|| *Comments on the 2018 Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube:* View the most recent comment <#142> | Post a comment <#post> 1. RaceFanX posted: 02.27.2018 - 9:44 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Cole Custer makes his NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series debut. His first start sees him driving a white #51 Haas Automation entry painted identically to the #00 Ford he drives in the lower series. 2. Timothy Eklund posted: 02.27.2018 - 9:45 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Premium Motorsports will rn the #55 again! 3. JSPorts posted: 02.27.2018 - 9:49 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Glad to see one open team show up (wish there were more, though.) Joey Gase has done a decent job in his limited Cup starts so far, so we'll see what he does on Sunday. He's not driving in good equipment, but Todd Parrott is his crew chief, so hopefully that counts for something. 4. RaceFanX posted: 02.27.2018 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt DiBenedetto and the Go Fas Racing #32 Ford team will again run a unique sponsorship from the movie "The Hurricane Heist" in this one. The film will hit theaters five days after this race is run; like its name implies its a cross between a disaster movie and a heist film where the heroes have to stop thieves from swiping $600 million from a United States mint facility right in the middle of a Category 5 hurricane...weirdly the film is set in Alabama but filmed in Bulgaria. 5. JR-TV posted: 02.27.2018 - 10:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #51 is a Ford this week. Schluter Systems is not the sponsor of the #72. Rick Bourgeois is crew chief of the #23. 6. Scott B posted: 02.27.2018 - 11:57 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The #51 is a Ford this week" Yes to that, and anytime this season when Cole Custer is listed as the driver. 7. Josh posted: 02.27.2018 - 11:59 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I'm sure SHR is the hand-in-the-glove for the #51 and it's essentially their car and not Rick Ware's. 8. Mr.Victory posted: 02.27.2018 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) First time since 2010 that this race isn't Kobalt Tools sponsored. 9. Timothy Eklund posted: 02.27.2018 - 12:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @4 Interesting, I live in Alabama. I did not know that, thanks for letting me know! 10. Timothy Eklund posted: 02.27.2018 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happened to Ray Black Jr? I read on jayski that he got the ride in the #51. 11. JSPorts posted: 02.27.2018 - 2:06 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) It appears that Scuba Life, his sponsor, pulled out of the deal. So he didn't have sponsorship and the deal was voided. 12. JSPorts posted: 02.27.2018 - 2:07 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) However, Ware had already acquired a charter, so they had to use it. Looks like Custer will run an SHR car using that charter in a few races, and Justin Marks ran a Premium car using their charter at Daytona. Not sure what other driver/team combinations will be behind the wheel, but I do expect Cody Ware to be in the car for a few races. 13. TreyKeesee posted: 02.27.2018 - 3:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Natural Light will be on the 37. 14. JR-TV posted: 02.27.2018 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Randy Cox is now crew chief for the #32. 15. Anthony posted: 02.27.2018 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The walls are yellow this week 16. JSPorts posted: 02.27.2018 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For Pennzoil? 17. JR-TV posted: 02.27.2018 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) ^Yes. 18. JSPorts posted: 02.27.2018 - 9:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's going to take some getting used to. It's kind of weird when tracks paint their walls, but I don't really care what color they are if it means sponsorship. I guess the ones I'm used to seeing painted are Charlotte (yellow) and Phoenix & Homestead (blue.) Can't think of any others that aren't painted white off the top of my head. 19. TeamDCR fan posted: 02.27.2018 - 9:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Richmond and Darlington have red stripes in them 20. Sector posted: 02.28.2018 - 6:01 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) 1) After 20 years of trying, the legendary Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998. 20 years later, the #3 car won the Daytona 500 again with Austin Dillon in 2018. Austin Dillon tried to replicate the slide in the grass how Dale did it. 2) in 2001, Kevin Harvick substituted the late Dale Earnhardt after his death and won for the first time in only his THIRD start, in one of the most popular photo finish in Motorsports by fending off Jeff Gordon at Atlanta, which was nearly identical to the year before when Dale Earnhardt held off Bobby Labonte. After 17 years of trying in 2018, Kevin Harvick finally won at Atlanta after a long dry spell. He tried to replicate sticking his hand out the window with 3 fingers up. 3) I fail to see how Las Vegas will continue the trend this season. The first two has definitely had some emotional history to it. 21. JSPorts posted: 02.28.2018 - 8:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't remember anything specific about Las Vegas that would lend it to these kinds of moments, either. If only Harvick had won in a photo finish this time, maybe the race would've been better. 22. TeamDCR fan posted: 02.28.2018 - 11:29 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) @20 Maybe the 24 car will get its first win without a man named Gordon driving. 