CHARLOTTE
NASCAR THIS WEEK SPEED FREAKS A few questions we had to ask ourselves Does Martin Truex Jr. have to win the Cup for this to be considered a great season? GODSPEAK: How about Bill Elliott in 1985? He had 11 wins. DW got the trophy. Which one do you remember? KEN'S CALL: 1985 was a rarity. Who won the most games in baseball this season? See what I mean? Titles matter. Is Kevin Harvick now in the picture? GODSPEAK: Harvick is getting in form at just the right time. He's a contender. KEN'S CALL: Can't believe that before Sunday he hadn't had a stage win since March. Good time to welcome some momentum.
C U P S TA N D I N G S 1. Martin Truex Jr. 2. Kyle Larson 3. Kevin Harvick 4. Chase Elliott 5. Denny Hamlin 6. Kyle Busch 7. Jimmie Johnson 8. Jamie McMurray 9. Matt Kenseth 10. Brad Keselowski 11. Ryan Blaney 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3106 3072 3069 3059 3056 3055 3051 3044 3043 3042 3039 3034
GODWIN’S PICKS F O R TA L L A D E G A WINNER: Dale Earnhardt Jr. REST OF TOP 5: Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski FIRST ONE OUT: Kyle Busch DARK HORSE: Jamie McMurray DON’T BE SURPRISED IF: Junior, making his last start in Alabama, sends the “Earnhardt Nation” into a Talladega frenzy.
MOTOR MOUTHS PODCAST We know a few things about plates, which qualifies us to talk about Talladega on this week’s podcast. Tune in online at www.news-journalonline.com/ daytonamotormouths
The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Godwin Kelly & Ken Willis have covered NASCAR for nearly 60 years combined. godwin.kelly@ news-jrnl.com [email protected]
CHARLOTTE
QUESTIONS & AT T I T U D E Compelling questions ... and maybe a few actual answers
A win for the gamers? Emergency personnel assist driver Kyle Busch after the Cup Series race at Charlotte. [AP/MIKE MCCARN]
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
Yes, in case you missed it, Alex Bowman won last Saturday night’s Xfinity Series race. No big deal, you might think, considering he’s ticketed for the No. 88 Cup car next year, and considering a guy with that perceived level of ability should win a race now and then. Except all of Bowman’s racing in 2017 up until Saturday night has come at the wheel of a racing simulator, where he helps the team configure mechanical setups from the comfort of an airconditioned “play room.”
1. Busch, down
2. Sticky stuff
3. Who’s counting?
Does it prove his value?
If Howard Cosell had called Sunday’s race at Charlotte, he would have looked at Kyle Busch after the run and said, “And down goes Busch!” Busch stumbled out of his damaged No. 18 Toyota and was treated by medics on pit road. “Felt like I had heatstroke,” he said. “I’m OK.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in his last Cup Series start at Charlotte and was not happy with the traction compound called VHT. “Everybody is worn out,” he said. “What they did to the race track and had on the race track, kind of all screwed up, got everybody worn out.”
Martin Truex Jr. won his series-leading sixth race of the season, 13th of his career. “I think honestly we could be sitting with 10,” he said. “This is racing. A lot of times things aren't going to go your way. But realistically, I think we could have won four or five more races.”
That'll be determined in time. But it’s a good sign when a guy gets in a car for the first time in 10 months and wins the race. For what it’s worth, he now has the same number of minor-league wins Jimmie Johnson had when he went full-time Cup racing in 2002.
FEUD OF THE WEEK
— Godwin Kelly, [email protected]
THREE THINGS TO WATCH 1. Chase watch Chase Elliott is so close to his first Cup Series victory, he can smell it, like dough frying at the county fair. The 21-year-old driver has an agonizing three secondplace finishes in his past four starts. “It’s frustrating to run like this,” said Elliott, who has six career runner-up finishes. “We’re tired of running second. But if we keep running like we are, hopefully the opportunities will be there.”
