From my eyes, it appeared that the racing at Kentucky was better than the previous races at the Sparta, Kentucky track. The statistics bear that out and the eye test was overwhelmingly positive. Drivers loved it and all the slipping and sliding was entertaining to most fans.
Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished ninth in the Quaker State 400, recording his 13th top 10 of the year. “Junior’s wasn’t the only car that was ‘unstoppable,’” Johnson said. “Those Joe Gibbs Racing cars were as well, and it had nothing to do with brakes.
In a storied career that includes 92 wins and four championship titles, he has nothing left to prove. However, there is one accomplishment that would set him apart from any other driver in NASCAR history. A victory at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night would give Gordon a win at every track on the current Sprint Cup circuit.
As Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the finish line to claim his second win of the season at Daytona International Speedway, celebrating the victory was the last thing on his mind. He had just driven the last two laps of the race focused on the traffic behind him, moving around the track as needed to protect his position when he saw the wreck unfolding in his rearview mirror.
Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third at Daytona as a massive crash developed back in the field as the leaders crossed the finish line. Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race while HMS cohort Jeff Gordon took sixth.
Everyone has to still be stunned to see Austin Dillon walk away from the horrifying last-lap crash that sent his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet flipping into the catch fence at the end of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
Qualifying for Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola was rained out Saturday, giving the pole position to Dale Earnhardt Jr., based on his chart-topping, 200 mph-plus practice speed.
NBC will be covering its first Sprint Cup race since 2006 and I’m excited to see what they have after FOX kicked the season off with some of the worst coverage I’ve ever seen. Constant production mistakes, announcers giving false or misguided information, biased studio analysts, constant commercials, and a terrible pre-race “grid walk.”
Johnson finished sixth at Sonoma, passed by eventual winner Kyle Busch with six laps remaining. Johnson is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 70 out of first. “Maybe we should have pitted during that final caution,” Johnson said. “But we had a strategy and we wanted to stick to it.
With this win, Kyle tied Kevin Harvick for 23rd on the all-time wins list. This is Busch’s first win this year; his last victory was March 23, 2014. There are 800 starts between the brothers and this is the first time they finished one-two.
