CP MOTORSPORTS - AAA 400, DOVER, DE NOTEBOOK
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FINAL NOTEBOOK - HARVICK SHINES HIS HEAVYWEIGHT BELT WITH DOVER WIN
"To be the man, you got to beat the man."
Nobody could summarize Kevin Harvick's situation entering Sunday's AAA 400 better than 16 time World Champion Ric Flair.
Harvick's back was against the wall and facing elimination following bad outings at Chicagoland and New Hampshire in the prior two weeks but it didn't hinder him from reasserting his dominance. The defending Sprint Cup champion led 355 of the race's 400 laps to secure his spot in the next round of the Chase.
"We weren't in a good situation coming into today, but that's what this team is made of," Harvick said. "This is what it's all about, those big-time moments."
The win is the third on the season for Harvick but it's the first of his career at Dover. It's also his first win since March, but it wasn't due to inconsistency.
Harvick has racked up 19 top five finishes including 10 runner up finishes.
"I never really felt any pressure," Harvick admitted. "I would've been more disappointed for my guys and for Stewart-Haas Racing than I would've been for myself. I would've found a way to kind of cope with everything and move forward. I would've been more disappointed for the guys on my team, for the guys at the shop that put their heart and soul into these race cars that we put on the track for Stewart-Haas Racing. I could've dealt with it myself, I've been through ups and downs in my life and my career of things that you have to handle but a lot of those guys haven't. I would've felt like I would've let them down more than anything."
Kyle Busch, who also came up big in the face of elimination with a second place finish, answered bluntly when asked if he wanted to see Harvick eliminated this round.
"The way he (Harvick) ran today, hell, yeah," Busch admitted. "That was a guy (Harvick) that we wanted to knock out. That's a guy that can win all these races, and you don't want to have to compete against a guy like that. But you know, that's why they're as good as they are, and they were last year's champion, so they're going to have an opportunity to continue on. We'll see what happens. There's still two more rounds to figure out who's going to make it to Homestead."
Busch, who put up four wins in the regular season, was forced into an elimination situation after a bad outing last week at New Hampshire. Busch now has notched 11 top ten finishes on the season after missing the first 11 races.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Jamie McMurray battled down to the wire for the final transfer position into the next round of the Chase. It was Earnhardt, Jr, getting the better of McMurray finishing in third place just one spot better than McMurray.
Earnhardt, Jr's, third place finish actually forced a tie between himself and McMurray but the tiebreaker went to Earnhardt, Jr.
"I didn't know what the points looked like but they just told me that I had to beat Jamie or [Kyle Busch]," Earnhardt, Jr, said. "We got around him on that last run. On that last restart he was trying to get into the bottom in front of [Matt Kenseth] into [turn 3] and they just kind of rolled that corner real slow for some reason. I drove in there on the outside with pretty much my only shot to get Jamie – can't really pass here so once a guy gets in front of you he's just going to block you and give you dirty air and you can't go anywhere even if you're a little better than him.
"So I just had to jump out there and hopefully it turned in the middle of the corner and didn't push. And it worked so we got around him. He would have advanced if we hadn't got that caution because I don't think we could have run him down."
McMurray believes his run today wasn't good enough to negate bad finishes from the previous two tracks in the Chase round.
“I’m not disappointed,” McMurray said. “Our goal from the beginning was to make the Chase. Our team did a tremendous job today, but we just didn’t run well in the first two races."
Aric Almirola brought home a fifth place finish with Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano rounding out the top ten.
Jimmie Johnson suffered from rear axle problems early in the race and quickly fell into a hole and finished in the 41st position. The mechanical issue loomed large for Johnson and forced him to elimination at a track where he has been to victory lane 10 times.
"I've lost championships this way. I've won championships this way," Johnson said. "It's not the way we want to end the season, but it's racing. Not much we can do about it."
