Clint Bowyer

In The Fast Lane: Most Improved after Darlington

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Photo by: Sean Gardner

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returned from their last off weekend of the season to Darlington Raceway, where they were forced to wait out a four hour rain delay for the annual Southern 500.

Three potential championship contenders are featured in this week’s Top 5. Which one will earn their way into the Top 16 to compete in this year’s playoffs?

No. 1 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer earned his 11th top-10 finish of the season at Darlington, finishing sixth.

Bowyer failed to earn stage points during Stage 1, but earned them in Stage 2 with sixth.

Bowyer is 15th in the point standings, 358 points behind leader Kyle Busch and 85 points away from 10th, which is held by Ryan Blaney.

No. 2 Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson finished 16th during the Bojangles’ Southern 500, but earned needed stage points ahead of the September 8th regular season finale.

Johnson earned stage points in Stage 1 (second) and Stage 2 (seventh).

Johnson was involved in a multi-car crash on Lap 276. Green flag pit stops came into play later in the event, which resulted in the Hendrick Motorsports finishing in the 16th position.

Johnson is in a near must win situation heading into Sunday’s Brickyard 400, where he holds four wins, six top-five finishes, and seven top 10s.

No. 3 Matt DiBenedetto – Matt DiBenedetto earned his sixth top 10 of 2019, finishing in the eighth position.

DiBenedetto failed to earn stage points on Sunday, but ran as high as second. He also held a 14th place average position.

The Leavine Family Racing driver is 22nd in the point standings, 516 points behind Busch and 64 points away from Chris Buescher, who is 20th.

No. 4 Paul Menard – Paul Menard earned his third top-10 finish of the season on Sunday, finishing ninth.

Menard failed to earn stage points at the 1.366-mile track, but ran as high as eighth.

Menard is 19th in the point standings, 435 points behind Busch and 77 points behind Bowyer in 15th.

No. 5 Daniel Suarez – Daniel Suarez barely missed bringing home another top 10, finishing 11th.

Suarez failed to earn stage points at Darlington, but held a 13th place average position throughout the event.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is tied for the last playoff position, in 16th, with Ryan Newman.

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In The Fast Lane: Most Improved after Talladega

2018 NASCAR Season, , , , , , , , One comment

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Photo by: Chris Graythen

The second round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs took place in Talladega, Alabama, where the winner was decided in overtime.

Two teammates are featured in this week’s Top 5, along with three drivers who earned or matched their best finish of the season.

No. 1 Aric Almirola – Aric Almirola finally visited Victory Lane on Sunday, snapping a four year, 149-race winless streak.

Almirola led the final lap in overtime to earn him his second career victory, passing teammate Kurt Busch for the win after his fellow teammate ran out of fuel on the final restart.

Almirola earned stage points in Stage 1 and Stage 2, with a fourth place finish in each segment.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver earns a place into the next round of the MENCS Playoffs with his victory. He is fifth in the standings, 41 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

No. 2 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer earned his first top-five in eight races at Talladega Super Speedway, finishing second.

Bowyer ran alongside his teammates in a near perfect strategy that dominated the field throughout 500 miles at the 2.66-mile track.

Bowyer earned stage points with second place finishes in Stage 1 and Stage 2. Bowyer held a fourth place average position on Sunday.

Bowyer is sixth in the standings, 42 points behind Harvick and one point behind Almirola.

No. 3 Regan Smith – Regan Smith earned his first top 10 since earning third at Pocono Raceway in August of 2016.

Smith, who will be finishing the year in the No. 95 for the sidelined Kasey Kahne, ran as high as sixth.

How will Smith perform next week at Kansas? He has one top-10 finish at the 1.5-mile track, a seventh place result in 2012 racing for Furniture Row Racing.

No. 4 Brendan Gaughan – Brendan Gaughan tied his best finish in four starts this season, finishing 12th at Talladega.

Gaughan led one lap on Sunday on Lap 139. His average at the super speedway was 24th.

The finish is Gaughan’s best since earning a top five more than a decade ago.

No. 5 Trevor Bayne – Trevor Bayne earned his fifth top-15 finish of the season on Sunday, finishing the event in 13th place.

Bayne gained 25 positions from his 38th finish at the track in the spring. He ran as high as 10th during the 1000Bulbs.com 500.