23. ACM88 posted: 02.28.2018 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Byron will evantually, but not @ Vegas 24. Stewart14Rocks posted: 02.28.2018 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I was gonna look for a trend to compare to 2001, a chevy would have to win this race, this years champion would have to win this race (Gordon), or William Byron would have to win this race. The most likely scenario for this would be for this years champion to win this race. 25. TeamDCR fan posted: 02.28.2018 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And also, no 30 team. 26. OangeWaffle43 posted: 02.28.2018 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @15 how did you find that out? I haven't seen anything anywhere online. 27. Anthony posted: 03.01.2018 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Go to Las Vegas' twitter account, instagram, or wherever you find it. 28. Mr.Victory posted: 03.01.2018 - 12:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pole Qualifying on Friday, but I think it will be moved up from last year since the truck race is 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PT. 29. JsymondsRacing posted: 03.02.2018 - 7:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone else impressed with ross chastain in the 15 for premium motorsports? Hope he gets more starts 30. JR-TV posted: 03.02.2018 - 8:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Low T Center will be the sponsor for the #15. 31. Sector posted: 03.02.2018 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We're back at the type of tracks the reigning series champion was dominate on last season in 2017. It'll be interesting to see if they keep that strength this weekend at Las Vegas! 32. Sector posted: 03.02.2018 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ryan Blaney on the pole! Way to go man! Woohoo!!!!!!! Kevin Harvick is looking 'freaky fast' again this weekend, starts second. 33. Timothy Eklund posted: 03.02.2018 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hoped that Cole Custer was in a shr ford entered under RWR, I guess not. Who knows he could have had a bad lap. 34. TeamDCR fan posted: 03.02.2018 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My guess is that since he's not used to Cup cars, he's still learning. If that was a RWR built car, he would probably have been right around Jeffrey's time. 35. StenhouseFan17 posted: 03.02.2018 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #55 is a Chevrolet 36. Sector posted: 03.03.2018 - 1:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where does everyone rank Las Vegas among the other tracks out there? In terms of racing and the importance of winning here? 37. joey2448 posted: 03.03.2018 - 2:44 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I've never considered Las Vegas as an important or prestigious track to win at, mostly because of its lack of history. It's only been around for 20 years, while other places like Darlington, Martinsville and Daytona have well over 60 years (70 for M'ville) of history on them, and names like Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Earnhardt and Gordon have won on them. Plus, the racing isn't exactly conducive to producing the kind of exciting action that NASCAR fans of old have yearned for. And it is much more difficult (and thus more rewarding) to win a 500-lap race at Martinsville, or a 500-mile race at Darlington, than a 400-mile race at Vegas. Only the best truly survive those old tracks. 38. Spen posted: 03.03.2018 - 7:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole was only 2 one-hundreths off of Almirola. Not terrible for one's first outing. Not good either, but not terrible. 39. possum posted: 03.03.2018 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @36 - I'm with Joey here, there's no particular prestige with winning Las Vegas. Maybe a tad more than winning Chicago (Joliet) or Kansas, but that's damning with faint praise. Ask the drivers, and top of the list would be Darlington - everyone recognizes you have to drive to win there, and none of the other tracks are particularly close. A Southern 500 win is the peak of a driver's career. Winning a Daytona 500, a World 600, or a Brickyard 400 are also prestigious; the Firecracker and the fall Charlotte not quite so much. Martinsville with the clock would be next up, then Richmond then, a ways back now, the Bristol night race. The rest of them are much of a muchness 40. Sector posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @37 Yeah I should have been more specific. Though possum did bring it up as to what I was asking; How Vegas is compared to Kansas, Kentucky and Chicago. 41. Sector posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was watching a video about Harvick reaching 100 wins across all three NASCAR series. Sure, he has 99 wins in Truck, Xfinity and Cup, but if we're counting these stats combined, he's already done it. I don't understand why people completely count out the Duels, Shootouts and All-Star races since to him, Xfinity and Truck are non-points races anyway. If you think about it, adding thoe would mean Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt & Darrell Waltrip all would have over 100 wins by that logic. Only Mark Martin (Who would be at "oh so close" #99) and Bobby Allison would be in the 90's group. 42. Sector posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If you think about it, adding thoe would mean Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt & Darrell Waltrip all would have over 100 wins by that logic. Only Mark Martin (Who would be at "oh so close" #99) and Bobby Allison would be in the 90's group." Adding those* 43. Mannoroth posted: 03.04.2018 - 7:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) 41. LOL... In that case, Kyle Busch is already at 190 NASCAR wins (3 Duels, 1 The Clash, All Star race and Xfinity Series heat race at Indianapolis from 2016)... 44. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Based off this weekend I'm gonna go with Larson to win today's race 45. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnson will move to the rear of the field after failing prerace inspection earlier today. His car chief has also been suspended from the race 46. HarvickNation posted: 03.04.2018 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nobody mentioned this, but great qualifying run by Michael McDowell, starting 15th 47. ToxicPudding posted: 03.04.2018 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green flag is out. Here we go. 48. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We're green at Las Vegas 49. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick to the lead 50. ToxicPudding posted: 03.04.2018 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick takes the lead away from Blaney. 51. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Suarez just made a pit stop not sure if it was scheduled or not 52. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green flag pit stops are starting 53. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick back to the lead 54. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex's team didn't get the car full of fuel on their pit stop 55. ACM88 posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson's career has gone to s 56. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick wins stage 1 57. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McDowell has retired from the race 58. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green flag pit stops starting again 59. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin too fast entering pit road 60. Spen posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sector: I prefer Kansas, and I might even take Chicagoland over here. It's a toss-up with Kentucky and Texas. Not a place I'd ever really consider a high priority except from a standpoint of seeing how good my intermediate program is this year. It has done a pretty good job of showing who's hot right now over the years: thus far Vegas has never been won by a driver lower than 12th in overall points. 61. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pit stops have cycled through. Harvick now leads Logano by 1.2 seconds 62. Clint posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Its very entertaining watching the announcers make excuses for nascars pit guns. Their piles of crap no excuse. Nascar needs to actually do something to get it fixed. 63. racefangurl posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Had some Roush togetherness at Vegas. 64. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unscheduled pit stop for Bowyer who was on the lead lap 65. Sector posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Okay, I admit. It's refreshing to see Kevin Harvick actually be dominate again. Hopefully this is the year he wins more races than everyone else. 66. Anthony posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is just another 1.5 mile race of tedium 67. TeamDCR fan posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Cole Custer having a nice easy run in the 51 car. Hasn't been a problem, staying out of the way. 68. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick wins stage 2 69. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano wins the race off pit road and will be the new leader 70. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick fell back to fourth on that pit stop 71. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray into the wall caution is out 72. ACM88 posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pennzoil team Penske care 1-2 73. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex stays out and will be the new leader 74. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano took two tires everyone else took four tires 75. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano back to the lead. Big crash with Kurt Busch and Elliott 76. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson will get the free pass 77. Allen posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Uh... Kurt still has a chance to win at Las Vegas later this season. 78. Rockstar posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This kid CANNOT win. You'd think by this point in his career Chase would have a few wins but that's not the case. 79. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex, Almirola and Newman pit under caution 80. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick back to the lead 81. ACM88 posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is it me, or did that caution seem to last for an enternity? 82. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex reporting a vibration 83. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green flag pit stops starting again 84. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pit stops have cycled through Harvick leads Keselowski by 3.4 seconds 85. 2 & 88 Fan posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I'm impressed with Paul Menard. He's run in the top ten pretty much the whole race. He may surprise a lot of people in that 21 car this year. 86. ToxicPudding posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 5 to go and Harvick is starting to pull back away from Busch. 87. ToxicPudding posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) White flag, Harvick leads. 88. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Harvick dominates again and gets his second win in a row. 89. ToxicPudding posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick wins the Pennzoil 400 for his 2nd straight win. 90. Drakion posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Thats one top ten for Amirola in the 10 car, lets see how many more he can get this year. 91. 2 & 88 Fan posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Harvick and the No4 Stewart-Haas team steamroll their way to another dominating win. It'll be interesting to see if they and Ford can keep this early season speed. 92. Drakion posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Harvick, looking like the team to beat in 2018 93. ACM88 posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Harvicks 100th NASCAR win 94. ToxicPudding posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #6 - Ford / #FordHallofFans #14 - CSU One Cure #17 - DeWalt / Fastenal #34 - Love's Travel Stops / Speedco #37 - Natural Light / Healthy Choice / Tyson #38 - Speedco / Love's Travel Stops #47 - Kroger ClickList / Tide / Cheerios #55 - Nevada Donor Network / NVDonor.org 95. RaceFanX posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick says hi to his wife, son, and daughter at home in victory lane. 96. possum posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) @62 - what they should do is scrap the rule, and let the teams be responsible for their own air guns (which worked fine for the last 30 odd years). But that would require NASCAR to admit they're wrong, which the NASCAR brass hate to do, so instead they'll just keep insisting they're working on it until we all get used to the idea that one or two teams will get screwed each race by a bad airgun. It was funny listening to Larry Mac try to get across that he thinks it's a stupid rule ("how'd you like NASCAR to assign you a drivers seat?") without actually violating the FOX policy of not criticizing NASCAR. 97. Lucstar88 posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, that 4 team has something. Might get a free pass to the final 4 with the amount of bonus points he's gonna get. 98. Drakion posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Make it more interesting, make them loosen and tighten the lugs by hand with no air tools... 99. Altracing posted: 03.04.2018 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Joey Logano now becomes the only driver this season to finish inside the top ten in every race this season. 100. RaceFanX posted: 03.04.2018 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @98 Bring back tire irons? You go that far old school and the Wood Brothers will win every week by four laps. 101. Stewart14Rocks posted: 03.04.2018 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I honestly feel like NASCAR's entire goal of mandating the air guns was to create more variety. Since a lot of "casual fans" complain about the same drivers winning every race, NASCAR comes up with the simple solution to make crappy air guns, so some drivers get screwed out of a race. You'd have better competition if NASCAR didn't regulate everything. 102. TeamDCR fan posted: 03.04.2018 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Though he doesn't finish on the lead lap, Cole Custer has a fairly successful Cup debut. 103. VFL posted: 03.04.2018 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man is William Byron struggling right now or what!? I didn't expect him to win run top 5 or 10 in these first three races but boy he's off the map. He is running in the 30s literally running 32nd during the race. I was thinking top 15-20 runs from him before he got more comfortable but yeah I'm really surprised in his start to the year running in the 30s!! 104. Kenny posted: 03.04.2018 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) LAME...the geezer harvick wins again in a snooze fest I see another ratings decline we're getting tired of the old timers winning 105. Jericohol14 posted: 03.04.2018 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @104 Yeah, like that hot young gun Chase Elliott, who's been winning all those... duel races? 106. jensenators posted: 03.04.2018 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice to see Chris Buescher with a top 15, and even though it's early, currently in a playoff spot. 107. Anthony posted: 03.04.2018 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Does anybody noticed that today Michael McDowell led the most laps he's ever led in his Cup career? Yeah he led 11 laps because of green flag pitstops, but for him to be leading more laps today than the top2 finishers in points from last year, Kyle Busch & Martin Truex, Jr., there's nothing to feel bad about, it's unfortunate that he finished last, but he still had a decent day. 108. JSPorts posted: 03.04.2018 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Buescher was mentioned one time on the broadcast in a race where he finished top-15, only because he was starting beside Jimmie Johnson on a restart. 109. Kansas Kyle posted: 03.04.2018 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Harvick will win many races this season... I say 6-10 races 110. Sector posted: 03.05.2018 - 2:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm enjoying the Kyle dominance once more. It's weird how he can tell the future. Early 2017 he mentioned that they were in "study" mode, that he didn't expect to have that kind of speed right away and for us to wait until 2018 before he's back with the speed. Here we are; 3 races in, two straight dominate performances with a pair of wins. 111. Sector posted: 03.05.2018 - 2:16 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) For the second year in a row, Las Vegas has been a track fully swept by a driver (winning stage races 1, 2 and the actual race itself). 2017- Martin Truex Jr 2018- Kevin Harvick 112. Sector posted: 03.05.2018 - 2:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the second most laps led by a single driver ever done at Las Vegas, while Jeff Gordon led just 5 more laps (219) before being passed by Jimmie Johnson late in the race before finishing 3rd in 2010. Kevin Harvick leading 214 laps is the most by the race winner in Las Vegas history. 113. Sector posted: 03.05.2018 - 3:35 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Is it just me or has Kurt Busch been impressing everyone else with his humble personality? He's come a LONG ways and I have to say I may have slightly became a fan. 114. Mile501 posted: 03.05.2018 - 5:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #110 - Was that comment supposed to be about Harvick instead of Kyle? 115. Anthony posted: 03.05.2018 - 7:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That was one spanking and a half from Harvick. 116. Sector posted: 03.05.2018 - 8:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #114 yes, you are correct haha! Shame on me, right? 117. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 03.05.2018 - 8:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if anyone will complain that NASCAR is letting the Fords have an advantage? JK, but seriously, Ford has stunned me so far this year. I expected them to struggle mightily outside of the superspeedways, but instead, they've destroyed the competition at two straight 1 1/2 mile tracks. It will be really interesting to see if they can continue this dominance. 118. Mannoroth posted: 03.05.2018 - 8:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 117. Well, the only one able to complain about some unfair advantage is Brad Keselowski, but he's a Ford driver, so I don't think there will be some complaining... Plus, their advantage doesn't have to last the whole season. Toyota and Chevrolet can easily figure it out as well. 119. Anonymous posted: 03.05.2018 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 113 I agree with you 100% also his brother should take notes from him 120. Tide1732 posted: 03.05.2018 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 38 cars for Phoenix 121. possum posted: 03.05.2018 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @103 - in fairness to Byron, lets not forget that Johnson got lapped on, what was it, lap 36? So it's not like the Hendrick cars were running away from the field, and only Byron was dogging it. 122. possum posted: 03.05.2018 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @118 - let us not forget what team owner came up with the phrase "unfair advantage" in the first place. 123. cjs3872 posted: 03.05.2018 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Quite frankly, I'm not surprised that William Byron is struggling as bad as he seems to be. I said last year when car owner Rick Hendrick was thinking about making the change and replacing Kasey Kahne with Byron that it would be a BIG mistake for him to rush Byron into the Cup Series, especially considering that someone with the wealth of experience like Matt Kenseth was available. I suspected that having such an inexperienced team, with Alex Bowman replacing Dale, Jr. and Byron replacing Kahne, giving Hendrick Motorsports just one race winner among it's four drivers, with the other three having a grand total of three years of Cup experience, would be an example of Hendrick Motorsports simply asking for trouble, and so far that's exactly how things have panned out. No matter how deep a team is, and despite it's current struggles, HMS is a deep organization, you need more experience and know how to help younger drivers along, and having three out of four drivers be so young and inexperienced, that HMS was going to face an uphill struggle. Kasey Kahne might have underperformed in 2016 and '17, but at least he provided another veteran presence for Chase Elliott (along with Jimmie and Dale, Jr.) and would likely have done the same for Alex Bowman had Hendrick kept him around for one more year. But instead, by having three inexperienced drivers for a team already playing catch-up, HMS could have opened themselves up for a disastrous 2018 season. 124. Mannoroth posted: 03.06.2018 - 7:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 123. On the other hand, JGR is smart and still has Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin as those veterans that can help their young teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez. Unfortunately for Suarez, he was brought to Cup too early as well to just replace Carl Edwards, who retired. And his performance isn't something extra in his 2nd Cup season apart from Jones, who can content for top 10s on a cookie-cutter track in his first 2 races with JGR. It's still way too early to say it, but it doesn't look like that William Byron will be that rookie to finally win at least one Cup race in his 1st full-time season. The last one to do it was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007 at Sonoma, but he was already an experienced driver from F1. Denny Hamlin swept Pocono and even finished 3rd in the final standings in his 1st full-time Cup season, but he was already 25. So that means Kyle Busch was the last one to win (and not only once) a Cup race at the age of 20 (or 19/20) in 2005. 125. 34McDowellFan posted: 03.06.2018 - 8:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The last one to do it was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007 at Sonoma" Joey Logano won New Hampshire in 2009 Chris Buescher won Pocono in 2016 But I'm assuming you probably weren't counting rain shortened races. 