In addition to McMurray and Johnson, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer were eliminated from the Chase.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 29
Unofficial Race Results for the 46Th Annual Aaa 400 - Sunday, October 4, 2015
Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE - 1 Mile Concrete
Total Race Length - 400 Laps - 400 Miles - Purse: $5,255,734
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 15 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet 400 48 5 149.7 $263,590 Running 7 355
2 13 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 400 43 1 122.9 $206,191 Running 5 19
3 12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Plenti Chevrolet 400 41 104.6 $157,175 Running
4 11 1 Jamie McMurray Nature Made Chevrolet 400 40 99.5 $156,691 Running
5 18 43 Aric Almirola Nathan's Famous Ford 400 39 91.1 $155,336 Running
6 17 5 Kasey Kahne HendrickRideAlong.com Chevrolet 400 38 98.5 $116,640 Running
7 1 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 400 38 1 110.8 $145,901 Running 3 26
8 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 400 36 86.9 $102,215 Running
9 19 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 400 35 99.3 $119,673 Running
10 4 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 400 34 106.5 $134,273 Running
11 9 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 400 33 90.2 $116,285 Running
12 10 24 Jeff Gordon AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet 400 32 93.5 $132,571 Running
13 20 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 400 31 78.7 $117,818 Running
14 16 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 400 30 89.9 $119,493 Running
15 3 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota 400 29 103.7 $85,035 Running
16 8 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 400 28 75.9 $128,351 Running
17 7 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 400 27 101.2 $97,710 Running
18 2 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 400 26 75.0 $97,480 Running
19 6 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 399 25 68.3 $115,080 Running
20 26 9 Sam Hornish Jr. SlimFast Ford 398 24 64.8 $109,600 Running
21 24 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 398 23 60.5 $90,480 Running
22 28 55 David Ragan Aaron's Online Dream Machine Toyota 398 22 62.4 $109,394 Running
23 21 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet 398 21 73.0 $118,866 Running
24 22 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 397 20 57.2 $107,838 Running
25 14 27 Paul Menard Knauf/Menards Chevrolet 397 19 63.5 $89,405 Running
26 25 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 396 18 60.1 $108,369 Running
27 30 51 Justin Allgaier Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet 395 17 53.0 $105,138 Running
28 31 35 Cole Whitt Dockside/Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters Ford 394 16 48.8 $94,488 Running
29 23 47 AJ Allmendinger Hungry Jack Chevrolet 394 15 59.6 $107,338 Running
30 32 38 David Gilliland MDS Transportation Ford 394 14 50.0 $96,577 Running
31 29 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 393 13 45.1 $121,930 Running
32 35 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 393 12 44.7 $77,155 Running
33 40 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford 391 11 35.1 $77,005 Running
34 37 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Cosmo Motors Toyota 391 10 39.0 $78,330 Running
35 42 26 JJ Yeley(i) Maxim Fantasy Toyota 390 0 33.8 $76,605 Running
36 41 32 Josh Wise Schwarze Sweepers/CorvetteParts.net Ford 389 8 32.0 $76,437 Running
37 38 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 387 7 37.3 $76,501 Running
38 36 33 Alex Kennedy # Chevrolet 386 6 27.8 $71,402 Running
39 43 62 Timmy Hill(i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 380 0 25.8 $67,330 Running
40 33 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC Brakleen Chevrolet 365 0 39.2 $63,330 Engine
41 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 364 3 72.8 $107,266 Running
42 34 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford 346 2 35.3 $55,330 Accident
43 39 23 Jeb Burton # Dr Pepper/Estes Toyota 186 1 25.4 $51,830 Accident
Race Comments: Kevin Harvick won the AAA 400, his 31st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: No. 78 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 20 Mins, 13 Secs. Average Speed: 119.870 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.639 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 43 laps: Laps: 4-6 (#23, 32 accident turn 1 [None]); 42-45 (Competition [51]); 113-117 (Debris on frontstretch [31]); 193-205 (#23 accident turn 2 [1]); 232-236 (Debris on frontstretch [16]); 312-316 (#47 spin turn 4 [15]); 355-358 (#34 accident turn 2 [2]); 373-376 (Oil on track from #40 [11]).
Lead Changes: 14 among 3 drivers: M. Kenseth 1-23; K. Harvick 24-41; M. Kenseth 42; K. Harvick 43-112; Kyle Busch 113; K. Harvick 114-195; Kyle Busch 196; K. Harvick 197-232; Kyle Busch 233-247; K. Harvick 248-312; Kyle Busch 313; K. Harvick 314-354; Kyle Busch 355; M. Kenseth 356-357; K. Harvick 358-400.
Top 16 Driver Points: (1) M. Kenseth 2,137;(2) J. Logano 2,123;(3) D. Hamlin 2,119;(4) C. Edwards 2,118;(5) M. Truex Jr. 2,104;(6) Kurt Busch 2,100;(7) J. Gordon 2,100;(8) B. Keselowski 2,100;(9) Kyle Busch 2,099;(10) R. Newman 2,099;(11) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,098;(12) J. Mcmurray 2,098;(13) J. Johnson 2,086;(14) K. Harvick 2,082;(15) P. Menard 2,075;(16) C. Bowyer 2,048.
3M Lap Leader : Kevin Harvick, #4 355 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Kevin Harvick, #4
Coors Light Pole Award : Not Awarded, # Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" : Matt Kenseth, #20
Freescale "Wide Open" : Jamie McMurray, #1 Ingersoll Rand Power Move : Aric Almirola, #43 7 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Hendrick Engines, #4 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Kevin Harvick, #4
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 G. Ives, .132 sec Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap : Matt Kenseth, #20
Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Matt DiBenedetto, #83
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Oct. 10, 2015 - Charlotte Motor Speedway
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - SMITH GRABS IMPORTANT XFINITY WIN DESPITE RAIN
THROWING HAIL MARYS - Nothing was going to deny Regan Smith from going to victory lane in Saturday's Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway.
Not the rain. Not a cut left rear tire which forced him all the way back to 23rd at one point in the rain. And certainly not a furious charge from winner circle regulars Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin late.
