NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California
[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”211″]
[/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Tony Stewart: Stewart won the Auto Club 400 in a race shortened by 71 laps due to rain. Stewart overtook Kyle Busch on lap 85 and held on until the weather forced the race’s first caution, and ultimately its cancellation. It was Stewart’s second win of the year and seventh in the last 15 Sprint Cup races.
“When there’s a sky full of clouds all with silver linings,” Stewart said, “should one expect a golden shower? Maybe for Denny Hamlin. I faked, and Denny bought it. That has to hurt, so I guess Denny’s ‘Stinging In The Rain.’
“But the No. 14 Office Depot team is picking up right where we left off last year. No, I’m not firing my crew chief. I’m winning races. And the ‘reign gauge’ is full.”
2. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished sixth at Auto Club Speedway, following Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, who finished fifth, across the line. Biffle has scored top-10 finishes in four of the season’s five races, and leads the Sprint Cup point standings.
“If nothing else,” Biffle said, “I’m consistent. And, as Edwards showed last year, consistency will take you places. Unfortunately, it will also leave you there.”
3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth in California, posting his second top-5 result of the year. He remained second in the point standings, and trails Greg Biffle by seven.
“I hear Kyle Busch slapped the wall on Sunday,” Harvick said. “Just as I suspected, it didn’t leave a mark.”
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt continued his solid start to the season, taking third in the Auto Club 400. He improved three places in the point standings, and now trails Greg Biffle by 17.
“I was hoping the race could have been restarted,” Earnhardt said. “But, when it rains, it pours. As someone who’s riding a 134-race winless streak, I know that better than anyone. Oh yes, they call me ‘The Streak.’”
5. Jimmie Johnson: Rain showers salvaged what could have been a disastrous day for Johnson at Auto Club Speedway. After the caution flew when rain started falling on lap 123, Johnson pitted, and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy started smoking soon after. The race was red-flagged on lap 129, with Johnson’s car still spewing smoke.
“If you ask NASCAR,” Johnson said, “they’d say those fumes were from the ‘smoking gun.’ I say the heat that created the smoke could be used to cook ‘crow’ before you eat it.
“We feel fortunate to finish 10th, and fortunate to have our points reinstated. We’re thrilled to be the first beneficiaries of NASCAR’s ‘Boys, have it back’ policy.”
6. Matt Kenseth: After a penalty for a loose tire in the pits, Kenseth and the No. 17 EcoBoost Ford limped away from Auto Club Speedway with a 16th-place finish. He fell three spots to sixth in the point standings and trails Greg Biffle by 22 points.
“This is one time,” Kenseth said, “that I’m sorry to say ‘We were on a roll.’ We missed our setup so bad, tires were trying to escape from being attached to the car. I can’t say I was impressed with my pit crews’ performance, but the Three Stooges were.”
7. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished eighth at Auto Club Speedway, recording his third top-10 result of the year. He now stands fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 20 out of first.
“Not everyone believed I’d be in the top 10 in points after five races,” Truex said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “When will this end?” And that was before it started to rain inFontana.”
8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole in California as Joe Gibbs Racing swept the front row, with Kyle Busch on the outside. Hamlin was in second before pitting during the race’s only caution, which flew for rain on lap 123. He finished 11th after the race was called on lap 129.
“Tony Stewart threw the fake on me,” Hamlin said. “And, like Jeff Gordon’s gas man, I got taken for a ride. Ironically, I got hung out to dry. They say there’s a sucker born every minute. By that reasoning, I should have a twin, or, better yet, a ‘dupe-licate.’”
9. Kyle Busch: Despite scraping the wall late in the race, Busch finished second, earning his first top 5 of the year. He led 80 laps on the day, but lost the lead when slower traffic allowed Tony Stewart to pass him on lap 85.
“Without the rain,” Busch said, “I’m not sure we could have finished second. The rain was my friend. In fact, the rain may be my only friend.”
10. Carl Edwards: Edwards opted to stay out when the caution flew for rain on lap 123, and his decision proved to be the right one. Edwards earned a fifth-place finish when rain halted the race shortly thereafter on lap 129. It was his second top-5 finish of the year, and vaulted him three places in the point standings to 12th.
“The No. 99 Subway Ford was good enough to win,” Edwards said, “but the rain prevented us from proving that. My car was really fast, possibly faster than the speed of sound. But once the rain came, my shot at winning was gone, having disappeared faster than the ‘speed’ of Mayfield.”
Racing in California is ‘Fun’ says Brad Keselowski and Others
[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”240″]
[/media-credit]A week ago there was a problem with Bristol and the uncharacteristic nature of racing. Now, the attention has been placed on the Auto Club Speedway after they played host to this past weekend’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races.
The two-mile oval began hosting NASCAR races in 1997 and has been the venue of first time winners such as five-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson. The facility seats 92,000 but it hasn’t been much of a fan favorite lately.
On Saturday however, following the NNS race some drivers were singing the speedway praises.
