimmie Johnson |
3 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
117 |
-16 |
|
5 |
Joey Logano |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
116 |
-17 |
|
6 |
Jeff Gordon |
3 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
115 |
-18 |
|
7 |
Matt Kenseth |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
105 |
-28 |
|
8 |
Carl Edwards |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
105 |
-28 |
|
9 |
Denny Hamlin |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
101 |
-32 |
|
10 |
Ryan Newman |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
97 |
-36 |
|
11 |
Kyle Busch |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
95 |
-38 |
|
12 |
Jamie McMurray |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
93 |
-40 |
|
13 |
Greg Biffle |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
86 |
-47 |
|
13 |
Austin Dillon |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
84 |
-49 |
|
15 |
Kasey Kahne |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
83 |
-50 |
|
16 |
Casey Mears |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
80 |
-53 |