The win for Smith, who wound up leading a total of 80 laps, is the second of the season for the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. It also revives his championship hopes, which even Smith thought were gone following a bad run at Watkins Glen earlier this season.
Despite an uncertain future with the team, Smith is appreciative of the equipment which he drives.
"JR Motorsports gives us fast racecars," Smith said. "We've worked really hard this year to get the speed to where we want it to be. We started off with it early, lost it in the middle part and now I feel like we're really starting to get it back."
JR Motorsports announced the signing of Elliott Sadler and OneMain Financial to the team's stable of Chevrolet which has led to Smith's future with the team coming into question. Smith admits he's trying to prove himself and add to his resume.
"I'm trying to figure out some things for next year and wins never hurt, that's for sure," Smith said.
Hamlin's charge would fall short and force him to settle for the runner up position. Kyle Busch, who led 110 laps - a race high, could not recreate his early race speed following a 30 minute red flag for rain and finished in third place.
Busch's summarization of how the race played out was simple.
"Track position's everything," Busch said. "We were opposite of Denny (Hamlin), we got loose. We couldn't pass anybody."
Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
Smith's win put him in third in the Xfinity series championship race just 36 points behind leader Chris Buescher, who finished in the eighth spot. Buescher still clings to a 24 point advantage over defending Xfinity champion Chase Elliott with only five races to go in the season.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Number 28
Unofficial Race Results for the 30Th Annual Hisense 200 - Saturday, October 3, 2015
Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE - 1 Mile Concrete
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200 Miles - Purse: $1,188,426
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 8 7 Regan Smith Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet 200 47 4 129.0 $49,402 Running 1 80
2 7 20 Denny Hamlin(i) Hisense Toyota 200 0 124.6 $35,586 Running
3 2 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota 200 0 140.1 $34,950 Running 2 110
4 1 22 Ryan Blaney Hertz Ford 200 40 116.5 $30,183 Running
5 15 42 Kyle Larson(i) ENEOS Chevrolet 200 0 104.8 $22,698 Running
6 5 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 200 0 99.3 $21,077 Running
7 6 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 200 37 109.3 $27,457 Running
8 3 60 Chris Buescher Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 200 36 101.5 $28,315 Running
9 10 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Ford 200 36 1 97.1 $25,816 Running 1 8
10 13 18 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota 200 34 91.2 $27,362 Running
11 9 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. # Bleacher Report Ford 199 33 86.8 $25,158 Running
12 19 28 JJ Yeley Delaware Office of Highway Safety Toyota 199 33 1 81.1 $25,031 Running 1 2
13 11 88 Ben Rhodes Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 199 31 85.7 $24,931 Running
14 16 16 Ryan Reed Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 199 30 77.3 $24,803 Running
15 23 01 Landon Cassill Iron Source/Meddings Seafood Chevrolet 198 29 70.8 $25,328 Running
16 14 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 198 28 80.8 $24,652 Running
17 21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 196 27 79.9 $24,576 Running
18 22 44 David Starr Zachry Toyota 196 26 62.8 $24,526 Running
19 26 90 Mario Gosselin BuckedUp Chevrolet 195 25 60.7 $24,475 Running
20 20 43 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Ford 195 24 59.8 $24,925 Running
21 17 51 Jeremy Clements Delaware Office of Highway Safety Chevrolet 194 23 69.4 $24,369 Running
22 27 24 Eric McClure Reynold's Wrap Toyota 190 22 54.3 $24,263 Running
23 24 8 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota 187 21 67.9 $24,186 Running
24 28 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Chevrolet 187 20 50.8 $24,111 Running
25 36 74 Mike Harmon Dodge 185 19 43.8 $18,210 Running
26 30 97 Ryan Ellis(i) Vroom Brands Chevrolet 132 0 50.8 $24,009 Running
27 32 0 Harrison Rhodes # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 126 17 38.3 $23,959 Suspension
28 4 3 Ty Dillon Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet 115 16 60.5 $23,883 Running
29 25 14 Cale Conley # IAVA Toyota 103 15 61.2 $23,808 Accident
30 34 15 Stanton Barrett Navy SealsVsZombies.com Ford 100 14 46.3 $24,057 Accident
31 12 2 Brian Scott ACME/Reser's Main St. Bistro Chevrolet 80 13 59.0 $23,701 Accident
32 35 70 Derrike Cope Acredale Vending Chevrolet 79 12 37.5 $23,640 Accident
33 38 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 72 11 33.7 $17,575 Suspension
34 33 13 Josh Reaume # Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge 72 10 31.9 $23,540 Parked
35 40 17 Timmy Hill(i) Chevrolet 39 0 32.7 $17,499 Brakes
36 29 26 TJ Bell(i) JGL Racing Toyota 38 0 39.0 $21,806 Suspension
37 18 4 Ross Chastain # Heroes Haven/Natchez Shooters Supply Chevrolet 23 7 44.2 $20,806 Accident
38 39 92 Dexter Bean CrashClaimsR.us Chevrolet 17 6 28.2 $13,806 Suspension
39 37 40 Carl Long Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet 10 5 28.7 $12,806 Suspension
40 31 19 Jeff Green Premier Barter Exchange Toyota 4 4 27.0 $11,806 Suspension
Race Comments: Regan Smith won the Hisense 200, his sixth career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory.
