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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

2016 NASCAR Week 6: Martinsville

STP 500

Martinsville Speedway

Image result for STP 500 logo

By Richard Tix

2,410 miles. That's how far Auto Club Speedway is to Martinsville speedway by car (roughly). As NASCAR wraps up it's "going West" tour, we come back to the hotbed for some short track action.

First up is the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule, Martinsville Speedway. In the next month we will also hit Bristol and Richmond which is always my favorite time of the year because of the larger percentage of short tracks NASCAR stops at. In fact, only Texas gets in the way of this stretch of three short tracks.

As we head to Martinsville a few drivers who have been known to get around on the "paper clip" are probably pretty happy to see its flat sharp turns. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin both to some extend have been off to slow starts. Between them they own 14 total wins here at Martinsville. In fact, if you take only current drivers they have won 14 of the last 19 (really its 14 of 25, but Gordon and Stewart won six of those and are currently not running Cup).

On the flip side you have a whole mess of young talented drivers who are really showing what they can do on this level early in the season. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney have all put themselves in a nice early position but this could be a wrench tossed into the smooth machine since Martinsville is it's own battle.

Heck, that's not even including the veterans of the sport that have proven time again that they shouldn't be forgotten at a track like this -- cough cough Dale Earnhardt Jr. So, who will keep their nose clean long enough to win the grand daddy of them all, the Martinsville Grandfather clock?



**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good
  • Jimmie Johnson- This one is easy, Johnson is a nine time winner tof the Martinsville Grandfather clock and will look to make it double digits this weekend.
  • Denny Hamlin- Hamlin is the next best driver standing (not retired) at Martinsville. His five career wins are the second most of current drivers and he could really push JJ in the coming years.
  • Kyle Busch- With Jeff Gordon retiring it leaves some space for a new master of the clock to step in. Will it be Kyle? Rowdy won this race in 2016 and then finished 5th on the Fall which marked his third straight top five here.
The Middle
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr- Junior has an average finish of 12.9 in his 33 career starts at Martinsville. However, in that time he only has one win -- 2014. He is a great driver here but not always a top five or front runner.
The Bad
  • Chris Buescher- It's early to judge Bueschers finishes here at Martinsville, but so far they haven't been favorable. He has finished in the top 25 just once in three starts.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr- In eight career starts here Ricky only has one top 15, two top 25's, and two top 30's. Thats right, only twice has he finished in the top 30.
  • Kasey Kahne- In 26 races at Martinsville Kahne has only finished in the top 10 five times. In his last seven starts here he only has one top ten -- 9th.
About the Track: Martinsville
Track Stats
  • 8 straight Chevy wins here at Martinsville before Denny Hamlin won in 2015. 10 of the last 12 have been Chevy.
  • Other then Denny Hamlin (Toyota) and Kyle Busch (Toyota) Chevy has won 18 straight races. That's 19 of the past 25 races. If you add in Rusty Wallace's win in 2004 (Dodge) its 21 of the past 28.
  • The race has been won from the Pole 4 times in the last 17 races. 0 times in the last 7 races.
  • Most cautions was 21 in 2007 for 127 laps.
  • The farthest back a winner has started from was 36th (Kurt Busch) in 2002 (10/20/2002). Kurt won in 2014 after starting 22nd (3/30/2014) and Dale Jr won after starting 23 (10/26/14)
  • Since 2003 Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, or Denny Hamlin have won 20 of 28 races.
  • Richard Petty has the most career Martinsville wins: 15 to go along with 30 top 5's and 37 top 10's. 
  • Darrell Waltrip has the most career pole awards at Martinsville with 8.

Track Info
  • Surface - Asphalt/Concrete
  • Length- 0.526 miles
  • Banking
    • Turns- 12 degrees
    • Straights- 0 degrees

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

2017 March Madness NASCAR Style: Elite Eight

Behind the Wall Elite Eight


By Richard Tix

The rounds and drivers are dwindling as we head to Martinsville Speedway to set up the last three races in the 2017 NBTW Bracket. Auto Club Speedway took us from 16 to 8 and now we get to see who wants a spot in the Final Four at Texas. Check out who goes head to head at Martinsville below.

Rules and Bracket Breakdown
  • Brackets were decided by current standings after the race at Las Vegas. Four Divisions, top 4 in the standings got the #1 seeds, 5-8 in the standings got the #2 seeds, 9-12 #3 seeds and so on. We are going by regular points standings (meaning a win doesn't put you ahead of someone without a win). Straight points.
  • From the standings the rankings were given out serpentine style. Meaning: The driver ranked 5th (first #2 seed) started in the lowest #1 seed's bracket. That continues until the three seeds where it then goes from top back down.
  • Here is how the rounds break down by race.
    • Phoenix: Round 32 
    • Auto Club: Sweet 16
    • Martinsville: Elite 8
    • Texas: Final Four
    • Bristol: Championship
  • This year the winner will be decided by which driver ends the race with the most points under the current NASCAR points system. So, stage points will count towards the finish of head to head matchups.

Round by Round Articles:
Image result for kyle larson auto club 400


2017: 5th Annual NBTW NASCAR March Madness
1
Keselowski
1
Larson
5
Newman
5
Johnson
1
Keselowski
1
Larson
6
Dillon
3
McMurray
6
Dillon
3
McMurray
2
Harvick
7
Earnhardt Jr
8
Stenhouse Jr
1
Elliott
5
Jones
5
Busch
5
Jones
1
Elliott
3
Bowyer
2
Blaney
3
Bowyer
3
Bayne
7
Suarez
2
Blaney


Bracket Notes:

After Auto Club speedway we still have three of the four number one seeds remaining. Early it looked like Ryan Newman would take down Brad Keselowski when BK spun out, but he came back strong and finished 2nd to overcome Newman. The young guns continue to stay hot as Larson, Elliott, Jones, Dillon, and Blaney all move onto the Elite Eight. Only Keselowski, McMurray, and Bowyer are left standing of the Cup veterans. 

Previous NASCAR Behind the Wall March Madness Champions
  • 2016 Champion: Joey Logano
    • 2nd: Kyle Busch
    • Final Four: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano
  • 2015 Champion: Brad Keselowski
    • 2nd: Joey Logano
    • Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola
  • 2014 Champion: Tony Stewart
    • 2nd: Carl Edwards
    • Final Four: Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart
  • 2013 Champion: Brad Keselowski
    • 2nd: Kasey Kahne
    • Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch

2017 NASCAR Schedule: Martinsville

STP 500


By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern Timezone (ET)


Friday March 31, 2017

  • 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice- FS1
  • 1-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice- FS1
  • 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice- FS1
  • 4:35 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
Saturday April 1, 2017

  • 10-10:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice- FS1
  • 11:05 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
  • 1:30-2:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice- FS1
  • 3 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (250 laps)- FOX
Sunday April 2, 2017

  • 2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 (500 laps)- FS1

Monday, March 27, 2017

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 5: Auto Club

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Auto Club 400

Image result for kyle larson auto club

By Richard Tix

Another week in the books and another new winner visiting Victory Lane. NASCAR is now a perfect five for five in regards to different winners so far to start the season off. Things will most likely level off, but it is fun to see different strategies playing a part in this weekly. Last week it was Newman staying out and clinching a win and this week it was Martin Truex Jr trying to do the same but falling to Kyle Larson.

Even though we have had a five different winners, the early season is starting to give us some clarity on early season story lines within teams. While Hendrick Motorsports seems to be struggling, Chase Elliott is thriving for the most part. Meanwhile JGR has had a slow start, but Martin Truex Jr -- also in a Toyota -- is on fire weekly. Then you have the Fords of Team Penske where all three -- yes, one is technically Wood Borthers -- are a threat each week to be running up front.

So, even though the winners have been different, many of the same drivers are bringing it week to week and really we could have had just two winners thus far because Larson has been that good. Meanwhile, we wait to see how long it is until Johnson, Kenseth, Earnhardt, and Hamlin get it going. Will they? I have no doubt that Jimmie and Chad will turn things around and have plenty of time to do so, but will they miss out on too many bonus playoff points while they right the ship?

One thing is for sure, we aren't short of things to watch for early this year so settle in and enjoy.


Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 5 (Week 4)
  1. Kyle Larson (LW-1)- 3, 2, 12, 2, 2, 2, and 1. Dating back to the end of last year, those are the finishing position of Larson in the last seven Cup races -- oh and that 12th was Daytona where he was pushing for the win but ran out of fuel....
  2. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- After and early spin, BK and the No. 2 team took a beat up car and fought back. Heck, late in the race they had a slim shot at still pulling out a win before finishing runner up to Larson.
  3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Elliott has three straight races of an average running position of 4th, but that changed this week when he came in with a higher average....Of fifth... The No. 24 is one HMS car taht has speed, thy just need to close.
  4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-7)- A few weeks after his Vegas win, Truex again was one of the best cars on the day and one of the only ones with a chance to beat Larson. Some gambling backfired late, but the No. 78 is on point right now.
  5. Kyle Busch (LW-5)- Kyle finished up a strong top 5 finish at PIR with a top 10 at Auto Club. He and Truex are starting to come alive.
  6. Joey Logano (LW-6)- JoLo started toward the rear of the field after not getting to qualify for the race while stuck in inspection. They bounced back with a strong top five.
  7. Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- It looks like Harvick will be going through every situation possible early this year. Sunday it was bouncing back after early damage from a flat tire. His 13th was pretty impressive all things included.
  8. Jamie McMurray (LW-8)- Aggressive and fast can describe JMac early this year. CGR has found something (maybe extra help from Chevy with SHR gone?) early on and Jamie has benefited.
  9. Ryan Blaney (LW-9)- Blaney and Harvick have seemed to be the two guys who have gone through everything early this year, but kept it enough together to finish off some races. Blaney notched another top ten Sunday (9th).
  10. Daniel Suarez (LW-NR)- Don't look now but Suarez has beck to back 7th place finishes which is an early season bonus. I still expect him to be inconsistent, but these finishes will help in the long run no doubt.
  11. Denny Hamlin (LW-10)- DH hasn't been that great early this year, but he also hasn't been bad. Sunday at Auto Club was the same.
  12. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Welcome back to the top five Bowyer... Sunday ended a decent drought for Bowyer and top fives, next up, a win...Maybe..
Dropped Out: Jimmie Johnson (LW-11) and Ryan Newman (LW-12)
Just Missed: Erik Jones

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

2017 NASCAR Week 5: Auto Club

Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway

Image result for auto club 400 logo

By Richard Tix

Is this the week that one of the Young Gun's of NASCAR finally gets it done? Last week Ryan Newman and the No. 31 team made a bold call to stay out late in the race and it paid off when the field was shaken up behind them. That call snapped a long win-less streak for Ryan Newman and RCR.

Now NASCAR stay's West one last week with it's final stop of the tour at Auto Club Speedway (Fontana). 2017 has brought an early season shake up by watching the Fords start out hot and two young kids trying to go toe to toe with them.

Those two drivers are Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott and both have had great starts to the newest season. Larson has three straight second place finishes and was running second in the Daytona 500 before running out of fuel on the last lap. Larson is also the current points leader, has scored a stage point in every single stage so far this year, and on the season has averaged a running position of 5.25. So, it's safe to say he has had a phenomenal start to 2017.

Elliott has been no slouch himself. Chase actually has a better average running position then Larson so far this year at 5th, which is crazy to think. Chase's only issue has been finishing the race off strong when other teams are switching up strategies. Yet, he sits 3rd in the standings as we head into a track that he ran well at as a rookie in 2016.

Last year Chase finished 6th sixth at Fontana which at the time was his highest finish of 2016. Larson has a second place finish in 2014, but in the nest two season's he ran into some tough luck. However, both drivers should run well at Fontana considering the track seems to fit both of them as drivers.

So, it's pretty easy to imagine just one week after Ryan Newman pulled off a shocker, to see one of these young guns finally win in 2017 (Larson's second career win or Elliott's first career win). That's not even mentioning Ryan Blaney who has been fast all year and could also be in the mix late in the race.

I think the story of the early season has really been how these young kids have been bringing it and been fast week to week. So, the storyline this weekend will be can one of them pull off a trip to Victory Lane?




**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good
  • Jimmie Johnson- Six career wins here at Auto Club for JJ and he got back on the map last year with his second win of 2016 here on his way to his 7th Cup Championship.
  • Kyle Busch- Before last years rough finish (25th), Rowdy had two straight wins at Auto Club in races he participated in -- missed 2015 with his injury.
  • Kevin Harvick- In his last eight races here he has a win, five top fives (including three second place finishes), and six top ten's.
The Middle
  • Matt Kenseth- Kenseh hasn't won here since 2009. In the nine races after that 2009 win he has an average finish of 14.55 with only four top tens.
The Bad
  • Aric Almirola- Nine career races withouth a single top ten. Aric only has two top 15's and two top 20's in his career as well which is where the real struggle is.
  • Martin Turex Jr- Only nine top 20's in Martins 16 career starts here at Auto Club. In the No. 78 he also only has one top 10 -- three races -- which is more telling of his struggles here.
  • Trevor Bayne- Last year Bayne qualified well here -- 7th -- but failed to finish as well -- 20th. However, last years 20th was his best finish in three tries, which isn't a good thing. 
About the Track: Auto Club
Track Stats
  • Manufacturer wins here go Chevy 13, Ford 11, Toyota 2, and Dodge 1
  • Until 2014 Jimmie Johnson was the only driver to win two times in a row here (2009 and 2010). Kyle Busch won back to back in 2014 and 2013
  • Only Jimmie Johnson has won from the Pole: 2008 (26 total races)
  • Most career wins here: Jimmie Johnson 6, Jeff Gordon 3, and Matt Kenseth 3
  • Most Poles: Kurt Busch with 4
  • Ken Schrader ran 17 races here without a top 10. Highest finish was 14th, twice.
  • Johnson has the most career top 5's at Auto Club: 13
  • Johnson has the most career top 10's with 16
Track Info
  • Surface - Asphalt
  • Length - 2 miles
  • Banking
    • Turns- 14 degrees
    • Frontstretch- 11 degrees
    • Backstretch- 3 degrees