2. That’s racin’ Kyle Busch stormed into Charlotte riding a tworace winning streak, then promptly stunk up the place with three single-car incidents, followed by a ride to the care center in an ambulance. He finished 29th and slipped from second to sixth in the
CLINT BOWYER VS. RYAN NEWMAN: On Lap 43, Newman drifted into the No. 14 Ford, forcing Bowyer into the Turn 2 wall. “We had a lot of damage,” said Bowyer, who finished 27th. GODWIN KELLY’S TAKE: These guys need to talk. Newman thought it was Bowyer’s fault. “I’m not sure if he hit me and turned me on purpose or just hit me and ran out of room,” Newman said.
W H AT ’ S O N TA P
Chase Elliott get service on pit road during Sunday’s race at Charlotte before scoring his third second-place finish in his past four Cup Series starts. [AP/MIKE MCCARN] playoff standings. “It was my bad, just trying to get a little too much too early in the race and got too high out of the groove and got myself into the fence and tore the right side off of it,” he said.
3. McMeaningful run Jamie McMurray managed to keep one toe in the playoff conversation after a fifth-place run at
Charlotte. He went from last to eighth in playoff points, leapfrogging four drivers. Now it’s on to Talladega, where he has two career victories. “We will have had a shot to win and we will also have a good shot to get crashed,” the 41-year-old driver said. “We will just have to wait and see how it plays out.”
— Godwin Kelly, godwin. [email protected]
CUP SERIES: Alabama 500 SITE: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval) TV SCHEDULE: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Network, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.). Saturday, qualifying (NBCSN, 4 p.m.). Sunday, race (NBC, race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m.; green flag, 2:15 p.m.) CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS: Fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola SITE: Talladega Superspeedway TV SCHEDULE: Friday, practice (Fox Sports 1, noon and 2 p.m.). Saturday, qualifying (Fox Sports 1, 10:30 a.m.), race (Fox, 1 p.m.)
KEN WILLIS’ TOP 10 NASCAR DRIVER RANKINGS MARTIN TRUEX JR. Back on top here
KYLE BUSCH On a different hot streak
KYLE LARSON All top-10s since Labor Day
CHASE ELLIOTT Can’t wait to show off his doughnuts
1
2
3
4
2017 SCHEDULE AND WINNERS Feb. 18: The Clash at Daytona (Joey Logano) Feb. 23: Can-Am Duels at Daytona (Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin) Feb. 26: Daytona 500 (Kurt Busch) March 5: Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500 at Atlanta (Brad Keselowski) March 12: Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas (Martin Truex Jr.) March 19: Good Sam 500k at Phoenix (Ryan Newman) March 26: Auto Club 400 at Fontana (Kyle Larson) April 2: STP 500 at Martinsville (Brad Keselowski) April 9: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas (Jimmie Johnson) April 23: Food City 500 at Bristol (Jimmie Johnson) April 30: Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond (Joey Logano) May 7: Geico 500 at Talladega (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)
KEVIN HARVICK Stage wins are a step in right direction
5
JIMMIE JOHNSON Still mixing into front-pack scenery
6
DENNY HAMLIN Two wins in 47 career plate races
7
May 13: GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas (Martin Truex Jr.) May 20: All-Star Race at Charlotte (Kyle Busch) May 28: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (Austin Dillon) June 4: AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover (Jimmie Johnson) June 11: Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono (Ryan Blaney) June 18: FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan (Kyle Larson) June 25: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma (Kevin Harvick) July 1: Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) July 8: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky (Martin Truex Jr.) July 16: New Hampshire 301 at Loudon (Denny Hamlin) July 23: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis (Kasey Kahne) July 30: Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono (Kyle Busch) Aug. 6: Watkins Glen (Martin Truex Jr.)