“The Nationwide cars put on an awesome show here,” said Brad Keselowski, who finished third. “The way they draft and get around here. This is one of the best races of the year for the Nationwide Series, every year, not just this year. At least my from view, maybe if you could watch it from the in-car camera.”
While his competitors shared Keselowski’s opinion, viewers weren’t impressed. The racing was too strung out, they said and without a whole lot of action. Keselowski led on two different occasions for 37 laps, with a total of 15 lead changes between seven drivers.
The first caution didn’t occur until lap 58 for debris. Through the 150-lap race, there were just four cautions for a total of 18 laps.
Not until the end of the event did the action seem to pick up. Finally there seemed to be more passing with three and four wide and bump drafting down the straightaways.
When pointed out to Keselowski, how calm the action was, he laughed and said, “Hell, what do you want? Every lap? Every corner? That’s a little greedy. You don’t see every pass in football for a touchdown either. Just the way it is, if it worked every time it wouldn’t be cool and it wouldn’t be special.”
Fifth place finisher Austin Dillon followed it up with, “It happened when it needed to and that’s at the end when we’re fighting for a win”
Defending NNS champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who has finished second and fourth in the last two California races, said on Saturday that he hopes more fans will start coming to the track in the future because it’s a fun day.
“This race last year was really exciting also, four of us battling for the lead last year, we ended up fourth,” said Stenhouse. “The Cup race proved to be a really good one last year. I feel like this is an exciting racetrack for the fans to watch.”
And the folks in California have seen their track experience many changes in hopes of pleasing others. Lights were installed, a new fanzone was added behind the main grandstands, it went from hosting two events to just one during the year, their date was changed, and the Sprint Cup race went from 500 to 400 miles.
But it hasn’t been enough to quiet the critics. When it comes to the racing, they always want more, yet the drivers say it’s never been better behind the wheel. Even newcomers like Dillon.
“I have a blast here, this is my first time here,” he said. “It’s pretty wild how much momentum carries here, you lift off the gas at all in a pack and you’re done. It’s wild racing, it’s fun, and I had a blast.”
On Sunday there was even less action, mostly because the Sprint Cup Series race completed just 129 of its 200 scheduled laps. Defending champion Tony Stewart earned the win and while acknowledging that the track has the tendency to spread the field out, it also has multiple grooves and it provides for great action.
Stewart mentioned the battles he had with Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. His car was fast enough to chase down the leaders and pass them, even though he had seconds to make up. Proving that passing is possible.
Just as it was last year when Harvick came from third place to take the win in the last two laps. He charged past Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to win in his home state.
As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And it’s Stewart’s belief that’s the case when it comes to racing in California.
“I watched the Nationwide race [Saturday], it was an awesome race to the end,” said Stewart. “It’s so easy for cars to get separated here, but they had an awesome finish in their race.”
The Final Word – Some like it hot, but sadly Fontana was not
[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]Daytona provided us some sit on the edge of your seat excitement. What a great way to start the season. Phoenix was nice, not great, but nice. In fact, the last four events have been just that way. Not a lot to write home about, or to write to you about. Still, I got to write something, even though there are jobs out there that require even less effort.
For example, I want to be a Cup flag man. You get one of the best vantage points in the house, you wave a green flag to start things, another to show the midway point, a caution flag, a checkers, and you get to go home. At least, that was the job description at Fontana where the only caution was the one that would end it early for rain.
Tony Stewart won it, his second of the season, which is pretty good for a guy who rarely wins before June. Jimmie Johnson was belching smoke and spilling oil after a line broke, but the caution came out at just the right time so he could finish 10th. With the return of those 25 points he had lost at Daytona, Johnson is back in a place Chase. So are Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr, who rounded out the Top Three on a nice sunny day in southern California.
Jeff Gordon was a lap down in 26th, his best highlight coming when he took the gasman and his tank for a slight trip on leaving the pits. Too bad they both rolled out of their stall, bringing the former four-time champ a penalty. Stewart fake fought broadcaster Rutledge Wood before the race, after Wood threatened to insert a Coke where Kevin Harvick’s sun don’t shine, and that pretty much sums up the action last Sunday.
Maybe Saturday provided something. Well, not if you tuned in to watch Danica Patrick in the Nationwide race. She still looked good out there, but when something went through the radiator her day was done before the midway point to finish 35th. As good as she looks, she also doesn’t have much to write home about.
At least we still got Martinsville coming up this weekend. Since 2006, and a dozen contests, the winners have been Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Jimmie Johnson. That is it. Each of them has at least one spring victory on the Virginia short track, with Harvick the defending champion with his lone win there a year ago. All four are sitting nicely in the Chase at the moment.
Two who are not are Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Both ran well at Fontana, and Edwards would have been fine for the moment except for the Bristol disaster. Busch, on the other hand, did well at Phoenix but really not worth a darn anywhere else until last week. Still, both are capable of a strong result this Sunday.
Maybe I will get to write about something rivetting that took our collective breathes away this Sunday. Maybe a close finish. Something, anything. Drop me a line as to what you think about this season thus far. Has it just been lukewarm to this point, or am I missing something? In the meantime, enjoy the week.
