Yes, Jeff Gordon celebrated his 93rd career victory in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Yes, Gordon will compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Yes, there were tears of joy in Victory Lane for Gordon, who’s at the tail end of his last season in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
But Sunday’s race at Martinsville had so much more — most notably, ‘Matt Kenseth’s Revenge.’ Continue reading
Block me once, and I’ll cut you some slack.
Block me twice — and it’s ‘Gotcha.’
That, in essence, was the conversation on Joey Logano’s team radio after Logano spun race leader Matt Kenseth in turn one with less than five laps left in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Logano went on to win the race after a green-white-checkered-flag restart that sent the race two laps past its scheduled distance of 267 laps. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has monopolized the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, having won back-to-back races at Charlotte and Kansas. Continue reading
Logano Advances to Eliminator 8 Round with Win at Charlotte
Joey Logano led 227-of-334 laps on his way to Victory Lane in Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to become the first driver to advance to the Eliminator 8 Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
The No. 22 Ford driver becomes a member of the Eliminator 8 by winning the Contender Round opener for the second straight season. Last year, he won the first Contender Round race at Kansas Speedway – the site of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. In 12 starts at Kansas, Logano owns one win, four top-fives and four top-tens. He has logged a top-five showing in his last four starts at the 1.5-mile track.
Logano’s checkered flag was his first at Charlotte. His previous best Queen City finish was third in 2011.
On the season, Logano ranks tied with Kevin Harvick for the Sprint Cup Series lead in top-tens with 24. His five Coors Light Pole Awards are the most in the series. Continue reading
By Jove, he’s done it again!
Forced to win at Dover International Speedway to keep his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship hopes alive Sunday, Kevin Harvick did just that, dominating Sunday’s AAA 400 to stave off elimination from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
In a virtual carbon copy of last year’s Chase race at Phoenix, where the 2014 premier series champion had to win to advance to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick led 355 of 400 laps – a career best at any track – in winning for the third time this year and the 31st time in his career.
“I think we’re better than we were last year, just because of the experiences and things that we’ve had,” Harvick said after the race. “I think when we look at everything that’s gone on over the last couple of years, it’s just been a lot of fun.
“So, it’s just that never-quit attitude. That’s what (team co-owner) Tony Stewart said when we went to Homestead last year. He said, ‘Whatever you do, do not quit until they throw that checkered flag.’”
Harvick on the Ropes Heading into Dover
Defending champion Kevin Harvick has two options heading into Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway – the first cutoff race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – win or go home.
The No. 4 Chevrolet driver ranks 15th out of 16 drivers on the Chase Grid and sits 23 points below 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the cutoff line. He mathematically can still make the Contender Round on points, but it would be a tough task, requiring him to jump three drivers.
Basically, if Harvick doesn’t visit Victory Lane, he is out of NASCAR’s playoffs as one of the four winless drivers lowest in points. Continue reading