Bayne will be back in the No. 6 Ford for his 20th race this season at Kansas Speedway. In seven starts, he has one top 10.

Notable: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned his third top-five finish of the year, and first since finishing fifth at Talladega in the spring. He finished third on Sunday. His other top five came at Bristol in the spring.

In The Fast Lane: Most Improved after Richmond

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Photo by: Robert Laberge  

The second race in the Round of 16 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs was dominated by the Big 3, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch taking the victory.

The Big 3 of Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. finished 1-2-3, combining for 295 laps led.

Two of Harvick’s teammates make this week’s Top 5, as well as a former three-time winner at Richmond Raceway.

No. 1 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer struggled throughout the beginning of Saturday night’s race, finishing outside the top 10 in Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Bowyer earned a 10th place finish despite his struggles, gaining 14 positions from one year ago.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver sits 13th in the playoff standings heading into the elimination road course race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is four points behind Ryan Blaney, who is in the cutoff position.

No. 2 Aric Almirola – Aric Almirola earned his second top-5 finish of the season, finishing in the fifth position.

Almirola earned stage points in Stage 1 (sixth) and Stage 2 (third).

Almirola is sixth in the playoff standings, two points from Joey Logano in fifth and 62 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr.

No. 3 Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson earned his ninth top-10 of 2018 on Saturday, finishing eighth.

Johnson, a three time winner at Richmond Raceway, failed to earn stage points in Stage 1, but finished Stage 2 in the eighth position.

Johnson is one of four drivers below the cutoff heading in Sunday’s elimination event. He sits 14th, six points behind Blaney.

No. 4 Austin Dillon – Austin Dillon finished in the sixth position on Saturday, earning him his fifth top 10 of the season.

Dillon failed to earn stage points in Stage 1 and Stage 2, but gained 15 positions from his finish at the .75-mile track one year ago.

The Richard Childress Racing driver is tied with Chase Elliott in the playoff standings for ninth, 75 points behind Truex.

No. 5 Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. dominated at Richmond Raceway once again, leading 163 of 400 laps.

Truex earned stage points by winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2, before bringing his No. 78 Auto-Owner’s Insurance Toyota home to a third place finish.

Truex remains the points leader by 16 points over race winner Kyle Busch and 28 points over Harvick.

In The Fast Lane: Most Improved after Dover

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Photo by: Jerry Markland 

The 11th race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware saw a former champion earning his fourth win of the season.

One young gun overcame obstacles to tie a career best, while another veteran earned his best finish at Dover in three years.

Only two organizations are featured in this week’s top 5, but all improved their positions from one year ago by more than 10 positions.

No. 1 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer was in a good position on Sunday to earn his second victory of the season, but a rain delay halted the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s momentum that ultimately ended in his runner-up finish.

Bowyer was leading on Lap 320 when NASCAR red-flagged the AAA 400 because of rain, but when the race resumed it took teammate Kevin Harvick just eight laps to get around Bowyer.

Bowyer finished second to earn his third top-5 finish of 2018. He led 40 laps and earned stage points in Stage 1 (seventh) and Stage 2 (fifth).

Bowyer sits fourth in the points standings, 86 points behind leader Kyle Busch.

No. 2 Kurt Busch – Kurt Busch was relatively quiet at Dover despite his fifth place finish.

Busch finished Stage 1 in fifth and failed to finish inside the top 10 during Stage 2 of the event, but had an average position of ninth throughout 400 miles at the one mile track.

Busch sits sixth in the standings, 108 points behind his brother. He is only seven points behind Brad Keselowski in fifth.

No. 3 Ryan Blaney – Ryan Blaney earned his sixth top 10 of the season despite battling issues.

Blaney started in the 14th position and worked his way into the top 10 before the end of Stage 1, all while saving fuel. Blaney fought a tight car throughout Stage 2, but finished in the eight position.

The Team Penske driver tied a Dover career best finish by earning an eight-place finish on Sunday.

Blaney now sits seventh in the point standings after 11 races, 120 behind leader Busch and 119 from fifth.

No. 4 Aric Almirola – Aric Almirola gained 14 positions from the fall event in 2017, finishing 11th on Sunday for his best finish at the track since finishing fifth in 2015.

Almirola, who did not race at Dover’s spring race last year because of a back injury sustained at Kansas two weeks earlier, ran as high as fifth on Sunday.

Almirola was 13th by mid-race and had a 15th place average. Almirola sits 11th in the point standings, 162 points behind the leader and three points behind Kyle Larson, who sits in the 10th position.

No. 5 Joey Logano – Joey Logano gained 12 positions from one year ago, when he finished 25th.

Logano started in the 18th position on Sunday and was just outside the top 10 by Lap 22 of 400.

Logano earned stage points in Stage 1 (ninth) and Stage 2 (10th). After many adjustments to the Shell-Pennzoil Ford, Logano made his top 5 appearance at Lap 274.

Logano pitted after the red flag for rain was lifted, but was forced to pit again with loose lugnuts. He finished in 13th place. The finish marked the second time this season in which the No. 22 has finished outside the top-10.

Notable: Kyle Busch finished in the 35th position after the drive shaft on the No. 18 Toyota broke on Lap 272. Busch previously reported a problem on Lap 3. He still retains the points lead by 22 points over Logano and 40 points over race winner Harvick.

In The Fast Lane: Most Improved after Texas

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Photo by: Sean Gardner

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returned from the holiday off weekend to frigid temperatures in Fort Worth, Texas.

One veteran avoided multiple wrecks and came from behind to earn his best finish since May of 2017, while another found Victory Lane.

Another young gun scored his best finish of the season, while the Rookie of the Year battle remains a close one.

No. 1 Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch’s run of top 5 finishes without a win came to an end in No Limits Texas, where the Joe Gibbs Racing driver held off Kevin Harvick for his first win of the season.

Busch, who is now tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott on the all-time win list, led the most laps and secured the Stage 2 win before earning the 44thvictory of his MENCS career.

With the Texas victory, the 2015 NASCAR Cup champion extended his points lead to 38 points over Joey Logano and 51 points ahead of Ryan Blaney.

Will the momentum from this win carry into Bristol? Busch has six wins, nine top-5s, and 14 top-10 finishes at the half-mile track.

No. 2 Jamie McMurray – Jamie McMurray came from being one lap behind to finish third in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.

McMurray was only a couple car lengths ahead of multi-car wrecks during Sunday’s event. Avoiding trouble with the first caution on Lap 2 and again on Lap 179.

McMurray regained his lap on Lap 305, when the No. 31 of Ryan Newman brought out the eighth and final caution of the evening.

From there the Chip Ganassi Racing driver surged to the front, earning his best finish since placing second at Talladega last year.

No. 3 Erik Jones – Erik Jones earned his first top-5 of the season at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing fourth after leading 64 of 334 laps.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver earned stage points in Stage 1 (10th) and Stage 2 (fourth).

Jones gained one position in the point standings. He now sits in 11th place, 123 points behind leader Busch. He is nine points behind Kyle Larson in tenth.

No. 4 Darrell Wallace Jr. – Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. looked like a new man on Sunday, coming from his 15th starting position to earn his first top-10 since finishing second in the season-opener at Daytona.

Wallace’s team used an off sequence pitting strategy to get the rookie of the year contender in contention. Wallace stayed out during the final caution that put the Richard Petty Motorsports driver restarting in the fourth position.

Wallace remained strong to earn an eighth place finish. He sits 19th in the point standings, nine points behind Rookie of the Year competitor William Byron and three points ahead of A.J. Allmendinger.

No. 5 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer carried the momentum from his Martinsville win two weeks ago into Texas for a quiet but strong run at the 1.5-mile track.

Bowyer started in the third position and had an average position of seventh on Sunday. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver earned a sixth-place finish during Stage 1 and fifth at Stage 2.

Bowyer sits sixth in the standings after finishing ninth. He is 67 points behind Busch and one point behind defending champion Martin Truex Jr, who is in fifth.

Notables: In addition to McMurray and Jones, there were multiple drivers who scored their best finishes of the season at Texas.

Byron earned his first top-10 of the season with 10th place. He led one lap on Lap 234.

Trevor Bayne recovered from a late-race crash to finish in the 12th position. His best since finishing 13th during the Daytona 500.