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 54 Mins, 07 Secs. Average Speed: 105.156 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.703 Seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 29 laps: Laps: 16-20 (#88 accident frontstretch [24]); 25-32 (#4, 43 accident turn 1 [88]); 67-70 (Competition [01]); 107-118 (#14, 15 accident backstretch [Red Flag: Lap 115, 30:55] [01]).
Lead Changes: 5 among 4 drivers: 0; K. Busch(i) 1-29; J. Yeley 30-31; K. Busch(i) 32-112; E. Sadler 113-120; R. Smith 121-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) C. Buescher 1,018;(2) C. Elliott 994;(3) R. Smith 982;(4) T. Dillon 979;(5) E. Sadler 908;(6) D. Wallace Jr. # 907;(7) D. Suarez # 886;(8) B. Scott 870;(9) B. Gaughan 864;(10) R. Reed 765.
3M Lap Leader : Kyle Busch, #54 110 Laps Coors Light Pole Award : Not awarded, #
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" : Kyle Busch, #54 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Joe Gibbs Racing Engines, #54
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Chris Buescher, #60 Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Daniel Suarez, #18
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Oct. 9, 2015 - Charlotte Motor Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK: MOTHER NATURE WINS
FRIDAY ON–TRACK ACTIVITIES CANCELED, AAA 400 LINEUP SET ON POINTS – Nonstop rain at Dover forced NASCAR to cancel all on track activities at the Monster Mile on Friday.
This means Sunday's race lineup is set by points standings giving Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin the front row at the start of the race. Fellow JGR driver Carl Edwards will start in third with Team Penske's Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top five.
The lineup for Saturday's Xfinity race is also set on points with Friday's cancellation. The series, however, differs from the Sprint Cup format as it uses owner's points standings to determine the starting lineup.
This puts Ryan Blaney, who is driving the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske, on the pole for Saturday's scheduled race.
Starting Line Up by Row
Dover International Speedway
46th Annual AAA 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, October 02, 2015 @ 11:51 AM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Mark Martin 09/21/97 03:00:50 132.719
Pos Car Driver Team Reason
Row 1: 1 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 2015 Owner Points 1st
2 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 2015 Owner Points 2nd
Row 2: 3 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota 2015 Owner Points 3rd
4 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 2015 Owner Points 4th
Row 3: 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 5th
6 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 6th
Row 4: 7 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 7th
8 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 2015 Owner Points 8th
Row 5: 9 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 9th
10 24 Jeff Gordon AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 10th
Row 6: 11 1 Jamie McMurray Nature Made Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 11th
12 88 Dale Earnrhardt Jr. Nationwide Plenti Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 12th
Row 7: 13 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 2015 Owner Points 13th
14 27 Paul Menard Knauf/Menards Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 14th
Row 8: 15 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 15th
16 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 2015 Owner Points 16th
Row 9: 17 5 Kasey Kahne HendrickRideAlong.com Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 17th
18 43 Aric Almirola Nathan's Famous Ford 2015 Owner Points 18th
Row 10: 19 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 19th
20 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 2015 Owner Points 20th
Row 11: 21 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 21st
22 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 22nd
Row 12: 23 47 AJ Allmendinger Hungry Jack Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 23rd
24 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 24th
Row 13: 25 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 25th
26 9 Sam Hornish Jr. SlimFast Ford 2015 Owner Points 26th
Row 14: 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 2015 Owner Points 27th
28 55 David Ragan Aaron's Online Dream Machine Toyota 2015 Owner Points 28th
Row 15: 29 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 2015 Owner Points 29th
30 51 Justin Allgaier Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 30th
Row 16: 31 35 Cole Whitt Dockside/Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters Ford 2015 Owner Points 31st
32 38 David Gilliland MDS Transportation Ford 2015 Owner Points 32nd
Row 17: 33 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC Brakleen Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 33rd
34 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford 2015 Owner Points 34th
Row 18: 35 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 35th
36 33 Alex Kennedy # Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 36th
Row 19: 37 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Cosmo Motors Toyota '15 Owner Att 28 -37th
38 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet '15 Owner Att 28 -38th
Row 20: 39 23 Jeb Burton # Dr Pepper/Estes Toyota '15 Owner Att 28 -39th
40 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford '15 Owner Att 28 -40th
Row 21: 41 32 Josh Wise Schwarze Sweepers/CorvetteParts.net Ford '15 Owner Att 28 -41st
42 26 JJ Yeley(i) Maxim Fantasy Toyota '15 Owner Att 28 -43rd
Row 22: 43 62 Timmy Hill(i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet '15 Owner Att 28 -45th
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 22 0 Toyota 9 0
