When I drive out west of Phoenix to go to the race track, the smell of manure on the cattle ranches reminds me of my own upbringing on a farm.
I wonder, once this gig has run its course, if the smell of oil, gasoline, rubber and exhaust will make me think of NASCAR.
Probably ... in the unlikely event that this gig ever runs its course. This is my 18th season. I reckon I'm going to be a "lifer." Maybe it's indistinguishable from the song that was famously on the country charts at the time of Hank Williams' demise: "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive."
Don't worry. At the moment, I feel fine. Writers tend to write for as long as they live, though, and it seems unlikely I'll ever stray too far from the great speed palaces of the land.
As Robert Duvall once said in a movie, "They's worse things." Race tracks are safe from foreign attack. As you may have noticed, our air superiority is demonstrated prior to the start of practically every NASCAR event.
Specializing in NASCAR gave me a chance to carve a name for myself. So what if I'm typecast? In these times, the woods are full of people wanting to be cast, period.
My cell phone died on Saturday. Then, using the handy GPS provided with my rental car, I set out to see if it could be salvaged. It took four tries to find a retailer established by my "provider." The first three were no longer there. The fourth had merely moved five blocks or so, and I found it thanks to a friendly security guard in a mall.
So technology is failing me left and right, but there are people out there who will still help. It's easy to forget that in an emailing, texting, Facebooking world.
Teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman discuss how their cars were handling after practice for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)
AVONDALE, Ariz.-- Yes, Tony Stewart conceded, it’s tough to be in the Chase but, well, out of it.
“All everybody wants to do is talk about the guys (who) are in it, and all we want to do is worry about the stuff we’re doing … and trying to make our cars better,” he said. “You want to be in the middle of it, and you want to be those guys that are there, but, at the same time, when it doesn’t work out, you have to sit there trying to figure out things at the end of the year and figure out why you didn’t get yourself in that position (contention).”
Stewart also said, by the way, that Juan Pablo Montoya is the most talented driver against whom he has ever raced.
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GORDON RELIED ON 'HAVE AT IT'’--Jeff Gordon was angry when he confronted Jeff Burton and provoked a physical exchange a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway. But he had enough presence of mind to realize the fight wouldn’t cost him any Sprint Cup points.
Asked if the same incident would have occurred a year earlier, before NASCAR’s so-called “have at it” advice, Gordon said, “I would have reacted the same way but I would have expected a fine. That’s the only difference. When you know you’re going to get fined – and, to be honest, I held back, I wanted to do a lot worse that that – and, at that moment when you’re upset, you really don’t care what happens on Monday or Tuesday.
“I had a long enough walk (between his car and Burton’s) to think, OK, there are consequences here that I need to consider, and what can I get away with and still show him how upset I am? That’s why I reacted the way I did. I didn’t think it would get points taken away from me, and it didn’t. But I thought there could be a monetary fine, and there wasn’t.”
IN THE BAG--Todd Bodine wrapped up his second Camping World Truck Series championship with a 12th-place finish in the series’ penultimate race at PIR Friday night. Clint Bowyer won the Lucas Oil 150.
Bowyer, by the way, has won back-to-back, though over four years. He hadn’t competed in the series since a November 2006 victory in Texas.
SECOND TRY--Caitlin Shaw, a junior at Belmont Abbey, started 33rd and placed 30th in the Truck Series race. It was the second start for the 21-year-old native of Albuquerque, N.M. She was involved in a crash after completing 84 of the 150 laps.
Since January, Shaw has been working at Michael Waltrip Racing as an intern.
Jimmie Johnson watches his No. 48 crew work on his car before practice on Saturday for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. He has to pull off a feat he hasn’t had to do in the past, not in the past, at lesatt not in the final two races. (Photo: Getty Images)
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Jimmie Johnson won what is now the Kobalt Tools 500 a year ago. He’s won four of the past six races at Phoenix International Raceway. He’s finished fourth or better in eight straight, and …
… Johnson desperately needs to do it again.
The winner of the past four Sprint Cup championships has to pull off a feat he hasn’t had to do in the past, at least not in the final two races. Johnson has to come from behind. He trails Denny Hamlin by 33 points and leads third-place Kevin Harvick by 26.
Johnson, who seems to speak in sentence fragments at a steadily increasing rate, said, “Great track for us. Excited to get on the track and get going. Obviously, we’ve got some work to do and a points margin to make up. Just excited to get out there and stop thinking about things and just get to work.”
The sentence fragments don’t seem to originate in anxiety. In fact, Johnson seems relaxed and easygoing. For him, perhaps this is just another fun challenge. This mile track certainly seems to offer a likely shot for a comeback.
