In the 46th annual FedEx 400, it was only fitting that the No. 11 FedEx Cares Toyota, piloted by Denny Hamlin, scored the pole position, with a speed of 160.121 mph and a time of 22.483 seconds.
The trophy features Miles the Monster, a sharp-toothed, red-eyed stone creature hoisting the winner’s car in the air in an apparent prelude to dashing it into dust. Imagine what happens to the guy who finishes dead last.
1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth at Charlotte, recording his 11th top-10 finish of the year. He leads the points standings, ahead of Martin Truex Jr. by 41.
We begin with Monaco, tune into Indianapolis for the matinee, then spend the evening in Charlotte in our 600-mile feature. While we go in concerned about cars running into a house or into a harbor overseas, or find the wall and flipping down the track in Indiana, our biggest concern for the folks with fenders is that they might not be able to pass the leader in North Carolina.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you give it away. Denny Hamlin won the All-Star event Saturday night, but Brad Keselowski and his team handed it over.
With a deft move with three laps left in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin delivered the first victory in the non-points showcase event to Joe Gibbs Racing and to Toyota.
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.
With the hopes of attracting a younger crowd to the sport with appearances by Squidward Tentacles, Larry the Lobster, and Patrick Star, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 5th annual SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway.
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.