JAMIE MCMURRAY Four of his seven career wins are in plate races
8
BRAD KESELOWSKI Should send Logano postcard from playoffs
MATT KENSETH Quietly lurking — go figure
9 10
Aug. 13: Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan (Kyle Larson) Aug. 19: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol (Kyle Busch) Sept. 3: Southern 500 at Darlington (Denny Hamlin) Sept. 9: Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (Kyle Larson) Sept. 17: Chicagoland 400 (Martin Truex Jr.) Sept. 24: New England 300 at New Hampshire (Kyle Busch) Oct. 1: Delaware 400 at Dover (Kyle Busch) Oct. 7: Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (Martin Truex Jr.) Oct. 15: Alabama 500 at Talladega Oct. 22: Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Oct. 29: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Nov. 5: AAA Texas 500 at Texas Nov. 12: Can-Am 500k at Phoenix Nov. 19: Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead
C U P S TA N D I N G S 1. Martin Truex Jr. 2. Kyle Larson 3. Kevin Harvick 4. Chase Elliott 5. Denny Hamlin 6. Kyle Busch 7. Jimmie Johnson 8. Jamie McMurray 9. Matt Kenseth 10. Brad Keselowski 11. Ryan Blaney 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3106 3072 3069 3059 3056 3055 3051 3044 3043 3042 3039 3034
GODWIN’S PICKS F O R TA L L A D E G A WINNER: Dale Earnhardt Jr. REST OF TOP 5: Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski FIRST ONE OUT: Kyle Busch DARK HORSE: Jamie McMurray DON’T BE SURPRISED IF: Junior, making his last start in Alabama, sends the “Earnhardt Nation” into a Talladega frenzy.
MOTOR MOUTHS PODCAST We know a few things about plates, which qualifies us to talk about Talladega on this week’s podcast. Tune in online at www.news-journalonline.com/ daytonamotormouths
The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Godwin Kelly & Ken Willis have covered NASCAR for nearly 60 years combined. godwin.kelly@ news-jrnl.com [email protected]
CHARLOTTE
QUESTIONS & AT T I T U D E Compelling questions ... and maybe a few actual answers
A win for the gamers? Emergency personnel assist driver Kyle Busch after the Cup Series race at Charlotte. [AP/MIKE MCCARN]
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
Yes, in case you missed it, Alex Bowman won last Saturday night’s Xfinity Series race. No big deal, you might think, considering he’s ticketed for the No. 88 Cup car next year, and considering a guy with that perceived level of ability should win a race now and then. Except all of Bowman’s racing in 2017 up until Saturday night has come at the wheel of a racing simulator, where he helps the team configure mechanical setups from the comfort of an airconditioned “play room.”
1. Busch, down
2. Sticky stuff
3. Who’s counting?
Does it prove his value?
If Howard Cosell had called Sunday’s race at Charlotte, he would have looked at Kyle Busch after the run and said, “And down goes Busch!” Busch stumbled out of his damaged No. 18 Toyota and was treated by medics on pit road. “Felt like I had heatstroke,” he said. “I’m OK.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in his last Cup Series start at Charlotte and was not happy with the traction compound called VHT. “Everybody is worn out,” he said. “What they did to the race track and had on the race track, kind of all screwed up, got everybody worn out.”
Martin Truex Jr. won his series-leading sixth race of the season, 13th of his career. “I think honestly we could be sitting with 10,” he said. “This is racing. A lot of times things aren't going to go your way. But realistically, I think we could have won four or five more races.”
That'll be determined in time. But it’s a good sign when a guy gets in a car for the first time in 10 months and wins the race. For what it’s worth, he now has the same number of minor-league wins Jimmie Johnson had when he went full-time Cup racing in 2002.
FEUD OF THE WEEK
— Godwin Kelly, [email protected]
THREE THINGS TO WATCH 1. Chase watch Chase Elliott is so close to his first Cup Series victory, he can smell it, like dough frying at the county fair. The 21-year-old driver has an agonizing three secondplace finishes in his past four starts. “It’s frustrating to run like this,” said Elliott, who has six career runner-up finishes. “We’re tired of running second. But if we keep running like we are, hopefully the opportunities will be there.”
2. That’s racin’ Kyle Busch stormed into Charlotte riding a tworace winning streak, then promptly stunk up the place with three single-car incidents, followed by a ride to the care center in an ambulance. He finished 29th and slipped from second to sixth in the
CLINT BOWYER VS. RYAN NEWMAN: On Lap 43, Newman drifted into the No. 14 Ford, forcing Bowyer into the Turn 2 wall. “We had a lot of damage,” said Bowyer, who finished 27th. GODWIN KELLY’S TAKE: These guys need to talk. Newman thought it was Bowyer’s fault. “I’m not sure if he hit me and turned me on purpose or just hit me and ran out of room,” Newman said.
