The 2015 DAYTONA 500: A Review With A Boring Finish

Well, the 2015 Daytona 500 has come and gone. Speedweeks has come and gone. Testing, the Duels and qualifying and the race itself has finally started the 2015 NASCAR TV season.

Up until the 500 itself, the race coverage was over on FoxSports 1. IT was interesting over there. We'd watch about 30 minutes of event then swap to their sports desk where these two guys would reiterate what had just happened and tell us what will be coming up.

That sports desk thing needs work. It felt awkward, like they felt like they were out of their element covering events in NASCAR. My favorite flub was after Kurt Busch got suspended from NASCAR, it was between 9 and 10 at night, when these two guys told us about Kurt, and how they would give us live updates throughout the night on the situation. I was thinking to myself that if there are live updates at 1 AM, well... OK?

All the races except the cup race were on FoxSports 1, and as many have said in various sources, having most of the coverage taking place on a cable channel many folks don't receive if they can't afford it, is an unfortunate development.

But then TV is about marketing and the advertising, and advertisers want viewers with money, so in the long run, they don't care about the free or basic cable packages. At least the 500 was on FOX itself.

Throughout the weekend we learned various aspects about new rules that are in place for the drivers. One of them is that there are no officials standing on pit road watching teams change right side lugnuts.

Predicting the Winner of the 2014 NASCAR Cup Season

This year is a unique year for NASCAR. Instead of wondering if driver A will finish 15th or better, letting driver B maybe win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship if he finishes 4th or better, and other such convoluted NASCAR algebra, this year, we have a straight up, whoever finishes the highest in the field of the four contenders will be the champion.

That even means if all four get wrecked and finish 39th to 43rd, whom so ever is 39th, will be the champion. Or that the best driver of the four could be eliminated by a bad tire, bad call by another team, or just bad luck.

But who might it be, that will take advantage of this TV ratings induced, newly kludged elimination points system and become the season winner?

Looking at the Homestead driver ratings for Joey Logano, Ryan Neman, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, the money is on Harvick!

Logano  71.2
Newman  84.8
Hamlin  93.4
Harvick 99.1

But I've seen Homestead throw wrenches in statistical performances in the past.

And the latest practice speeds, as I write this, are backing me up, where Harvick posted the faster speeds of the four contenders, followed by Newman, then Hamlin and Logano.

But practice time and race time are two very different beasts and despite the ranking right now, Hamlin has won here before.

If we look at the season's driver ratings for these four drivers,

Newman 86.1
Hamlin 90.7
Logano 106.7
Harvick 109.9

Things look different. But this is a different weekend with all the pressures of an all or nothing race weekend.

I think, pending more practice and qualifying sessions, that this will be between Harvick and Hamlin.  My worries are that Newman might not be quite up to snuff and will pull one of his all or nothing moves by not taking four tires or some such stunt. He tries these a lot and most of the time they don't pan out.

So for lack of any other substantial info, numbers and one practice session say that Kevin Harvick will be the champion come Sunday afternoon.

But too many things can happen in this new and idiotic process that NASCAR has instigated at the behest of the TV networks. So we will see. For now, suffice it to say, the mostly better drivers are at the top of the field and we will have ourselves a first-time champion.

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Sprint Cup Series Official Race Results from Richmond

Richmond did not disappoint, as the after-race entertainment included some fisticuffs, if you could call it that, between the guys that came in 18th, and 19th, Ambrose and Mears.  But otherwise, it was a pretty fun race-ending win, with the usual closing laps yellow flag and better tires working out.

With that said,

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 9
60TH ANNUAL TOYOTA OWNERS "400"
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Richmond, VA - April 26, 2014
.75-Mile Oval
400 Laps - 300 Miles

Joey Logano won the Toyota Owners 400, his fifth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

Those who Failed to qualify for the race included: (2) #95 Michael McDowell; #77 Dave Blaney

TIME OF RACE:3 hours, 12 minutes, 47 seconds      

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD:  None - due to inclement weather

3M LAP LEADER:  Jeff Gordon (173 Laps)

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Kyle Larson

Caution Flags: 9 cautions for 66 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
2-7 (Car #15, 42 Accident (Turn 1) [None]); 42-46 (Competition [10]); 100-106 (Debris (Frontstretch) [35]); 162-170 (Debris (Turn 2) [41]); 227-238 (Car #36 Accident (Turn 3) [27]); 297-304 (Car #17 Accident (Turn 3) [42]); 369-376 (Debris (Turn 3) [38]); 378-382 (Car #11, 18, 55 Accident (Turn 3) [99]); 386-391 (Car #30 Fluid On Track (Turn 1) [41]).