Ford 12 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Starting Line Up by Row
Dover International Speedway
30th Annual Hisense 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, October 02, 2015 @ 12:05 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Joey Logano 09/28/13 01:31:27 131.219
Pos Car Driver Team Reason
Row 1: 1 22 Ryan Blaney Hertz Ford 2015 Owner Points 1st
2 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota 2015 Owner Points 2nd
Row 2: 3 60 Chris Buescher Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 2015 Owner Points 3rd
4 3 Ty Dillon Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 4th
Row 3: 5 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 5th
6 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 6th
Row 4: 7 20 Denny Hamlin(i) Hisense Toyota 2015 Owner Points 7th
8 7 Regan Smith Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 8th
Row 5: 9 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. # Bleacher Report Ford 2015 Owner Points 9th
10 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Ford 2015 Owner Points 10th
Row 6: 11 88 Ben Rhodes Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 11th
12 2 Brian Scott ACME/Reser's Main St. Bistro Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 12th
Row 7: 13 18 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota 2015 Owner Points 13th
14 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 14th
Row 8: 15 42 Kyle Larson(i) ENEOS Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 15th
16 16 Ryan Reed Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 2015 Owner Points 16th
Row 9: 17 51 Jeremy Clements Delaware Office of Highway Safety Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 17th
18 4 Ross Chastain # HeroesHaven/NatchezShootersSupply Chev 2015 Owner Points 18th
Row 10: 19 28 JJ Yeley Delaware Office of Highway Safety Toyota 2015 Owner Points 19th
20 43 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Ford 2015 Owner Points 20th
Row 11: 21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 21th
22 44 David Starr Zachry Toyota 2015 Owner Points 23rd
Row 12: 23 01 Landon Cassill Iron Source/Meddings Seafood Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 24th
24 8 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota 2015 Owner Points 25th
Row 13: 25 14 Cale Conley # IAVA Toyota 2015 Owner Points 26th
26 90 Mario Gosselin BuckedUp Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 27th
Row 14: 27 24 Eric McClure Reynold's Wrap Toyota 2015 Owner Points 28th
28 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 29th
Row 15: 29 26 TJ Bell(i) JGL Racing Toyota 2015 Owner Points 30th
30 97 Ryan Ellis(i) Vroom Brands Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 31st
Row 16: 31 19 Jeff Green Premier Barter Exchange Toyota Series Champion
32 0 Harrison Rhodes # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 2015 Owner Att 27 -32nd
Row 17: 33 13 Josh Reaume # Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge 2015 Owner Att 27 -33rd
34 15 Stanton Barrett Navy SealsVsZombies.com Ford 2015 Owner Att 27 -35th
Row 18: 35 70 Derrike Cope Acredale Vending Chevrolet 2015 Owner Att 27 -36th
36 74 Mike Harmon Dodge 2015 Owner Att 27 -37th
Row 19: 37 40 Carl Long Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet 2015 Owner Att 27 -39th
38 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 2015 Owner Attempts 20
Row 20: 39 92 Dexter Bean CrashClaimsR.us Chevrolet 2015 Owner Attempts 5
40 17 Timmy Hill(i) Chevrolet 2015 Owner Attempts 2
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 21 0 Ford 7 0
Dodge 2 0 Toyota 10 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
IT'S OFFICIAL, BOWYER TO SPARTANBURG FOR A YEAR – On a rainy Friday at Dover it was announced officially what almost everyone knew unofficially for a while.
Clint Bowyer, who was named to be Tony Stewart's replacement at Stewart–Haas Racing in 2017, will race for HScott Motorsports for the 2016 season. He will bring his 5–Hour Energy sponsorship to Harry Scott's Spartanburg, SC based NASCAR Sprint Cup team.
Scott knows having a driver of Bowyer's caliber can only help his organization in the future.
“I think Clint will help us long-term because he is basically going to be able to help us kind of reset our program and set the bar higher going forward," Scott said. "With his experience, again, and his leadership and his enthusiasm I think it will be contagious amongst all the team members. I think going forward he will help us form an even stronger relationship with Stewart-Haas and that will obviously be beneficial to us.”
5–Hour Energy will be on Bowyer's car for 24 of 2016's 36 races.
Bowyer admits replacing Tony Stewart is a bittersweet and unique opportunity.
"It’s obviously a once in a lifetime opportunity, but with that opportunity you lose one of the boys, like I said Wednesday," Bowyer said. "That is a champion of the sport, a guy that I’ve always enjoyed just because of our backgrounds. With that look at the wonderful opportunities that have happened because of all this, that is that first opportunity that came Wednesday and then this. Just like what was asked of Harry a minute ago, what does this mean long-term, this means for me to answer that question and allude to what he said, I don’t want to leave Harry with nothing at the end of this.
"We are going to build a great program here and when I leave there I want to be able to leave there him having a winning organization and an established team to where he can put the next driver in and go for broke just like he did with us. That is what I want to do with HScott Motorsports next year.”
JIMMIE HAS NO EQUAL AT DOVER – Jimmie Johnson is a legend. He has six Sprint Cup championships, one away from tying both Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. He's also legendary for his 10 victories at The Monster Mile.
