“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.
1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second to Stewart-Haas teammate Kurt Busch at Richmond, as Harvick scored the runner-up spot for the fifth time this 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.
Just about the only thing missing was Jeff Probst and his Tribal Council as this turned into a game of survival. With the rains that delayed the start, the rains that stopped it again and again, the day race that ran into night became a reality show of its own.
I watched my first race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August of 2002, amongst a sold out crowd of over 150,000 when I watched Jeff Gordon execute the bump and run on Rusty Wallace with three laps remaining in the Sharpie 500.
Our Hot 20 is a look at those in contention to slip into one of the sixteen Chase spots. A win while in the Top 30 in points could prove to be just as good. Neither matters at the moment for Tony Stewart. Sadly, 2015 has been a year Smoke has been a participant, not a competitor.
Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second at Texas, earning his ninth runner-up finish in his last 10 races. He leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 26 over Joey Logano. “Jimmie Johnson and I have won four of seven races this season,” Harvick said. “Johnson’s win at Texas supports the notion that the Sprint Cup championship is a two-man battle, and I ‘seconded’ that.