Lap Leaders:  20 lead changes among 8 drivers.
Larson-pole, Keselowski 1-31, Harvick 32-42, Kvapil 43, Harvick 44-55, Keselowski 56-101, Cassill 102, J. Gordon 103-165, Keselowski 166, J. Gordon 167-172, Keselowski 173-208, J. Gordon 209-227, Logano 228, J. Gordon 229-242, Logano 243-251, J. Gordon 252-298, Earnhardt Jr 299-305, Logano 306-337, J. Gordon 338-361, Kenseth 362-396, Logano 397-400.

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SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL Results from the "Duck Commander 500"

This is the " NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT - Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway"

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 7
18TH ANNUAL DUCK COMMANDER "500"
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Fort Worth, TX - April 7, 2014
1.5-Mile Oval
334 Laps - 501 Miles Purse: $7,253,712

Joey Logano won the Duck Commander 500, which was delayed until Monday, April 7 by rain and extended to 340 laps, six laps beyond the scheduled distance. It was Logano's first NASCAR Sprint Cup win this year and the fourth of his career. No cars dropped to the rear of the field prior to the start of the race.

TIME OF RACE:3 hours, 48 minutes, 2 seconds      
AVERAGE SPEED:134.191 mph      MARGIN OF VICTORY:0.476 second(s)

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD:  Tony Stewart (195.454 mph. 27.628 secs.)

3M LAP LEADER:  Tony Stewart (74 Laps)

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Kyle Larson

Caution Flags: 7 cautions for 49 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
1-10 (Green/Yellow To Start The Race. [None]);
14-24 (Car #88 Accident Turn 1. [None]);
50-53 (Competition Caution. [23]);
177-183 (Car #41 Spin Turn 4. [43]);
220-226 (Car #41 Spin Turn 1. [21]);
256-260 (Debris On Frontstretch. [99]);
334-338 (Debris Turn 1 And 2. [99]).

Lap Leaders:  18 lead changes among 9 drivers.
Stewart 1-24, Harvick 25, Stewart 26-50, Sorenson 51,
Stewart 52-76, Keselowski 77-96, J. Gordon 97-98,
Keselowski 99-121, Hamlin 122-140, J. Gordon 141-142,
Ky. Busch 143-152, J. Gordon 153-183, Keselowski 184-225,
Logano 226-299, Hamlin 300, Bowyer 301, Logano 302-334,
J. Gordon 335-339, Logano 340.

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Fin	Car				Series	Bonus		Leader
Pos	No		Driver	Laps	Points	Points	Status	Times
1	22	-	Joey Logano	340	48	5	Running	3
2	24	-	Jeff Gordon	340	43	1	Running	4
3	18	-	Kyle Busch	340	42	1	Running	1
4	55	-	Brian Vickers	340	40	0	Running
5	42	-	Kyle Larson #	340	39	0	Running
6	16	-	Greg Biffle	340	38	0	Running
7	20	-	Matt Kenseth	340	37	0	Running
8	15	-	Clint Bowyer	340	37	1	Running	1
9	27	-	Paul Menard	340	35	0	Running
10	14	-	Tony Stewart	340	35	1	Running	3
11	5	-	Kasey Kahne	340	33	0	Running
12	43	-	Aric Almirola	340	32	0	Running
13	11	-	Denny Hamlin	340	32	1	Running	2
14	99	-	Carl Edwards	340	30	0	Running
15	2	-	Brad Keselowski	340	30	1	Running	3
16	31	-	Ryan Newman	340	28	0	Running
17	1	-	Jamie McMurray	340	27	0	Running
18	78	-	Martin Truex Jr	340	26	0	Running
19	21	-	Trevor Bayne	339	0	0	Running
20	9	-	Marcos Ambrose	339	24	0	Running
21	3	-	Austin Dillon #	339	23	0	Running
22	38	-	David Gilliland	339	22	0	Running
23	47	-	AJ Allmendinger	339	21	0	Running
24	51	-	Justin Allgaier #	339	20	0	Running
25	48	-	Jimmie Johnson	338	19	0	Running
26	17	-	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	338	18	0	Running
27	10	-	Danica Patrick	338	17	0	Running
28	13	-	Casey Mears	338	16	0	Running
29	7	-	Michael Annett #	337	15	0	Running
30	95	-	Michael McDowell	335	14	0	Running
31	26	-	Cole Whitt #	335	13	0	Running
32	23	-	Alex Bowman #	335	12	0	Running
33	36	-	Reed Sorenson	334	12	1	Running	1
34	40	-	Landon Cassill	334	0	0	Running
35	34	-	David Ragan	334	9	0	Running
36	98	-	Josh Wise	333	8	0	Running
37	32	-	Travis Kvapil	332	7	0	Running
38	35	-	David Reutimann	332	6	0	Running
39	41	-	Kurt Busch	327	5	0	Accident
40	30	-	Parker Kligerman #	313	4	0	Overheating
41	77	-	Dave Blaney	272	3	0	Steering
42	4	-	Kevin Harvick	28	3	1	Engine	1
43	88	-	Dale Earnhardt Jr	12	1	0	Accident