“We have to beat him (Hamlin). I’m not sure where they’re going to finish, but … we need to expect the best out of them, and that’s going to be those guys running up front. We need to lead a lap, hopefully lead the most laps and win the race. … It’s relative to where he’s running or where he finishes, and we just don’t know until we get on the track and get out there and see what goes on in the race.”
As Johnson suggested, being behind by 33 points doesn’t entirely allow him to control his destiny. Hamlin’s edge means he doesn’t have to win. If Johnson wins, though, Hamlin will have to stay close.
“Right now,” said Hamlin, “I don’t think of it as us having a lead. It’s more of us having a level playing field going to a track where those two guys (Johnson, Harvick) probably have a better record and lately on these types of race tracks have run better.”
Harvick has won twice at Phoenix, though his average finish (15.6) isn’t as good as Hamlin’s (11.6).
Johnson’s average finish at PIR is an extraordinary 4.929.
Not every driver can be a Chase contender in hot pursuit, but here are various reasons still to celebrate the 2010 season. Kyle Busch (above) won all kinds of races, even though they didn't matter enough in Sprint Cup competition.
AVONDALE, Ariz. – As is the case with every sport except college football, where the champion is mythical and the arguments endless, everyone in NASCAR except one (driver or team, take your pick) is going to be a bit disappointed in two weeks. Add wistful “what ifs” to those still in the hunt who fall short.
Really, though, even if winning is everything, winning it all isn’t necessary. A coach whose football team lost 10 games a year ago isn’t going to crushed by 7-5 and a minor bowl. In NASCAR, it’s a big day for some when they make the starting field.
The year’s winners extend far beyond the final three locked in combat. More than Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick have reason to rejoice. (Come to think of it, since Johnson has won the past four championships, he may no longer be capable of rejoicing in anything but another title.)
So who’s got a big year going other than the Big Three?
Greg Biffle’s got a big year going. He drives a Ford. Only two Fords have won races this year. Biffle drove both of them.
Jamie McMurray’s got a big bank account going. He won the season’s two richest races and another that was among them. He makes me think of the old Presbyterian College football coach who used to say, “You beat Newberry, you beat Wofford, it’s a good year.” McMurray won the Daytona 500. He won the Brickyard 400. He won the Bank of America 500. It’s a good year.
Jeff Burton has a lot of years exactly like this. He’s not overjoyed, but he ought to be pleased.
Clint Bowyer has won two Chase races. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make him relevant, at least not after those 150 points were deducted.
Kyle Busch seems to dominate everything that doesn’t matter. It’s entirely possible that he wants to win the Sprint Cup championship too badly. Maybe he’s obsessed, crazed and haunted. That theory would explain a lot.
Remember that old movie “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”? Kevin Conway is going to be the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Who Never Had to Try. Save for the first handful of races, the rookie of the year was the only rookie of the year. Hey. He’s the only guy who ever pulled that off.
Kevin Harvick (left, readying for practice at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday) , criticized Hamlin’s crew chief Mike Ford for over-cockiness in the clinch; Hamlin (right, also getting ready for practice on Friday, traded the word “honest” for “cocky” in describing his crew chief. (Photos: Getty Images)
AVONDALE, Ariz. – It’s Cocky Season at Phoenix International Raceway, and it has nothing to do with the University of South Carolina’s lovable mascot.
A week ago, Denny Hamlin won in Texas, took the point lead and listened afterwards as his crew chief, Mike Ford, rubbed it in, directing his remarks at the team of Jimmie Johnson, winner of the past four championships.
Now the third-place occupant in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings apparently wants in on the act. Harvick was only too happy to pass judgment on Ford’s remarks.
“The only good thing that comes from being cocky like that is you better win because, if you don’t, you’re going to have to answer a lot of questions about your comments when you get done. You create a lot more work than what you see initially when you say those things, if it all doesn’t go your way. I think when you’re trying to intimidate the guy who’s won four championships in a row, I think you might need to go rethink your strategy and just go out and worry about racing, because it’s not really something that was probably necessary.
“In my opinion all the things (Ford) said seem to be a disruption to his team, and now Denny (Hamlin) is going to have to come in here and answer all those questions.”
HOW DENNY ANSWERED-- Predictably, Hamlin defended Ford and suggested that what his crew chief said – basically, that Johnson’s pit crew choked under pressure in Texas – wasn’t all that controversial
“I think he’s honest,” he said of Ford. “He’s the least-cocky guy I know.
Anybody who’s been in this sport longer than last week will tell you that he’s definitely not that. I think he’s more boastful of his own team then he is a skeptic of someone else’s.
