Fantasy Preview: Richmond 4/26

This week, the Sprint Cup Series is back and under the lights at Richmond International Speedway.  Below, I'll tell you who I think will be strong this weekend.

Tier A

Photo courtesy Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Clint Bowyer
Bowyer is usually strong at the short tracks like Richmond, and I expect that to continue this weekend.  He finished second in this race last season, and he already has two victories at the track.  I expect him to be strong this weekend.

Bench:
Kasey Kahne

Tier B
Brian Vickers
Vickers was strong at Bristol this year, and these two tracks are pretty similar (at least a lot more similar than Bristol and Martinsville).  Vickers ran strong here last season, but finished 35th following a crash while filling in for Denny Hamlin.  I think he should be strong this week.

Carl Edwards
Going off the similarities to Bristol, Edwards should be strong here.  He won at Bristol earlier this year, and he won the last race at Richmond back in the fall.  I wouldn't be surprised if he ends this race with a victory backflip.

Bench:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Martin Truex Jr.

Tier C
Danica Patrick
Patrick had an average finish of 29.5 last season at Richmond, but she did finish 18th at Bristol earlier this year.  The drivers in Tier C (with the exception of Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson) are usually pretty rough, and most times I just hope for a top 25 finish out of them.

Bench:
Landon Cassill

My pick to win the Toyota Owners 400: Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards celebrates his victory earlier this year at Bristol. Could he return to Victory Lane in Richmond?

That's all for this week!  Comment below with who you're starting this week.  Be sure to watch the Toyota Owners 400 from Richmond on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST on FOX.

Vote Raymond Parks

Imagine a Hall of Fame without Babe Ruth or Vince Lombardi; without Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan.  Imagine a Hall of Fame without the people who helped build a sport and change the landscape of those sports forever.

This is the problem that faces the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  The NASCAR Hall of Fame has a long list of great people who helped shape the sport, including Bill France Sr., Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.  But one person the Hall of Fame is missing is Raymond Parks.

NASCAR was built by men who ran moonshine in the south during the prohibition era.  One of the men who made money off this was Raymond Parks.

Parks made a name for himself throughout Atlanta throughout numerous business ventures, but he had an immense impact on the sport of NASCAR.

Parks was part of the group that founded NASCAR with Bill France Sr. at the Streamline Hotel in 1947.  He also became the first championship car owner when Red Byron won the Grand National Championship (now the Sprint Cup Series) in NASCAR's inaugural season in 1948.

Parks retired in the mid-1950s, saying, "I loved racing and I loved winning, but it was costing too much money.  I had to start making a living."

But Parks left a big legacy once he left the sport.  His drivers included Bob Flock, Roy Hall and Curtis Turner.  He also teamed with legendary mechanic Red Vogt during his first NASCAR season.

What Parks did after his retirement may have been even more important for the sport.  Colleagues noticed frequent transactions between Parks and France that helped NASCAR through a few rough financial spots early on in NASCAR's history.  Simply put: without Raymond Parks, NASCAR might not still be around.

Many NASCAR fans don't know who Parks is or why he was so important to the history of the sport.  Until his death on June 20, 2010, he was the only person who had witnessed all of NASCAR's history.

You can vote for Parks by heading to the NASCAR Hall of Fame's website before voting closes on May 20, 2014.

At a reception for the inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2010, Mike Helton said Parks was "the heart and soul or spirit that got NASCAR started."  Let's help make Parks become the heart and soul of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Kevin Harvick Wins the Southern 500 at Darlington

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kevin Harvick locked up his spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup with a win in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway on Saturday night.

Harvick had the most dominant car on Saturday night, and showed it early and often.  He won the pole on Friday, and led 239 of 374 laps on Saturday night.

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

The win was Harvick’s second of the season, effectively locking him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  That was good news for Harvick, who has struggled with mechanical problems in the past few weeks.

“We had to overcome a lot over the last several weeks,” Harvick said in victory lane.  “We’ve kept our heads down and kept doing what we had to do.”

When the green flag fell, Joey Logano jumped out to the lead after starting on the inside of Harvick.  Harvick quickly learned his lesson, however, and he restarted on the inside following the first caution on lap 41.  He took the lead away from Jeff Gordon, and held on to the top spot until the next caution came out on lap 59.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin used pit strategy to get up front, and they restarted on the front row following the caution.  It only took 10 laps for Harvick to chase down Kenseth for the lead, and he led over the next two caution periods, for a span of over 100 laps.

