The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season went out with a bang on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. He had the racing thing and he tangled with a driver that he knows drives by a certain code.
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) It was yet another Denny Hamlin runaway for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday night in what turned out to be an anticlimactic end to NASCAR’s regular season. Kasey Kahne ran sixth.
“That’s what’s so special about it”, he said, who started from the pole and led the last 86 laps (189 total) on the way to his third victory of the season, his third at the.75-mile track and the 29th of his career. So you’ve got to keep working and keep your eyes in the windshield, not in the mirror. “We’ll get started next week at Chicago, and all I care about right now is getting ready for Chicago and running through Sunday at Chicago”. In an era where a win could move the cutoff down one position, making the Chase has become a battle in itself.
Newman, who needed a high finish and some luck to qualify for the Chase, didn’t hold back during his interview on NBCSN.
Elliott’s spot in the Chase – on points – comes in his first season.
Ford’s only other Chase entry, Chris Buescher, did a yeoman’s job of keeping his auto in one piece – even surviving the scuffle between former teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman – to salvage a 24th-place finish and move on to the playoffs.
Still, JGR’s Hamlin refuses to call himself or any of his fellow Toyota drivers a favorite for the 10-race Chase. Once again, Tony Stewart threw an on track fit and Ryan Newman bore the brunt of his animosity.
I guess he thought he was in a sprint vehicle again and couldn’t control his anger.
“And then he just drove across my nose on the back straightaway”. It’s just unfortunate not to end the way we wanted to.
“This is as peaky as you can get going into the Chase”.
Stewart had a different perspective. Four more will be eliminated after the next three races, and four more will be eliminated after the ninth race, leaving four drivers to go for the championship in the final race. “I got into him after that, but he had already chopped into me and messed up my line”. The last thing he needs is a war of words with a driver that at least used to be one of his good friends. I don’t do that to him. There was once early in the race that nobody saw. “Three times? That’s two more time than I normally let somebody run into me”.
“He’ll get his wish in 10 weeks”. “We get a lot of things changing now”.
Stewart’s wreck took out enough cars that rookie Chris Buescher punched his ticket to the Chase, capping off one of the season’s biggest underdog stories. He led 101 consecutive laps from 101 to 202.
Chevrolet driver Larson has really stepped up his game over the past month or so, and obviously the No. 4 (2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick)?has great speed week in and week out in his Chevy. 224-228; Kurt Busch 229-230; M. Truex Jr. Kyle Busch-2012 (points); 2. SHR has replaced the front tire changer and tire carrier after a switch with the crew of teammate Danica Patrick.
As for the Chase drivers themselves?
Lap 85 – AJ Allmendinger spins out.
Carl Edwards seems to be the weakest link at JGR these days. The No. 95 is rarely around the top 10 and hasn’t had a non-restrictor plate top 15 in ages.
Lap 353 – Matt DiBenedetto hits wall.
(20) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 279. Paul Menard gets free pass.
This season’s first four-race victor was Keselowski of Team Penske.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 31 Mins, 33 Secs.
CAUTIONS: 16 for 89 laps.
Hamlin has fallen by the wayside before, and so, too, has Busch. Martin Truex Jr. managed to be penalized on pit road again and potentially kill a winning effort.
Smith 247-248; D. Hamlin 249-267; K. Larson 268-271; D. Hamlin 272-292; K. Larson 293-303; M. Truex Jr. 224-228; Kurt Busch 229-230; M. Truex Jr. 231-245; M. Kenseth 246; R. 304-321; D. Hamlin 322-407.
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Kyle Larson came home second for the third top 2 finish of 2016. McMurray, Chase Elliott, and Austin Dillon will begin with 2000.