W H AT ’ S O N TA P
Chase Elliott get service on pit road during Sunday’s race at Charlotte before scoring his third second-place finish in his past four Cup Series starts. [AP/MIKE MCCARN] playoff standings. “It was my bad, just trying to get a little too much too early in the race and got too high out of the groove and got myself into the fence and tore the right side off of it,” he said.
3. McMeaningful run Jamie McMurray managed to keep one toe in the playoff conversation after a fifth-place run at
Charlotte. He went from last to eighth in playoff points, leapfrogging four drivers. Now it’s on to Talladega, where he has two career victories. “We will have had a shot to win and we will also have a good shot to get crashed,” the 41-year-old driver said. “We will just have to wait and see how it plays out.”
— Godwin Kelly, godwin. [email protected]
CUP SERIES: Alabama 500 SITE: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval) TV SCHEDULE: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Network, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.). Saturday, qualifying (NBCSN, 4 p.m.). Sunday, race (NBC, race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m.; green flag, 2:15 p.m.) CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS: Fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola SITE: Talladega Superspeedway TV SCHEDULE: Friday, practice (Fox Sports 1, noon and 2 p.m.). Saturday, qualifying (Fox Sports 1, 10:30 a.m.), race (Fox, 1 p.m.)
KEN WILLIS’ TOP 10 NASCAR DRIVER RANKINGS MARTIN TRUEX JR. Back on top here
KYLE BUSCH On a different hot streak
KYLE LARSON All top-10s since Labor Day
CHASE ELLIOTT Can’t wait to show off his doughnuts
1
2
3
4
2017 SCHEDULE AND WINNERS Feb. 18: The Clash at Daytona (Joey Logano) Feb. 23: Can-Am Duels at Daytona (Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin) Feb. 26: Daytona 500 (Kurt Busch) March 5: Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500 at Atlanta (Brad Keselowski) March 12: Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas (Martin Truex Jr.) March 19: Good Sam 500k at Phoenix (Ryan Newman) March 26: Auto Club 400 at Fontana (Kyle Larson) April 2: STP 500 at Martinsville (Brad Keselowski) April 9: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas (Jimmie Johnson) April 23: Food City 500 at Bristol (Jimmie Johnson) April 30: Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond (Joey Logano) May 7: Geico 500 at Talladega (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)
KEVIN HARVICK Stage wins are a step in right direction
5
JIMMIE JOHNSON Still mixing into front-pack scenery
6
DENNY HAMLIN Two wins in 47 career plate races
7
May 13: GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas (Martin Truex Jr.) May 20: All-Star Race at Charlotte (Kyle Busch) May 28: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (Austin Dillon) June 4: AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover (Jimmie Johnson) June 11: Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono (Ryan Blaney) June 18: FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan (Kyle Larson) June 25: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma (Kevin Harvick) July 1: Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) July 8: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky (Martin Truex Jr.) July 16: New Hampshire 301 at Loudon (Denny Hamlin) July 23: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis (Kasey Kahne) July 30: Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono (Kyle Busch) Aug. 6: Watkins Glen (Martin Truex Jr.)
JAMIE MCMURRAY Four of his seven career wins are in plate races
8
BRAD KESELOWSKI Should send Logano postcard from playoffs
MATT KENSETH Quietly lurking — go figure
9 10
Aug. 13: Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan (Kyle Larson) Aug. 19: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol (Kyle Busch) Sept. 3: Southern 500 at Darlington (Denny Hamlin) Sept. 9: Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (Kyle Larson) Sept. 17: Chicagoland 400 (Martin Truex Jr.) Sept. 24: New England 300 at New Hampshire (Kyle Busch) Oct. 1: Delaware 400 at Dover (Kyle Busch) Oct. 7: Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (Martin Truex Jr.) Oct. 15: Alabama 500 at Talladega Oct. 22: Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Oct. 29: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Nov. 5: AAA Texas 500 at Texas Nov. 12: Can-Am 500k at Phoenix Nov. 19: Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead
