LOUDON, NH – SEPTEMBER 25: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, leads Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images
There’s no statistical category for “saves” in NASCAR racing, but if there were, Joey Logano would be the clear leader at New Hampshire.
With perseverance, Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske outfit turned a potentially disastrous day into a respectable finish and gave themselves a modicum of breathing room in the Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
After a so-so qualifying effort, Logano started 15th in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 and quickly went backwards. On lap 114 of a long green-flag run to start the race, leader Martin Truex Jr. passed Logano to put the No. 22 Ford a lap down. Continue reading →
LOUDON, NH – SEPTEMBER 25: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Core Toyota, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Kyle Busch didn’t have a car that could contend for the victory on Sunday at New Hampshire – until crew chief Adam Stevens convinced him to pit for fresh rubber with 35 laps left.
Subsequently, Busch restarted tenth on lap 269 and quickly powered his No. 18 Toyota into third place. But for two late cautions, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion might have had a shot at victory in the second race of the Chase.
But Busch was happy to take his third-place result into the final race of the Round of 16 next Sunday at Dover.
“If it wasn’t for those last couple of cautions, I thought maybe we had an opportunity to chase those guys (Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr.) down under green and pass them for the win,” Busch said. “It wasn’t meant to be. We managed our way through those restarts as best we could with restarting on the bottom, I feel like that’s a little bit of a disadvantage.
“We made the most of it at least at the end and didn’t lose spots, we were able to maintain our position and come out of here with a decent day. Excited about the opportunity to finish third and having a good points cushion. You can’t take any of that for granted, you have to focus on what’s ahead and the big picture and the task at hand, which is to have another good, solid week next week at Dover.”
Remember last week, when Kevin Harvick was trapped a lap down at Chicagoland Speedway, finished 20th and fell out of the top-12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings?
Remember last year, when Harvick crashed at Chicagoland and ran out of fuel while leading at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and had to win at Dover to advance in the Chase?
That’s all moot, now that Harvick redeemed himself with a victory in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire, the second race in the Chase. Continue reading →
A huge push from Daniel Suárez on a restart with four laps to go in Saturday night’s eventful VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 sent Elliott Sadler ahead of Ryan Blaney to win the opening race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase at Kentucky Speedway.
Sadler’s third win of the season and 13th of his XFINITY Series career was about more than just stamping his way into Round 2 of the Chase. The Emporia, Virginia, native fought for the win while thinking of his mother, Bell, who was released from the hospital Saturday, after a week of hospitalization and two surgeries. Continue reading →
