He returned to the track on Lap 123, 112 laps off of the pace. “Good restarts. Finally, everything just worked well for us all day”. Scott followed his Darlington crash (courtesy of Tony Stewart) with another wrecked racecar on Saturday night.
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He goes into Saturday night’s race with an 11-point lead over David Ragan for 30th in the standings.
“That’s all Brad”, Kenseth said. “I think everybody that’s in there is going to have a shot”. He just, he knows better than that. There are several mathematical scenarios for McMurray to make the Chase, but if there’s not a first-time victor, he’s in the field. “It’s unfortunate. But we shouldn’t expect anything less from him”.
But the tempers didn’t stop there. Stewart was nonchalant, saying Newman had it coming after running into him three times during the Federated Auto Parts 400 on the 0.75-mile track. Ryan Blaney triggered the first on Lap 10 when the No. 21 made contact with Trevor Bayne and cut a tire.
But it was an eight-car wreck on Lap 363 that almost dashed the hopes of Chris Buescher on Saturday. Photo by Christian Espinoza.
So did Newman cross the line with his comment, or was he justified? It’s just ridiculous. I only hit him in Turn 1 when he cut across my nose. Going down the back straightaway there, I guess he thought he was in a Sprint Car again; did not know how to control his anger.
A frustrated Newman called his former boss “bipolar” and said Stewart had anger issues. Just disappointing that you’ve got somebody old like that that retired (should be retired) the way he drives.
Stewart did admit that Newman was correct in his assessment that he tried to chop him off on goal. “I think … there’s no way that you can I think pick a favorite right now because it’s really three-race playoffs (to get to Homestead and the championship round)”. Stewart told NBCSN after the race. “How many times is he supposed to hit you before you say, ‘I’ve had enough of it?”‘ Stewart said. The rest of the drivers battled for the remaining playoff spots in Denny Hamlin’s rear view mirror. Although he has two wins this year, he’s at career lows in almost every category, including laps led.
Stewart is in his final Sprint Cup season before hoping to return to sprint vehicle racing, in which he will pick and choose the races he will enter.
Hamlin celebrates Texas-style by shooting off a pair of Turnbull 45 Colt-style, single-action revolvers in Victory Lane after winning the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in April of 2010.
“That’s what is so special about it”. “But you always had this feeling of you can get beat”, he said. I see all the extra Denny Hamlin shirts and hats and everything. Fast facts: NASCAR officials said that the cars of Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman failed post-race inspection late Sunday night. “Man, this is a great vehicle”. “All the cheers we got after we got out of the vehicle”.
And with that, the 2016 Chase season is now underway.
The 16-driver Chase lineup with reseeded points in parenthesis: Kyle Busch (2012), Brad Keselowski (2012), Denny Hamlin (2009), Kevin Harvick (2006), Carl Edwards (2006), Truex (2006), Matt Kenseth (2006), Jimmie Johnson (2006), Joey Logano (2003), Kyle Larson (2003), Tony Stewart (2003), Kurt Busch (2003), Chris Buescher (2003), Chase Elliott (2000), Austin Dillon (2000) and Jamie McMurray (2000).
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As for the Chase drivers? Those four will battle it out for the championship on November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