Kasey Kahne had to make an early pit stop during a long green-flag run, and he was able to gain a lot of time on the leaders with his fresh tires.  When the stops cycled around, Kahne led Harvick by over five seconds.  

Harvick took the lead back following another restart on lap 208.

After Aric Almirola spun to bring out the caution on lap 222, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman took two tires to get to the front of the field.  They were able to hold off Harvick on the following restart, and a caution 20 laps later reset the field again.

On the next restart, Harvick was able to drive around Vickers for the lead, and he held on until lap 358, when Logano got into the wall to bring out the caution.

Jimmie Johnson only took two tires during the caution period, and he led the field into Turn 1 on lap 363.  He was able to hold off the leaders until the caution came out for debris with just three laps to go.

On the next restart, Harvick pushed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the lead.  Earnhardt was headed into Turn 3 when the caution came out again for a spin by Kurt Busch.  Busch had made contact with Clint Bowyer, and showed his displeasure by glaring at the No. 15 as it drove by.

On the final restart, Earnhardt jumped out to the lead, but was caught by Harvick coming down the backstretch.  Harvick drove around Earnhardt coming out of Turn 4 and took the checkered flag for his 25th career victory.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Greg Biffle

6. Kyle Busch

7. Jeff Gordon

8. Kyle Larson

9. Tony Stewart

10. Ryan Newman

11. Austin Dillon

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Carl Edwards

14. Marcos Ambrose

15. AJ Allmendinger

16. Jamie McMurray

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Casey Mears

19. Denny Hamlin

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Josh Wise

22. Danica Patrick

23. Just Allgaier

24. Aric Almirola

25. Landon Cassill

26. Brian Vickers

27. Martin Truex Jr.

28. David Gilliland

29. Alex Bowman

30. Parker Kligerman

31. Kurt Busch

32. David Ragan

33. Travis Kvapil

34. Joe Nemechek

35. Joey Logano

36. David Stremme

37. Kasey Kahne

38. Cole Whitt

39. Reed Sorenson

40. Ryan Truex

41. Paul Menard

42. Michael Annett

43. Dave Blaney

The Sprint Cup Series will return to action on April 26 for another Saturday night race under the lights.  The Toyota Owners 400 from Richmond International Raceway can be seen at 7:00 p.m., only on FOX.

Harvick celebrates in victory lane. (Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images)

Fantasy Preview: Darlington 4/12

This week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the Lady in Black, Darlington Raceway.  Read on to find out which drivers I'm starting on my fantasy team this weekend!

Tier A
Kyle Busch

Photo courtesy Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Darlington is a good track for Kyle Busch.  It's a track where you can run right next to the wall, get into it a little bit and keep racing.  Busch is always one of the first drivers to get a Darlington Stripe, but that shouldn't slow him down.  I always think of his victory in the 2008 race at Darlington, when he drove an Indiana Jones car and completely flattened the right side.  Too bad that only made his car go faster.

Bench:
Clint Bowyer

Tier B
Tony Stewart
I was surprised Tony Stewart ran so well at Texas.  I think that team is starting to turn the corner, and I think he should run well at Darlington.  A strong run at this track will help that team build even more confidence heading towards the summer months.

Greg Biffle
Greg Biffle is always strong at Darlington, and I think he'll run well this weekend.  That team just seems to be missing something, but I expect them to find it this weekend, or at least come close.  Biffle knows how to get around Darlington, and he should run well this weekend.

Bench:
Carl Edwards
Brad Keselowski

Tier C
Michael Annett
Honestly, I'm just picking Annett because I can't keep using Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson every weekend.  He's shown a few flashes (and by that, I mean he's run in the top 20 a few times).  He finished 26th at Bristol, which is the closest thing on the schedule to Darlington.  Expect him to run around the same place this weekend.

Bench:
Danica Patrick

My pick to win the Bojangles' Southern 500: Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch celebrates his victory earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway. (Photo courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)

That's all for this week's fantasy preview!  Check back next week for my race recap, and be sure to comment below with who you're picking this weekend!

Logano Wins the Duck Commander 500 from Texas

Joey Logano ran away from the field to win the rain-delayed Duck Commander 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Monday afternoon.

 

Photo courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Logano led during the race’s final green flag run, but he almost lost the race when the caution came out coming to the white flag.  Logano said he was upset the caution came out when it did.

“You’re like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” said Logano.  “You get so mad that you can barely control yourself.”

The caution set up a green-white-checkered finish that saw Logano restart in third after making a pit stop.  He started behind Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers after both drivers only took two tires.  The tires couldn’t stand up to Logano’s four, and he was able to get around Gordon after taking the white flag.