“I think it kind of came off wrong. I don’t think it matters. I think anyone who’s leading the points is going to have a target on their backs, like it or not. I think the ‘he said, she said’ is totally irrelevant.”
AT TEAM FOUR STRAIGHT--Johnson, of course, is now the proud owner of Jeff Gordon’s pit crew, which occurred during the AAA Texas 500 and opened the door to Ford’s remarks.
Johnson said he’d do the same for the team, it being Hendrick Motorsports.
“There’s no doubt that, if we were out of the points and didn’t have a chance to win, then I would do anything I could to help my teammates win. Without a doubt, if the roles were reversed, I would offer the same thing up for Jeff Gordon’s team or Junior (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) or Mark Martin’s.
“Without a doubt.”
BLUE, SO BLUE--Carl Edwards could come up with only characteristic the last two tracks, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami Speedway, have in common.
“They both have a blue wall,” he said, “but this (Phoenix) is short track (not technically, it’s a mile), and Homestead is definitely an intermediate track. Just really to be honest with you, two completely different race tracks, but that’s what makes this sport what it is.
“That’s what makes the Chase difficult: Here you are, the last two races to decide a championship, and you have a good short-track race and then you have another good intermediate track. It’s a good mixture of race tracks to have to go through and overcome to win a championship.”
Let's get physicaL Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon duke it out, momentarily, after the two crashed during the AAA Texas 500 last Sunday
Astonishingly, two of the sport’s upstanding citizens had a brief fight – they had to be separated by track personnel – after crashing at Texas. “Jeff Burton is a great race-car driver and, then afterwards, I was just so mad I was just trying to think of how I could show him my displeasure,” said Gordon. Burton took the blame for the accident and said he couldn’t blame Gordon for being angry. “It was like once we got together, I couldn’t get off him. I didn’t mean to hit him.”
My take: Both drivers cooled down later, but it’s difficult to accept Burton’s claim that he didn’t run into Gordon’s car on purpose.
It occurred to me, after the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, that when Chad Knaus fired his pit crew in the middle of the race, he had "crossed the Rubicon," so to speak, which means he had crossed the point of no return.
Knaus had to keep the change in effect for the remaining two races. He couldn't risk having a disgraced pit crew's morale become an issue. The change may have had a positive effect. If put back behind the pit wall, the pit crew that had serviced Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 may have redoubled its efforts and rallied back, but it may also have had a difficult time recovering from the, well, chagrin. Knaus couldn't afford that uncertainty. So the announcement that Jeff Gordon's old crew would pit Johnson for the remaining two races was inevitable as a practical matter.
I meant to write this after the race, but it was an eventful day and I just forgot about it. I suppose a real journalist would have written himself a note. So I can't really write I told you so, now. All I can write is that it didn't surprise me.
While sort of cleaning out the mailbox, I should address the announcement on Tuesday that NASCAR was fining Kyle Busch $25,000 for his actions during the race. Busch made a familiar gesture of derision at a NASCAR official and was penalized two laps for it at the time.
Here's something I did write earlier: Maturity is not defined by how one reacts during good times. Maturity is reflected in how one responds to adversity. The invariable declarations of "the New Kyle Busch" (or the New Anybody) always occur after some glorious victory. It's easy to behave and be sportsmanlike and gracious in victory. It's difficult to show dignity in defeat, and that is the true measure of maturity.
I do not dislike Kyle Busch. He annoys me from time to time, but I admire his guts and his willingness to do what he believes is right, however misguided. There are times when he may be a brat, but he's not a fake. Personally, I can tolerate a sinner much easier than I can a hypocrite.
I used to say that the only driver who could beat Tony Stewart was Tony Stewart. That's even truer of Kyle Busch.
Although the official track attendance estimate was 156,000, that was probably just Texas tall-talking. The actual attendance was probably closer to 91,000. (photo: Getty Images)
- Almost forgotten in the aftermath of an eventful Sprint Cup race in Texas was the fact that Greg Biffle led 224 of the 334 laps. Transmission problems plagued Biffle in the final laps, and he settled for a fifth-place finish.
-Replacing his own pit crew late in the race with teammate Jeff Gordon’s squad begs the question of how it will affect the morale of Jimmie Johnson’s team. Johnson’s finishes have declined in each of the past seven races, though every one has been in the top 10.
-A silly, two-lap penalty for making a well-known gesture of derision at a NASCAR official put to rest all talk of “the new Kyle Busch.”
- A fight between Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton? Go on. What’s next? Steve Carell and Jim Carrey in a Texas cage match? It seems unlikely that Gordon and Burton will require best two out of three falls, but it seemed unlikely that they would ever exchange blows at all.