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{ NEXT EVENT: April 12, 2014 - 65th Annual Bojangles' Southern 500, Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC (501.322 Miles) (367 Laps) }

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The 2013 Chase Seeing Possibly More Scandal Issues?

Sports... cheating... they go hand in hand.  The only difference is that if you get caught, it's bad.  If you don't, you go on to all that fame and glory that comes with winning.

We've already had one issue with the race to the chase with the Waltrip Racing debacle, and Truex effectively getting pulled from the chase, Newman getting in.

But now, there's new noise on the horizon that it's possible that Joey Logano's team had made a request of Front Row Motorsports driver David Gilliland to let Logano pass him to help him get into the Chase.

And he did, getting in front of Gilliland to secure his spot in the Chase, while Gilliland's lap times dropped by a whole second after that.

As far as what exactly is being reported, there's communications of a request to let Logano pass.  When Gilliland's team inquires who is making the request, the reply is "We've got the big dog and all his cronies."

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Logano doesn't think it's a big deal, but some folks do. 

I received these two NASCAR statements in my inbox, that they sent to the core of press:

NASCAR is aware of reports about the #22 and #38 radio communications at Richmond International Raceway and is looking into it, but has yet to see anything in full context that requires any action.

NASCAR is continuing to gather all the facts from last Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway. NASCAR will have no further comment until all the facts have been examined.

To be honest, this doesn't seem as terrible as the MWR thing, but NASCAR could prove me wrong.

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And this is on the heels of NASCAR having dinged MWR rather heavily for manipulating the outcome of the Richmond race with Clint Bowyer spun himself out to bring out the caution.

Though there were other actions involved, where MWR driver Brian Vickers was asked to pit after a green flag, many are focused on Bowyer.  But the other actions, with Vickers pitting, gave Logano more position, enabling him to knock Jeff Gordon out of the 2013 Chase.

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All the while, Carl Edwards has skated any press pressure from his restart where he blatantly beat the leader to the green flag on the final race restart.  Something that NASCAR chose to ignore enforcing.  This time.  (I wish they'd get consistent.)

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NASCAR Nationwide Series Official Race Results from Chicagoland

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 18
3RD ANNUAL STP "300"
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

Joliet, IL - July 21, 2013
1.5-Mile Oval
200 Laps - 300 Miles Purse: $1,203,347 
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Joey Logano won the STP 300, his 20th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag, no cars dropped to the rear of the field. 
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TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 23 minutes, 13 seconds   AVERAGE SPEED: 125.684 mph   MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.291 second(s)
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Sam Hornish Jr (178.341 mph. 30.279 secs.)
3M LAP LEADER: Elliott Sadler (81 Laps )
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Caution Flags: 6 cautions for 32 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
2-8 (Fluid On The Track [None]);
49-53 (Fluid On The Track. [70]);
115-119 (Car #60 Accident Turn 1 [19]);
130-133 (Car #7 Spin Frontstretch [33]);
172-176 (Car #19 Accident Frontstretch [21]);
180-185 (Fluid On The Track [30]).
Lap Leaders: 12 lead changes among 5 drivers. -