2017 March Madness NASCAR Style: Sweet 16

Behind the Wall Sweet 16



By Richard Tix

Opening weekend of the NCAA Basketball tournament and the first round of the Behind the Wall NASCAR Style tourney, which is better? Just kidding, Obviously its the Behind the Wall bracket! Villanova and Duke went down in one and Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth went down in the other. Crazy!

To top it off Ryan Newman was the big surprise of the weekend just like South Carolina. Weekend two is on the way and the Sweet 16 will be decided at Auto Club. So, check out how the first round shook out at Phoenix last weekend below.


Rules and Bracket Breakdown
  • Brackets were decided by current standings after the race at Las Vegas. Four Divisions, top 4 in the standings got the #1 seeds, 5-8 in the standings got the #2 seeds, 9-12 #3 seeds and so on. We are going by regular points standings (meaning a win doesn't put you ahead of someone without a win). Straight points.
  • From the standings the rankings were given out serpentine style. Meaning: The driver ranked 5th (first #2 seed) started in the lowest #1 seed's bracket. That continues until the three seeds where it then goes from top back down.
  • Here is how the rounds break down by race.
    • Phoenix: Round 32 
    • Auto Club: Sweet 16
    • Martinsville: Elite 8
    • Texas: Final Four
    • Bristol: Championship
  • This year the winner will be decided by which driver ends the race with the most points under the current NASCAR points system. So, stage points will count towards the finish of head to head matchups.

Round by Round Articles:

Image result for ryan newman nascar

2017: 5th Annual NBTW NASCAR March Madness
Full RCR Division
Loaded Division
1
Brad Keselowski
1
Kyle Larson
8
Chris Buescher
1
Keselowski
1
Larson
8
David Ragan
5
Newman
5
Johnson
4
Paul Menard
4
Denny Hamlin
5
Ryan Newman
5
Jimmie Johnson
3
Kasey Kahne
3
Jamie McMurray
6
Austin Dillon
6
Dillon
3
McMurray
6
Ty Dillon
2
Harvick
7
Earnhardt Jr
2
Kevin Harvick
2
Kurt Busch
7
Cole Whitt
7
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Double Jr. Division
Young Guns Division
1
Martin Truex Jr
1
Chase Elliott
8
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
8
Stenhouse Jr
1
Elliott
8
Danica Patrick
5
Jones
5
Busch
4
Matt Kenseth
4
Aric Almirola
5
Erik Jones
5
Kyle Busch
3
Clint Bowyer
3
Trevor Bayne
6
Michael McDowell
3
Bowyer
3
Bayne
6
Matt DiBenedetto
7
Suarez
2
Blaney
2
Joey Logano
2
Ryan Blaney
7
Daniel Suarez
7
Landon Cassill


Bracket Notes:

The first round had some pretty crazy up's and downs at Phoenix. Early on Joey Logano looked locked in but bye the end he was upset by a young gun, Daniel Suarez. In that very same region Martin Truex Jr was upset by a strong run by Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Matt Kenseth was taken over by another young gun in Erik Jones. That leaves Stenhouse, Jones, Suarez, or Bowyer left for a shot at the Final Four. Not a ton of other huge upset's really happened on Sunday in the other regions.


Previous NASCAR Behind the Wall March Madness Champions
  • 2016 Champion: Joey Logano
    • 2nd: Kyle Busch
    • Final Four: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano
  • 2015 Champion: Brad Keselowski
    • 2nd: Joey Logano
    • Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola
  • 2014 Champion: Tony Stewart
    • 2nd: Carl Edwards
    • Final Four: Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart
  • 2013 Champion: Brad Keselowski
    • 2nd: Kasey Kahne
    • Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch