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CUP REWIND: TOP 5 RACES OF 2013
Ken Willis has been covering NAS-CAR for The Daytona Beach News-Journal for 27 years. Reach him at [email protected]
QUESTIONS & ATTITUDECompelling questions ...
and maybe a few actual answers
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ONLINE EXTRAS
KEY DATESJan. 9-10: Daytona Preseason Thunder testing (Sprint Cup)Jan. 11-12: Daytona Preseason Thunder testing (Nationwide)Jan. 13-14: Daytona Preseason Thunder testing (truck series)Jan. 29: NASCAR Hall of Fame, 2014 induction, Charlotte, N.C.Feb. 15: The Sprint UnlimitedFeb. 16: Daytona 500 qualifyingFeb. 18: UNOH Battle At The Beach (K&N Pro East, Whelen Modifieds)Feb. 20: Budweiser DuelFeb. 21: NextEra Energy Resources 250Feb. 22: DRIVE4COPD 300Feb. 23: Daytona 500
Godwin Kelly is the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s motorsports editor and has covered NASCAR for 30 years. Reach him at [email protected]
Do you have questions or comments about NASCAR This Week? Contact Godwin Kelly at [email protected] or Ken Willis at [email protected]
SPEED FREAKSA couple questions we had to ask — ourselves
OK, when do we start hating Jeff Burton?
Best guess: Sometime around Labor Day in 2015. By then NBC will be well into its large portion of NASCAR coverage in its first season back as a network broadcast partner. One of NBC’s first on-air personnel moves was the hiring of Burton as a color commentator. The longtime racer plans to run a limited schedule next year, then slip into his fire-retardant sportcoat and grab a microphone full time in 2015.
Why is it inevitable that he’ll get on our nerves?
Because they ALL do eventu-ally. Well, OK, not all of us will find something to hate about Burton, but enough viewers will start complain-ing, you’ll think the guy went public with his dislike of grits and Richard Petty. Chances are, Burton hasn’t really thought this through, but it’s true: The quickest way to irritate a sizable chunk of sports-viewing Americans is to take a microphone and start talking about what every-one is watching.
Tough gig, huh?We’re guessing the network-size
treasury will supply just enough salve on payday to make it worth his while. Of course, the majority of viewers will probably be perfectly fine with Burton, but those folks don’t make much noise.
How did Kasey Kahne make the popularity quinella?
Very good question. Junior Earnhardt winning the annual “Most Popular Driver” award is hardly surprising, since he’s now done it 11 straight years. But according to vote counters, Kahne finished second. We realize he carried the 18-to-25 female demographic by landslide margins, but it’s hard to imagine them voting in such numbers to put Kahne second only to Junior. Nothing personal against Kasey; he’s one of the most inoffensive top-flight racers to come along in many years. But the popularity must stem from his boyish looks, because he’s no ball o’ fire. Frankly, he makes Matt Kenseth look like Shecky Greene.
Shecky who?Oops, forgot. Shecky probably
didn’t work the Warner Robins night-club scene much. Should’ve gone with Jerry Clower instead.
Earnhardt Jr.’s “Most Popular Driver” streak is now at 11 years. How long will it last?GODSPEAK: It depends on Danica Patrick. If she can get more competitive, win a race and continue the charm offensive, Junior’s streak would be in jeop-ardy.KEN’S CALL: Maybe until there’s a Dale Earnhardt III. Somewhere, Frank Sinatra Jr. is wondering why he never sold more records.
How do you think Jeff Burton will do in the broadcast booth?GODSPEAK: Burton will bring fresh perspective to the broadcast booth, and NBC has a year to coach him up, so all that is in his favor.KEN’S CALL: Frankly, when I saw the headline, “NBC hires Burton,” I was praying it was Ward. Aside from possibly needing closed-captioning, that would’ve been much more entertaining.
What’s your favorite “other” award from the annual Banquet Week?GODSPEAK: It’s always been the “MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award.” Who has Clevite this year? Scott Fox from the No. 48 Hendrick Motor-sports Chevy.KEN’S CALL: The “MOOG Steering & Suspension Problem Solver of the Year Award.” It went to Matt Borland, by the way.
Getty Images/NICK LAHAM
When he starts getting the slings and arrows that all broadcasters get, he’ll need this uniform again.
Getty Images/CHRIS GRAYTHEN
Too bad, but this trophy doesn’t come with confetti and points.
Editor’s note: We’re count-ing down the top five races of the 2013 Sprint Cup season. Today is No. 3, the March 24 Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., does not have a reputation for producing dramatic Sprint Cup races. Historically, one stock car is superior and runs away from the field.
But the 2-mile oval broke out of its yawn mode thanks in part to an early season feud between drivers Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin earned pole honors, but was quickly overtaken on the first lap by Matt Kenseth,
his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing.
However, it was soon apparent that the stock car to beat was
the third Gibbs Racing entry, wheeled by Kyle Busch, who was in and out of the lead from the opening to closing laps.
As the laps wound down, Busch was in control. He led 48 consecutive laps before Clint Bowyer spun his No. 15 Toyota on Lap 186 of the 200-lap race.
With the field tightened up after the Lap 190 restart, Busch was overtaken by Logano, driv-ing the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford, and Hamlin.
Emotions were high since those two drivers had been bickering and complaining about each other for weeks.
Their dispute came to a head on the final lap. The two driv-ers made contact while battling for the lead, sending Hamlin’s car hard into an inside retain-ing wall. The crash opened the door to a Busch victory.
“I put my foot to it and drove around the outside of them before they started crashing or maybe as they were crash-
ing, I’m not sure,” Busch said. “Man, feels so good to finally win. We weren’t going to win if it wasn’t for those two battling. If they would have been single file and just racing, it would have went down in order.”
The hit was so violent that Hamlin fractured his L1 verte-bra and spent the night in the hospital. He missed four races and had a miserable season, including eight DNFs, until winning the season finale at Homestead in November.
Kyle’s Fontana fun and Denny’s damage
Getty Images/TODD WARSHAW
This was the scene much of the day at Fontana, where Kyle Busch put everyone in his rearview mirror. At the end, though, that No. 22 car got in front … briefly.
3FONTANAMARCH 24
AP/REED SAXON
Busch’s No. 18 went back to the front while Denny Hamlin’s season met a very big roadblock. Also wrecked was whatever remained of the Hamlin-Logano relationship.
The star of NASCAR’s banquet week is always the Sprint Cup champ. But that ring and trophy aren’t the only awards presented. Here’s a list of the “other” honors doled out in Las Vegas last week:National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers Award (for contributions to the sport):
Tony Stewart.NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award: Dale Earnhardt Jr.Buddy Shuman Award: Chevrolet Division of Gen-eral Motors, Ford Motor Company and ToyotaNASCAR Marketing Achievement Award: Coca-Cola3M Lap Leader Award: Matt Kenseth
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kyle BuschCoors Light Pole Award: Denny HamlinDuralast Brakes “Brake in the Race” Award: Jimmie JohnsonFreescale “Wide Open” Award: Matt KensethGoodyear Tires Award (Champion): Jimmie Johnson
MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Scott Fox, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 teamMechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award: Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 teamMobil 1 Driver of the Year Award: Matt KensethMOOG Steering & Suspension Problem Solver of the Year Award: Matt Borland, crew chief No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing team