Sunday will also mark his 500th start in the Sprint Cup series, fitting it will come at a track for which he's made history.
Johnson admits there were times early in his career where he wasn't sure if he would have the chance to race at the big level.
"I can’t help but think back to 2000 when I’m not sure if I’m going to have a Busch Series ride at the time," Johnson said. "Seek out Jeff Gordon at the Michigan drivers meeting, he was running the Busch race that day and was just looking for some advice. He gave me advice and he also left and opening where he let me know that Hendrick Motorsports was looking to start a fourth team and I was the guy they were considering. So from that moment on my head spun around on my shoulders and I’m like ‘what… really’ and honestly from that moment in 2000 then my opportunity to race and winning in my 13th start the opportunity to win more races, win championships, more championship to where I am today.
"My head is still spinning. It’s been a life changing experience, one that I’m extremely grateful for and an experience I think really shows what the power of people can do."
Johnson knows his success is tied in with his dynamic team from crew chief, Chad Knaus, to sponsor, Lowe's.
"The situation that was created between Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports, starting the team," Johnson said. "Chad Knaus (crew chief) and myself being put together, the guys that have put their heart and soul into this team and started it and created it. The people made the success of the No. 48, all of us together, the team. To be on that team, is just something that I dreamed of, but I still couldn’t have dreamed this big and have this much take place for us.”
THURSDAY NOTEBOOK: IT'S NOW OR NEVER
KENSETH SAFE IN CHASE BUT WANTS MORE – Just because Matt Kenseth won last week at New Hampshire doesn't mean he's going to rest on his accomplishments and coast into the next round of the Chase.
Kenseth, who has won twice at the Monster Mile, knows Dover creates unique challenges to every racer.
“Dover is just really unique since it’s a high-banked one-mile race track and we don’t really have any more of those around," Kenseth said. "It’s a really fast track and is really edgy, even when you’re out there by yourself, but it can get tough to pass when you get everyone out there during a race. It’s a track that you can really attack but you need to pay a lot of attention to the track changing as well as your competitors. Dover isn’t very forgiving and the elevation changes there can be challenging as well since everything can happen pretty quickly there.
"Dover gives me the sensation of more speed than any other track we go to and I’ve always loved that race track. We don’t have all the results there that I wish we had, but I love that track and it’s very challenging to get around there fast. I always look forward to heading to Dover.”
Kenseth's crew chief Jason Ratcliffe knows Joe Gibbs Racing has built quite a reputation at Dover.
“For our JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) organization as we whole, Dover has been a really good track for us," Ratcliffe said. "It stands out as one of the top tracks for us overall that we seem to have gotten a bit of a handle on since we generally run well there. I like our chances going back there this weekend. I thought we had a good race going in our first race there this year. We had a few things that I felt that we needed to work on, and we were able to work on those items worked out, so I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s one of our better tracks and eventually we’re going to get one there for our DG team.”
BUESCHER IN DRIVER'S SEAT – With just six races left in the season, Chris Buescher holds a 19-point lead over Ty Dillon in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship standings.
“I feel really good about our chances as we go down this homestretch,” Buescher said. “We have three race tracks that we look at as being solid for us, very good chances to go win a race (Dover, Kansas and Homestead).”
The 22-year-old Texan gets his next chance to extend his points advantage when he goes for the season sweep of Dover International Speedway in Saturday’s Hisense 200 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Buescher played fuel-mileage strategy to perfection at the “Monster Mile” in May, beating second-place Matt Kenseth by more than 11 seconds.
In three career starts at Dover, Buescher has finished fourth and 11th in addition to his win for an average finish of 5.3. He enters Saturday’s showdown riding a five-race top-10 streak.
Meanwhile, Dillon rolls into Dover coming off a runner-up finish at Kentucky and with his own streak of 10 top-10 showings in the last 11 races. The No. 3 Chevrolet driver is set on catching Buescher.
“I think about (the points) every day and how bad I want that championship,” Dillon said. “I’ve been thinking about it since the start of the year and we’re going to keep eating. We’re hungry right now. We just have to go out there and keep getting our job done like we’re doing.
“The 60 (Buescher’s team), they’re backpedaling a little bit right now. We’re charging and they’re thinking about us. So that’s a good thing.” –NASCAR Wire Service
TRUEX EXCITED TO COMPETE AT DOVER – One of the stories early on in the 2015 season was Martin Truex, Jr, and Furniture Row Racing's massive amount of laps led without winning a race. Well, Truex and FRR got to victory lane at Pocono but since the win they have only led 50 laps in the 14 races following including a pair of DNFs.
Truex, who sits in ninth position on the Chase grid, knows he must race intelligently.
“We’re still in it, but it’s tight and everyone is playing hardball, which is the way it should be in the Chase playoffs,” Truex said. “We just need to duplicate what we did in New Hampshire, race smart, make no errors and avoid bad breaks.”