Fin	Car			Series	Bonus		Laps
Pos	No	Driver	Laps	Points	Points	Status	Led
1	22	Joey Logano	200	0	0	Running	35
2	12	Sam Hornish Jr	200	43	1	Running	56
3	3	Austin Dillon	200	42	1	Running	24
4	11	Elliott Sadler	200	42	2	Running	81
5	20	Brian Vickers	200	39	0	Running
6	77	Parker Kligerman	200	38	0	Running
7	6	Trevor Bayne	200	37	0	Running
8	31	Justin Allgaier	200	36	0	Running
9	5	Brad Sweet	200	35	0	Running
10	33	Matt Crafton	200	0	0	Running
11	2	Brian Scott	200	33	0	Running
12	32	Kyle Larson #	200	33	1	Running	4
13	7	Regan Smith	200	31	0	Running
14	54	Joey Coulter	200	0	0	Running
15	21	Dakoda Armstrong	200	0	0	Running
16	43	Michael Annett	200	28	0	Running
17	30	Nelson Piquet Jr #	200	27	0	Running
18	60	Travis Pastrana	199	26	0	Running
19	19	Mike Bliss	199	25	0	Running
20	70	Johanna Long	199	24	0	Running
21	4	Landon Cassill	198	23	0	Running
22	44	Chad Hackenbracht	197	0	0	Running
23	87	Joe Nemechek	196	21	0	Running
24	1	Mike Wallace	196	20	0	Running
25	51	Jeremy Clements	196	19	0	Running
26	79	Kyle Fowler	196	18	0	Running
27	24	Blake Koch	195	17	0	Running
28	14	Eric McClure	195	16	0	Running
29	92	Dexter Stacey #	195	15	0	Running
30	40	Reed Sorenson	175	14	0	Engine
31	99	Alex Bowman #	172	13	0	Running
32	23	Harrison Rhodes	45	12	0	Engine
33	74	Kevin Lepage	36	11	0	Electrical
34	17	Tanner Berryhill	20	10	0	Track Bar
35	15	Carl Long	14	9	0	Handling
36	42	T.J. Bell	13	8	0	Vibration
37	10	Jeff Green	11	7	0	Vibration
38	0	Ken Butler	10	6	0	Wheel Bearing
39	37	Matt DiBenedetto	6	5	0	Electrical
40	52	Joey Gase	1	4	0	Engine

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Blocking In NASCAR Should Be A Non-Issue, Welcome to Parity Boys and Girls

The last race we had, Tony Stewart made a move to pass Joey Logano on a restart, but Logano made his own move to block Stewart.  After the race, Stewart was all fired up about Logano doing to him, exactly what he himself would have done.  I'm guessing Tony forgot this was NASCAR and not some other racing league that has banned blocking.

And needless to say, Tony was pissed.  He wanted a piece of Joey's ass after the race.  But almost every fan and reporter, to a tee, made mention how this is something Tony himself has done and all those folks also reminded us of a huge wreck at a restrictor plate race that was caused by Stewart himself making a move to block someone.

So be it.  The goose, the gander, the kettle and the pot.

But I'm a bit surprised this debate about blocking is still going on two weeks later.  Or, then again, maybe not since there's been no new news to capture our attention.  Kurt hasn't mouthed off at anyone, Kyle hasn't called the Gen-6 any foul expletive, Mr. "5-Hour Energy" hasn't chased anyone new down.  So this is the latest headline that's still glowing brightest in the aftermath of the last race from two weeks ago.

But the question remains of whether blocking should be allowed in NASCAR?  Should blocking be a valid or allowed part of the sport?

Folks, WELCOME TO PARITY!!!

NASCAR has worked hard to get all the cars/teams on as equal footing as possible.  And now that they are, we are going to start seeing this tactic more and more.

And yes, blocking should be allowed.  It's a valid maneuver that's deployed within most events that involve tactics.  Period.

Honestly, with Logano's move, that meant his eye was on the prize, that first-place trophy.  And if he didn't block, how would his fans and sponsors feel?

In chess, you make moves to block attacks on the king.  In boxing, you block punches from landing valuable points.  In football, you block the pass-rush and defend your quarterback. In war, you make moves to keep the opponent from making their own successful moves.

Blocking is a valid tactic, no matter what.  Not blocking is like seeing the opponent coming, and laying down. And in this day, when teams are more equal in car,  blocking is going to come to the forefront of our attentions.