1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s gamble in the pits paid off and he captured his second win of the year, winning the Spongebob Squarepants 400 at Kansas. “We stayed out to win it,” Johnson said. “It’s too bad no one stayed up to see it.
It was a fine weekend. Sure, you may think I say that due to Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhard, Jr. and Jeff Gordon coming across the line in that order in Kansas. Okay, there might be some truth in that.
There are a dozen races run on eight tracks that are truly iconic NASCAR events. Last Sunday was one of those races. The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 in Kansas is not. That is not to say we will not see one of the all-time great races this Saturday night...though the odds might be stacked against us.
Harvick qualified 24th at Talladega and struggled to find speed for much of the day. Then, the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Chevy received front-end damage after being caught up in a lap 47 accident. Despite his troubles, Harvick scored a solid eighth-place finish and remained atop the Sprint Cup points standings.
“It's no secret that attention spans, especially with the millennial fans, are changing,” or so says NASCAR boss Brian France. Hard to argue with that, but it basically states that today’s fans are idiots who need the keys jangled before their faces much like one does with a bored infant.
Phil Bienert, chief marketing officer for GoDaddy issued a statement Wednesday, confirming that GoDaddy will not renew its primary sponsorship of Danica Patrick’s Sprint Cup Car which expires at the end of the current season.
After the rainy Saturday night race turned into a Sunday day race and with remembrances of Steve Byrnes abounding, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 61st annual Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
I am a blessed man. I have a multitude of wants, but I already have all those things I truly need. I just wish that when we pray for a miracle, the odds of realizing it were not as astronomically against its success.
Kevin Harvick led 184 laps at Bristol, but his fortunes turned dramatically when he crashed into David Ragan’s spinning No. 18 car. Harvick finished 38th, 43 laps down, ending his streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes this season.