Being a New Jersey native, Truex considers Dover to be his hometrack. It is after all the site of his first career victory in the Sprint Cup series back in 2007. It has also been Truex's best track as the driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet for FRR with a pair of sixth place finishes and a seventh place finish.
“Dover’s a tough racetrack — high bank, high speed,” Truex said. “The concrete surface there makes it a huge challenge. The key, as hard as it sounds, is to get the car somewhat comfortable. That place is so treacherous you have to really drive on the edge all day long.
“But Dover has been good for me during my career. It’s a place I have really enjoyed. My first time there was back in 2000 in the Busch North Series and I feel like I have a good understanding of the track. We had a great run there in June, led most of the first half of the race. We feel like we know a couple of things that we need to do a little bit better to try to finish the deal off. Right now it’s all about trying to beat the 48 at Dover (Jimmie Johnson). It’s a good place for us to close out the first round of the Chase.”
KURT BUSCH IN SAFE POSITION – Kurt Busch has won at Dover before but it seems like ages since he grabbed a win there in 2011. In seven races since then he hasn't finished better than 12th place and has only led 8 laps there.
Earlier this season Busch finished in 31st place.
Busch knows Dover is a very unforgiving race track.
“The tough thing about Dover is things happen so quickly," Busch said. "At any moment at any time, somebody can spin in front of you or you can lose control off the corners, and you are going to wreck. There is no real forgiveness about Dover. That is what makes it tough. To be good there, you have to be good on corner exit. The track really rubbers in so you can see the concrete change to black as the weekend progresses. On corner exit, you get really tight or really loose. The time I won there, I could almost hold it wide open on corner exit. That is what you’ve got to have.”
Busch currently sits seventh on the Chase grid so in reality all he needs is a solid finish to move on to the next round of 12. The former Sprint Cup champion knows the elimination races, like Dover, bring a different breed of pressure to the track.
“Yeah, I mean cutoff races are always going to be that way now with the way the Chase is set up," Busch explained. "You’re going to have Dover, Talladega and Phoenix. That is just the way the Chase is going to be shaped up.”
Busch, who won the first Chase style championship back in 2004, believes he can lean on lessons learned from his title run.
“You hope you have an advantage and you have points to give. But, with this new system, three races at a time you’re trying to more or less just stay out of trouble," Busch said. "You can have a whole season, 26 races like we’ve had on the Haas Automation Chevy, where we’ve been fantastic. We’ve led laps, we’ve won races, we’ve sat on poles, and then you can go into the Chase and have one bad race in those first three weeks and your season is over. I think that’s why most drivers are still questioning how the system is, but it is what it is.
"You have to survive it. The best way to survive, and the way I won the Chase back in 2004, is with consistency.”
PAUL MENARD LOOKING TO PICK UP PACE IN CHASE – Paul Menard is competing in the Chase for the first time in his Sprint Cup career this season. Unless he can get a win this weekend at the Monster Mile, it will be a short visit to NASCAR's playoffs.
Menard, who has completed 99 percent of laps at Dover in his 16 Sprint Cup starts, has yet to win on the Delaware one mile track.
The driver of the No. 27 Menard's Chevrolet enjoys the style of racing at Dover and the physical challenge it creates.
“It’s a really fun track to drive," Menard said. "You get a great sensation of speed there. I find the toughest part is the first one-third of the corner. The car is going through a huge load as you drive downhill into the corner and as the car first compresses, then decompresses, it changes how the tires load and can get pretty unpredictable. It’s very hard to hit right.
"The groove generally opens up throughout the race, but getting the car in the corner so you can get out of the corner is pretty tough.”
HARVICK TRYING TO TURN THE TIDE AT DOVER – All the reigning Sprint Cup series champion, Kevin Harvick, had to do last week at New Hampshire was win. If he could grab the victory, all the stress would be off and he could probably relax.
But winning was not in the cards. Harvick ran out of fuel in the race's final laps and was forced to settle for a 21st place finish.
Now it's all or nothing at Dover, a track which Harvick has never won in 29 career starts. The driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet for Stewart–Haas Racing knows this situation is what brings the audience.
“This is why everybody watches," Harvick said. "Every situation is different. You just have to address whatever you think is right or wrong at that particular time to go out and do what is best for your team.”
Harvick is drawing similarities from last season's win or go home situation after an accident at Martinsville.
“I think, when you look at the situation, every situation is different," Harvick explained. "Obviously, our situation last year at Phoenix was most like that. The one thing that we could control was to win the race and move on. I think, as you look back on it, I don’t think second place would have been good enough to move on just because of the circumstances that we wound up with after Martinsville. Definitely, in that position, it was a lot of pressure. For us, it was a great confidence booster leading into Homestead just for the fact that we had dealt with most of the pressure the week before. Leading into this year after dealing with everything at Phoenix and dealing with the weekend in Homestead and coming out on top of both of those situations, I think we have definitely gained a lot of confidence in knowing we can handle every different situation. I don’t think there are a lot of them that can say that.