“This team has been doing a great job giving me what I need to win these things.  To have both Team Penske cars with a win already is big.  You feel a little bit more comfortable.”

The race was postponed on Sunday afternoon due to rain, and the green flag was set to fly at 12:08 p.m. on Monday.  After running the first 11 laps under caution to help dry the track, the field finally took the green flag and the excitement soon followed.

Just two laps into the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw his day go up in flames.  He clipped the grass, which was wet from all the rain, and it tore his front end off.  He hit the outside wall hard, and his car caught on fire.  He was able to get his car stopped, and he got out of the car without injury.

“I was following the 43 [of Aric Almirola] and just didn’t see the grass,” said Earnhardt.  “With the way the A-post is in these cars, you can’t really see.  I didn’t have a good visual of where the grass was, and got into the grass pretty good.”

The accident also caused major problems for Jimmie Johnson, who was running directly behind Earnhardt at the time.  In addition to some minor damage to the front end, Earnhardt’s car also kicked up a lot of mud that caused part of Johnson’s windshield to cave in.

Photo courtesy Nick Laham/Getty Images

When the race finally restarted following a lengthy cleanup, it was dominated early by pole-sitter Tony Stewart.  After winning his first pole position since 2012, he led 74 of the first 77 laps.

After chasing down Stewart, Brad Keselowski took the lead for the first time on lap 78.  He traded the lead with Jeff Gordon during a cycle of pit stops, and Denny Hamlin took the lead after running down Keselowski.

During the next set of green-flag pit stops, Hamlin was caught speeding while exiting pit road, and the resulting pass-through penalty cost him a shot at the win.

Kyle Busch took over the lead when Hamlin pitted, but he was quickly caught by Gordon, who retook the lead on lap 153.  

Over the next 100 laps, Gordon and Keselowski swapped the lead numerous times, before Joey Logano took the lead on a restart on lap 227.  

Logano ran away from the rest of the field until Kurt Busch blew a tire coming to the white flag.  The leaders hit pit road one last time, and Gordon and Vickers only took two tires to get out first.

On the restart, Logano worked his way around Vickers and made a last-lap pass of Gordon to take the victory.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Kyle Busch

4. Brian Vickers

5. Kyle Larson

6. Greg Biffle

7. Matt Kenseth

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Paul Menard

10. Tony Stewart

11. Kasey Kahne

12. Aric Almirola

13. Denny Hamlin

14. Carl Edwards

15. Brad Keselowski

16. Ryan Newman

17. Jamie McMurray

18. Martin Truex Jr.

19. Trevor Bayne

20. Marcos Ambrose

21. Austin Dillon

22. David Gilliland

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Justin Allgaier

25. Jimmie Johnson

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

27. Danica Patrick

28. Casey Mears

29. Michael Annett

30. Michael McDowell

31. Cole Whitt

32. Alex Bowman

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Landon Cassill

35. David Ragan

36. Josh Wise

37. Travis Kvapil

38. David Reutimann

39. Kurt Busch

40. Parker Kligerman

41. Dave Blaney

42. Kevin Harvick

43. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Darlington for the first official night race of the season.  The Bojangles’ Southern 500 can be seen at 6:30 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Logano celebrates his fourth career victory. (Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Fantasy Preview: Texas 4/6

I will be looking at my fantasy team each week in anticipation of that weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.  I use Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing, so I'll be setting up my driver choices as Tier A, B and C.  So let's get started!

Tier A
Jimmie Johnson
Johnson has been so close to getting the win in the past few weeks.  He was outrun by Kurt Busch last week, and he had tire problems just laps from the finish in California, so he's going to be hungry to get his first victory of the season.

Bench: 
Kasey Kahne

Tier B
Ryan Newman
Newman has really surprised me at Richard Childress Racing this season.  He's been a lot stronger than I was expecting; maybe Stewart-Haas was holding him back.  I think Newman should run strong this weekend, and I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes in the Top 10.

Joey Logano

Photo courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Logano has been extremely fast on the 1.5 mile tracks this season, so hopefully he'll do well this weekend.  He's been really good at the new qualifying procedures, so chances are good he'll pick up some fantasy points for a strong qualifying effort.

Bench:
AJ Allmendinger
Tony Stewart

Tier C
Austin Dillon
Dillon hasn't finished lower than sixth in all four Nationwide races he's driven at Texas.  He also ran both Sprint Cup races at Texas last season, so he has a lot of laps under his belt.  He's been strong every week this season, so I think he'll do well this weekend.  Don't be surprised if he's fighting for the win at the end of the race on Sunday.