Not everything stays in Vegas
Feb. 15 Sprint Unlimited, Daytona FOX Sports 1Feb. 16 Daytona 500 qualifying FOX Feb. 20 Duels, Daytona FOX Sports 1Feb. 23 Daytona 500 FOX March 2 Phoenix International Raceway FOX March 9 Las Vegas Motor Speedway FOX March 16 Bristol Motor Speedway FOX March 23 Auto Club Speedway FOX March 30 Martinsville Speedway FOX April 6 Texas Motor Speedway FOX April 12 Darlington Raceway FOX April 26 Richmond International Raceway FOX May 4 Talladega Superspeedway FOX May 10 Kansas Speedway FOX May 17 All-Star Race, Charlotte FOX Sports 1May 25 Charlotte Motor Speedway FOX June 1 Dover International Speedway FOX June 8 Pocono Raceway TNT June 15 Michigan International Speedway TNT June 22 Sonoma Raceway TNT
June 28 Kentucky Speedway TNT July 5 Daytona International Speedway TNT July 13 New Hampshire Motor Speedway TNT July 27 Indianapolis Motor Speedway ESPNAug. 3 Pocono Raceway ESPN Aug. 10 Watkins Glen International ESPN Aug. 17 Michigan International Speedway ESPN Aug. 23 Bristol Motor Speedway ABC Aug. 31 Atlanta Motor Speedway ESPN Sept. 6 Richmond International Raceway ABC Sept. 14 Chicagoland Speedway ESPN Sept. 21 New Hampshire Motor Speedway ESPN Sept. 28 Dover International Speedway ESPN Oct. 5 Kansas Speedway ESPN Oct. 11 Charlotte Motor Speedway ABC Oct. 19 Talladega Superspeedway ESPN Oct. 26 Martinsville Speedway ESPN Nov. 2 Texas Motor Speedway ESPNNov. 9 Phoenix International Raceway ESPNNov. 16 Homestead-Miami Speedway ESPN
2014 SPRINT CUP SCHEDULEFeb. 16 The Sprint Unlimited, Daytona (Kevin Harvick)Feb. 21 Budweiser Duel 1, Daytona (Kevin Harvick)Feb. 21 Budweiser Duel 2, Daytona (Kyle Busch)Feb. 24 Daytona 500, Daytona (Jimmie Johnson)March 3 Subway Fresh Fit 500, Phoenix (Carl Edwards)March 10 Kobalt Tools 400, Las Vegas (Matt Kenseth)March 17 Food City 500, Bristol (Kasey Kahne)March 24 Auto Club 400, Fontana (Kyle Busch)April 7 STP Gas Booster 500, Martinsville (Jimmie Johnson)April 13 NRA 500, Texas (Kyle Busch)April 21 STP 400, Kansas City (Matt Kenseth)April 27 Toyota Owners 400, Richmond (Kevin Harvick)May 5 Aaron’s 499, Talladega (David Ragan)May 11 Bojangles’ Southern 500, Darlington (Matt Kenseth)May 18 Sprint Showdown, Charlotte (Jamie McMurray)May 18 All-Star Race, Charlotte (Jimmie Johnson)May 26 Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte (Kevin Harvick)June 2 Dover 400, Dover (Tony Stewart)June 9 Pocono 400, Pocono (Jimmie Johnson)June 16 Quicken Loans 400, Michigan (Greg Biffle)June 23 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma (Martin Truex Jr.)
June 30 Quaker State 400, Kentucky (Matt Kenseth)July 6 Coke Zero 400, Daytona (Jimmie Johnson)July 14 Camping World RV Sales 301, Loudon (Brian Vickers)July 28 Your Hero’s Name Here 400, Indy (Ryan Newman)Aug. 4 GoBowling.com 400, Pocono (Kasey Kahne)Aug. 11 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen, Watkins Glen (Kyle Busch)Aug. 18 Pure Michigan 400, Michigan (Joey Logano)Aug. 24 Irwin Tools Night Race, Bristol (Matt Kenseth)Sept. 1 AdvoCare 500, Atlanta (Kyle Busch)Sept. 7 Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond (Carl Edwards)Sept. 15 GEICO 400, Chicagoland (Matt Kenseth)Sept. 22 Sylvania 300, Loudon (Matt Kenseth)Sept. 29 AAA 400, Dover (Jimmie Johnson)Oct. 6 Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City (Kevin Harvick)Oct. 12 Bank of America 500, Charlotte (Brad Keselowski)Oct. 20 Camping World 500, Talladega (Jamie McMurray)Oct. 27 Goody’s Headache Relief 500, Martinsville (Jeff Gordon)Nov. 3 AAA Texas 500, Texas (Jimmie Johnson)Nov. 10 AdvoCare 500, Phoenix (Kevin Harvick)Nov. 17 Ford EcoBoost 400, Homestead (Denny Hamlin)
2013 SPRINT CUP RESULTS
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8 – THE DERRICK. / The News-Herald Wednesday, December 11, 2013