"We are definitely happy that we have been through those moments and been able to capitalize on those situations. Moving forward is really good for us as a team.”
STEWART ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT – For 17 years, Tony Stewart earned Sprint Cup victories, championships, respect and adoration with his passionate style of racing.
That gritty run to glory will soon end.
During a Wednesday press conference at the sprawling Stewart-Haas Racing shop in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Indiana native confirmed that he will retire from the top level of NASCAR racing after the 2016 season. Clint Bowyer has been tabbed Stewart as the driver of No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
“This is a moment every driver eventually comes to terms with, and I know this is the right decision for me,” Stewart said. “2016 will be my last year in a Sprint Cup car, but it’s not my last year in NASCAR.”
The 44-year-old Stewart, who has 48 career wins and three Sprint Cup titles, plans to step up his role with the four-car SHR operation alongside co-owner Gene Haas.
“I love this sport and I love being a part of it. Instead of seeing me in a fire suit on Sundays, you’ll see me in a pair of jeans, and maybe even a pair of khakis,” Stewart said.
After finishing 25th in point last season, Stewart currently ranks 25th again with no top-five and just two top-10 finishes. Stewart also suffered a broken leg in a sprint car wrecked in 2013 and was involved in the death of Kevin Ward, Jr. in a sprint car race in August of 2014.
But Stewart said his decision to retire was not prompted by his struggles on the track or by his emotions.
“Zero percent -- not 1 percent of it has anything to do with it, “Stewart said. “This is strictly what I want to do. My leg feels fine. There is nothing wrong with my leg. The tragedy, nothing is going to change that. It happened, but it's not going to direct the rest of my life.”
Stewart explained that his headline-grabbing move is simply a matter of timing.
“Deep down, you know when it's time to do something different and make a change like this,” he said. “It's kind of a bittersweet day. ... It's not performance-based, it's just time to do what we're doing.”
According to Stewart, his performance last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway offered proof that he still has the right stuff to compete on a high level. Stewart overcame a 27th place starting position and tire issues to finish 11th.
“I think our race showed that we still have that fire and that intensity,” Stewart said. “That’s probably one of the better weeks that we've had all year. I know the potential is still there. I know we can do it.
“We qualify -- first guy to run 200 miles an hour at Texas Motor Speedway. If that doesn’t prove that we can still nut it up, I don't know what does. Anybody have any questions after that, feel free to ask, but I'm pretty sure if you want to ride along on that lap at 200 miles an hour at Texas, I can ask if I've lost anything there.”
Bowyer said he jumped at the chance to replace Stewart and join his high-profile team.
“Well, anybody that's an athlete in any sport, you look at you have an opportunity to sit in one of the best rides ever in the history of the sport,” Bowyer said. “I mean, this is a champion's seat that I'm filling, so that being said, this is an unbelievable opportunity.”
For Bowyer, the versatile legacy and hardcore approach to racing has long served as motivation.
“I've lived through my whole life of Tony Stewart's brand and what that means to motorsports, and younger drivers coming up through weekly racing series all through the country,” Bowyer said. “Attaching your name to that brand and building on that, the people you can attract, just look at this powerhouse that he has helped create. And it's because of that brand of Tony Stewart and the people flock to that, whether it's employees or partners or whatever the case may be.”
Stewart also revealed Wednesday that he plans to keep racing in other forms of motorsports.
“Yeah, I'm still going to race. I'm not retiring from racing, I'm just retiring from the Cup Series and focusing on the owner side,” Stewart said.
As for his final season in the Sprint Cup ranks, Stewart said he will shoot for victories while maintaining his aggressive style.
“I've got two more big wins on the schedule that I want to win, and that's the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500, and I wouldn't mind adding another championship to that,” Stewart said. “We're going to continue to put all of our effort toward that. I can promise you, next year is not a coast and collect year. It’s just the opposite because I don't have to worry about making anybody mad next year and having to deal with it in 2017.”
Stewart recorded at least one victory in each of his first 15 year on the Sprint Cup tour, but he’s currently mired in a career-long, 69-race winless streak dating back to 2013. But Stewart reiterated that his decision to step out of his familiar No. 14 Chevrolet was not dictated by outside forces.
“It was a choice that was 100 percent mine,” Stewart said “There wasn't any pressure from anybody. ... There have been more challenges in the last couple of years that have distracted from [my fun racing] a little bit, but it's still fun. If it wasn't fun, I would just walk away from it."
The current driver roster at Stewart-Haas Racing includes the combustible trio of Danica Patrick, 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.
Stewart said he looks forward to building on the legacy of the SHR operation.
“That fire is still there, and that's what makes this transition much easier for me is I'm not sitting here trying to figure out what I'm going to do and I'm not trying to find something to be competitive with,” Stewart said.
“The great thing is I think a lot of athletes and professionals get to this scenario and get to the point where they make this decision and don't really know what they're going to do with the rest of their lives. And I can say that I honestly have everything lined down and in place and it's basically doing everything I'm doing now, just not driving a Cup car.” –Allen Gregory