Bench:
Kyle Larson

My pick to win the Duck Commander 500: Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson won the last race at Texas Motor Speedway. Will we see him return to victory lane this weekend? (Photo courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

That's all for this week!  Leave a comment below with what drivers are on your fantasy team this weekend!

Kurt Busch Returns to Victory Lane at Martinsville

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kurt Busch returned to victory lane on Sunday after snapping an 83-race winless after winning the STP 500 from Martinsville Speedway.

The win was his first with Stewart-Haas Racing, who added a fourth team for Busch this year.  SHR uses Hendrick Motorsports engines, and Busch said that was definitely a factor in the win.

Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“I didn’t know if we’d be able to do it, the 48 [of Jimmie Johnson] is king here, so is the 24 [of Jeff Gordon],” Busch said in victory lane.  “If you can’t beat them, join them.  We have Hendrick chassis and Hendrick engines at Stewart-Haas.”

Practice was rained out on Saturday, and Busch joked that that may have been helpful in his victory today.

“Now we know what to do on Saturday; don’t practice.  We can’t dial out the car.”

Earlier in the race, Busch said his race was over after a run-in on pit road with Brad Keselowski.  Busch even went as far as to say he would punch Keselowski in the face, but that none of that mattered in victory lane.

“We won, we aren’t worried about any of that nonsense now.”

Busch had to outrun Johnson, who led a race-high 296 laps.  He said his car just got looser as the race wound down, and that is what cost him the victory.

“I’d been loose in the final third of the race and was just hanging on there,” Johnson said.  “When he [Busch] got by me, I’d hoped he’d fall off, and we got back by him but we couldn’t hold on.  Just a little too loose there to get the win.”

The race was dominated early by Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano, who combined to lead 371 of the 500 laps on Sunday.  

Kyle Busch started on the pole, but he wasn’t able to lead for long because the first caution came out on the second lap when the field stacked up and Parker Kligerman spun.  

Busch led the field back to the green flag, but Johnson had taken the lead for the first time by the time competition caution came out on lap 40.

During the next run, Johnson traded the lead with Kenseth and Logano.  Johnson was leading when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hit the wall on lap 103 to bring out the third caution.

When the race went back to green, Kenseth and Logano raced for the lead until Michael Annett, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Michael McDowell got together to bring out another caution.

Logano led the field back to the restart, and he led until Johnson passed him for the top spot.  Greg Biffle passed Johnson for the lead, and Biffle led until the Casey Mears spun on lap 170.

Marcos Ambrose took over the lead during the caution, and he led until Kenseth took the lead on lap 196.  On lap 200, Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got together to bring out the caution.

A string of cautions kept the field bunched together, and Clint Bowyer raced hard with Johnson for the lead following a caution on lap 251.  Johnson continued to lead throughout four of the last five cautions, but Bowyer caught him on lap 450.  

Carl Edwards spun on lap 459 to bring out the final caution.  The field came down to make their final pit stops, and Bowyer was leading when the field came down.  Johnson won the race out of the pits, and Bowyer lost nine positions, which dropped him to 10^th and out of contention.

Johnson led the field during the final restart, but Kurt Busch stayed right on his bumper.  Busch took the lead on lap 473, but Johnson got back around him on lap 483.  After racing hard, Busch got around Johnson for the final time on lap 490.  Busch was able to lead Johnson through lapped traffic to win the race.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4. Joey Logano

5. Marcos Ambrose

6. Matt Kenseth

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Aric Almirola

9. Clint Bowyer

10. Paul Menard

11. AJ Allmendinger

12. Jeff Gordon

13. Carl Edwards

14. Kyle Busch

15. Austin Dillon

16. Brian Vickers

17. Tony Stewart

18. Greg Biffle

19. Denny Hamlin

20. Ryan Newman

21. Martin Truex Jr.

22. Kasey Kahne

23. Justin Allgaier

24. Casey Mears

25. Landon Cassill

26. David Gilliland

27. Kyle Larson

28. David Ragan

29. Cole Whitt

30. Ryan Truex

31. Michael Annett

32. Danica Patrick

33. Travis Kvapil

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Josh Wise

36. Alex Bowman

37. Michael McDowell

38. Brad Keselowski

39. David Stremme

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

41. Parker Kligerman

42. Jamie McMurray

43. Joe Nemechek

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads down south to Texas Motor Speedway.  The Duck Commander 500 will be next Sunday at 3:00 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Photo courtesy Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images