- Lest Denny Hamlin feel overly secure, let the record note that Johnson won the fall 2009 race at Phoenix and finished third there earlier this year.
- Even measured by the sport’s routine standards of exaggeration, the attendance estimate of the AAA Texas 500 was outlandish. The race reports listed the crowd as 156,000. The estimate here was 91,000.
- Four of the top six Phoenix finishers started 19th or worse. The winner, Hamlin, started 30th.
- Johnson’s past seven finishes, in order: 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 9. Hamlin’s past seven: 9, 12, 8, 4, 1, 9, 1.
- Two drivers have won twice in the Chase. Hamlin leads it. Clint Bowyer is 10th.
- Since winning at Charlotte, Jamie McMurray has finished 11th, 36th and 16th.
Greg Biffle's pit crew had it working Sunday as the No. 16 Ford led more laps than any other car at the AAA Texas 500, gtiving Biffle his eigth top-five finish in 2010. (Photo: Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, Texas – Driving back to the hotel room after writing about Denny Hamlin’s victory in the AAA Texas 500, I suddenly wanted to kick myself.
Greg Biffle led 224 of the 334 laps and probably would’ve won the Texas Motor Speedway race had it not been for late-race transmission problems that hampered his No. 16 Ford on restarts.
I barely mentioned Biffle. In fairness, there was so much to cover. So much happened.
Hamlin overtook Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup standings. Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, replaced the pit crew late in the race. Two of NASCAR’s model citizens, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, exchanged blows on the back straight after an inexplicable crash that occurred under caution.
Kyle Busch eliminated himself from contention because he flashed an obscene gesture at a NASCAR official and was promptly penalized two laps for what amounted to unsportsmanlike conduct (the official “list of infractions” listed it as “obscene gesture”). Hamlin won after a battle royal with Matt Kenseth in the final three laps.
For many of those watching, the race was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, which was strangely appropriate since Texas Motor Speedway’s colorful track president, Eddie Gossage, recruited actual monkeys to sell programs at the track.
Hamlin only leads Johnson, champion four years running, by 33 points. Kevin Harvick (-59) isn’t out of it, either. But Hamlin is trending upward, and Johnson is trending downward, though only mildly. Johnson’s finishes have declined over the past seven races, even though each finish was in the top 10. Johnson, who has made history by putting up astonishing numbers in the 10 races that comprise the Chase, suddenly has a profile of consistency that could be inadequate to the task of securing a fifth championship.
And, on Nov. 14 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., all that could change, too.
photo: Getty Images
FORT WORTH, Texas – Denny Hamlin has won two more races than Jimmie Johnson this year, has 33 more points in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and his crew chief, Mike Ford, left Texas Motor Speedway talking more smack than Rex Ryan.
Perhaps it’s the Lone Star State and its love of hyperbole. Maybe NASCAR’s finest feel somehow compelled to live up to Texas-size expectations. The crowd estimate, for instance, was 156,000, which was 33,623 above listed capacity on a day in which the grandstands appeared to be about two thirds full.
It’s Texas, where everything is bigger, and when it’s not, someone will make it up.
This was the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” of races. It featured a humdinger of a finish, with Hamlin coolly outdueling Matt Kenseth.
But, taking the form of the movie trailer, or perhaps the infomercial, there was so much more, ladies and gentlemen.
Ford, normally somewhat measured in his remarks, took the opportunity to trash-talk the team that is the only one in NASCAR history to win four consecutive championships. Hamlin and Johnson were pitting adjacent to each other.
“ You put the two pit crews toe to toe, and those guys (i.e., the ones who work for Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus) are going to make mistakes. We’ve seen it this year, and we went beside them, and those guys faltered, and it made them panic and push to the point where they made changes.”
Ford had some evidence to back it up. As soon as Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s teammate, exited the race, Knaus took the extreme measure of replacing his own pit crew with Gordon’s and Steve Letarte’s.
“They took their team out of it,” said Ford, relishing it. “They removed their team. Their team got them to this point, and they pulled them out, so this is more about trying to win a championship for the company and not for the team.”
After their on-track tiff, Gordon and his new, unlikely nemesis, Jeff Burton, went after each other on the back straight, and only safety personnel prevented something at least approximating the celebrated throwdown between a Yarborough and two Allisons at Daytona in 1979.
But those guys were named Cale and Bobby and Donnie. These were just a couple of Jeffs. Normally mild-mannered Jeffs. Decorum eventually returned, but at the moment it occurred, it was deliciously unexpected.
These were supposed to be the mature ones.