Ty Dillon, Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Kasey Kahne, and Ross Chastain all earned best season results.

Pit guns remain a hot topic after issues with the No. 4 team forced Harvick to pit multiple times for loose wheels. Harvick, his crew chief Rodney Childers, and JGR owner Joe Gibbs all expressed their displeasure with the NASCAR mandated pit guns following the race.

Daniel Suarez injured his left hand after being involved in a crash on Lap 2 with Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, and Alex Bowman. Suarez finished 29th, 44 laps down

In The Fast Lane: Most Improved after Martinsville

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Photo by: Brian Lawdermilk

An overnight snowstorm in Virginia postponed the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway to Monday, March 26th – when a veteran’s winless drought that spanned almost six years came to an end.

A young gun with a top team earned his first top-10 of the season, while his teammate overcame obstacles to earn himself a top-10.

This week’s top-5 led laps, overcame being laps behind the leader, and improved their positions from one year ago at the half-mile track.

No. 1 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer was the underdog coming into the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, but at race end he was the top dog.

Bowyer led more laps at the Paper Clip than the last four years of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. He led 215 laps on Monday, compared to 145 laps from 2014 through 2017.

Bowyer gained the lead on Lap 285 and stayed out front for the remainder of day, with the exception of one lap on Lap 386.

The win is Bowyer’s first since the fall race at Charlotte in 2012, first with Stewart-Haas Racing and the No. 14 team. It is the ninth win of his MENCS career.

No. 2 Ryan Blaney – Ryan Blaney led 145 laps on Monday, second to race winner Bowyer, and secured points with a third place finish in Stage 1 and the Stage 2 victory.

Blaney significantly improved his position from one year ago, when he finished in the 25th position.

Blaney sits third in the points standings, 24 points behind new points leader Kyle Busch.

Can Blaney continue the momentum from Martinsville to earn his second career victory at Texas? The Team Penske driver finished 12th in the spring race last year after leading 148 laps.

No. 3 Chase Elliott – Chase Elliott finished ninth at Martinsville Speedway, but it wasn’t an easy finish for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Elliott, who finished in the 27th position during the fall event after contact with Denny Hamlin, fought to stay on the lead lap through 500 miles, but was the beneficiary of the free pass on two occasions.

Elliott overcame the troubles to earn his third top-10 of 2018. The 22-year-old sits 18th in the points standings, 62 points from 10th and 142 behind Busch.

No. 4 Joey Logano – Joey Logano has been quietly flying under the radar this season. The Team Penske driver has earned five top-10s and two top-5s throughout six races.

Logano finished sixth on Monday. He earned stage points in both stages by finishing in the ninth position.

Logano sits fourth in the standings, 25 points behind Busch. He sits only one point behind teammate Blaney in third.

No. 5 Alex Bowman – Alex Bowman earned his first top-10 at Martinsville, earning a seventh place finish after rain and snow on Saturday was the cause of a Monday double-header.

Bowman has made improvements this season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver sits 14th in the standings, 112 points behind Busch. He is 32 points from Kurt Busch, who is in 10th place.

Clint Bowyer returns to Victory Lane at Martinsville

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Photo by: Sarah Crabill

Clint Bowyer snapped a winless streak that spanned almost six years, dating back to October of 2012, on Monday, March 26th, after an overnight snowstorm on Saturday caused the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway to be delayed by one day.

Bowyer led 215 laps before earning his ninth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career, ending a drought of 190 races without a win. The victory is also the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s first at the .526-mile track.

 “We learned last year,” Bowyer said of the 2017 season, his first season with SHR after co-owner Tony Stewart retired from NASCAR competition. “Obviously, Harvick came on strong at the end of last year, but it was a learning year for our team and the 14 bunch.”

Bowyer won by a 1.146 margin-of-victory over runner-up Kyle Busch, who gained the points standings lead from Martin Truex Jr. by eight points.

“We just tried to maintain and keep ourselves in the right position, in the right spots all day long on the long runs and save our stuff as much as we could to see if we couldn’t mount a charge late in the going,” Busch said.

But it wasn’t enough for the 32-year-old. Busch finished second for the third time in the last four races after leading 24 laps. 

Ryan Blaney, Truex, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-5. Blaney led 145 laps and earned the Stage 2 victory before bringing his Menards / Libman “Cleaning Since 1896” Ford to a third place finish.

“It was a good showing for us, for sure. I think the track tightened up a good bit there towards the end and we just got a little bit behind. Congrats to Clint for winning that race.” Blaney said, “It was fun racing with him for a bit, but for us to come out of here and lead a bunch of laps, win a stage and run third here at Martinsville – where I usually run terrible – that says a lot about this team and the preparation that they did getting ready for this race. That’s nice to have, we just need to be a little bit better.”

Joey Logano finished sixth, Alex Bowman earned his first top-10 of the season with seventh, while AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.

The lone caution for an incident occurred on Lap 384 when the No. 1 of Jamie McMurray and the No. 3 of Austin Dillon made contact going into Turn 2. The contact caused McMurray to spin. McMurray later suffered a tire rub and was forced to pit. McMurray finished 26th, five laps down.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series have a week off for Easter, but return on Sunday, April 8th at Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson earned his first victory of 2017 at the 1.5-mile track one year ago. Can he repeat again? Will a young gun earn a win? Or will someone earn their first career victory?

Find out on April 8, 2018 at 2 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

In the Fast Lane: Most Improved after Atlanta

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Photo by: Kevin C. Cox

The weather at Atlanta Motor Speedway hindered the start of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, causing a two-hour rain delay before taking the green on Sunday afternoon.

A veteran overcame pit road issues to score his second victory at the track in an astonishing time gap since his first, all while paying tribute to the late driver he replaced.

This week’s Top 5 were steady contenders, one driver used a different strategy from the rest to advance his chances at an early season victory, while others were consistent in earning stage points.

No. 1 Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin went from the bottom of the grid to the top of it, jumping 34 spots from a year ago when a broken rear-end ended his day in the 2017 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

This year the Joe Gibbs Racing driver used a two-pit-stop strategy during the final stage in an attempt to earn him a win at the 1.5-mile track. Hamlin’s first win at Atlanta came in 2012, and he has a 22.8 average finish since the victory.

No. 2 Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick’s recent dominance at Atlanta has proven that it was only a matter of time before the Stewart-Haas Racing driver returned to victory lane there.

Almost two decades separate the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion’s two wins at the track. Harvick won in just his fourth start in 2001 for Richard Childress Racing driving the No. 29. Harvick returned to victory lane in the No. 4 saluting Earnhardt just as he did 17 years ago.

Harvick was one of several drivers that dealt with pit-gun problems while being serviced on pit road. Harvick overcame the trouble to earn the 38th MENCS victory of his career.

No. 3 Aric Almirola – Aric Almirola has not wasted any time showcasing his talent and deservingness with the No. 10 Smithfield Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing.

Almirola started 11th and finished in the 13th position, but was a top contender throughout the event. Almirola earned stage points in two of the three stages, finishing fifth in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. He sits ninth in the points standings, tied with Paul Menard with 66 points.

No. 4 Austin Dillon – Austin Dillon had a quiet, but effective day – earning a 14th place finish. Dillon ran as high as sixth, with a 15th average position throughout 500 miles.

Dillon has failed to earn a top-5 or top-10 at the oval since becoming a full-time driver in 2014, but he has made some gains. Dillon improved his finish by 18 positions from one year ago.

The Richard Childress Racing driver sits sixth in the standings, 19 points behind new points leader Joey Logano.

No.5 Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer earned his first top-5 finish at Atlanta after finishing third on Sunday. Bowyer was the runner-up after Stage 1 and finished ninth in Stage 2, before earning his first top-5 of the season.

Bowyer jumped eight spots in the standings, from 13th to fifth. Three points separate him from Hamlin in third, and 15 from Logano.

Can Bowyer break a 187-race winless streak to score his first win in almost five years at Las Vegas?

Notables: Daniel Suarez excelled at Atlanta before falling back to a 15th place finish, the lowest position for the 26-year-old throughout the day. He was as high as third and earned a 10th place finish at the end of Stage 2.

Several drivers, including defending MENCS champion Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Harvick, had problems with the new mandatory pit guns. Truex’s team went through three guns because they failed to work properly.  Will the problems be consistent or will they be resolved early in the season?