126. Mannoroth posted: 03.06.2018 - 9:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 125. I don't count rain shortened races, fuel mileage races and superspeedway races, because anyone can win them, if he's lucky. But try to win some race fair & square by beating other cars in a normal finish (like Juan Pablo Montoya did at Sonoma, like Denny Hamlin did it twice at Pocono, like Kyle Busch did it at Fontana and Phoenix). It's been more than 10 years now and no future rookie could do it. Keselowski won at Talladega in 2009, but he wasn't running full-time and it's a superspeedway win. Logano won at Loudon in 2009, but the race was shortened due to rain. Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 in 2011, but he wasn't running full-time (not even for points) and it's a superspeedway win. Just no rookie has won fair & square since Montoya... 127. cjs3872 posted: 03.06.2018 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @124, of course that didn't help JGR when they rushed Joey Logano into the Cup Series in 2009 when he wasn't anything close to ready, with those same two drivers, Hamlin and Kyle Busch, as experienced hands to learn from, and it turned into a disaster. Part of the problem at JGR is that their veteran drivers aren't the kind to serve as mentors for the younger drivers coming up. It wasn't that way for J.J. Yeley in 2006, nor for Logano in 2009. Now let's compare what JGR and HMS have done in recent years to what other organizations have done in similar circumstances. For as much as DEI could be criticized, and there's much to criticize them for, one thing they didn't do was rush Martin Truex, Jr. into the Cup Series after he won his first Busch (now XFinity) Series title in 2004. They ran him for a select few races while he ran another full season in the Busch Series in 2005 and won the championship again. It was after the second championship season that Truex was brought into the Cup Series to stay. And of course, Truex is now at the very top of the mountain as the reigning champion of the sport. Another example of this is how Roush handled Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. He could have rushed into the Cup Series in 2012 after he won the 2011 XFinity Series title, but he didn't. Roush did the same thing with Stenhouse that DEI did with Martin Truex, Jr. in 2005, and with the same results. Stenhouse ran a few Cup events while running the full season in what is now the XFinity Series, and he won the championship again. It was only then that Roush promoted him to the Cup Series. Richard Childress did the same with Austin Dillon, running him two years in the XFinity Series, winning the championship the second time around. Then he elevated him to the Cup Series, and he's rewarded Childress with wins in two of the sport's crown jewel events, not to mention running consistently among the second tier of cars ever since arriving in the Cup Series. There's a reason why rushing drivers is, and always has been a bad idea. Joey Logano was fortunate enough to get a second chance with Roger Penske, and he's made the most of it. But most drivers that get rushed aren't successful, and many are never heard from again. 128. Bad Booking posted: 03.06.2018 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The main reason why Joey Logano got his second wind was because of Brad Keselowski. The two became friends, and when Joey's time was up with JGR, Brad put in a good word for him. I think it's the environment as well that helped Joey mature into what he is now. 2017 was a bad year for him, but he'll be in the mix this year no doubt. I think the rushing young drivers issue is getting worse than ever as well. The experienced drivers want $$ and the team owners are like screw this we'll get the younger talent and pay them peanuts. That's why 2018 is probably the freshest looking crop of talent ever. When I mean fresh, I mean green as a gourd. 129. Corey posted: 03.06.2018 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think for some drivers it just comes down to bad timing. Logano would have benefited with another year in Xfinity, but Stewart decided to give himself a new challenge and went with Gene Haas. Byron could have used another year but who would you have hold his seat, Kahne or a one-year rent a driver. Honestly I don't remember what Kahne's contract situation was last year. Jr had already retired at that point and Bowman I believe had already been selected as his replacement. Suarez could have use another but I think Arris wanted to move him up. Jones may have moved to Cup too soon but his first year was with a satellite team where the pressure wasn't as great. Of course Truex then goes out and blows the competitions doors off. @127, What are your thoughts on Cole Custers's development? He seems to fit the mold that DEI and Roush set. Two full years in Xfinity plus a few spot starts in Cup. Will possibly replace Kurt Busch next year full time and maybe the Xfinity champion if things go right. Although Bell might have something to say on that. 130. joey2448 posted: 03.06.2018 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick earned a perfect 150 driver rating in this race. While it's not a completely unique accomplishment, it definitely doesn't happen often, and it only occurs when a driver completely controls a race from up front. Does anyone have a list of all-time perfect driver ratings? I seem to remember seeing a list like that once on Jayski, but I'm not sure where to find it now. 131. Corey posted: 03.06.2018 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll be honest, driver ratings don't mean anything to me. It seems like its one of those stats that's out there but no one talks about. I don't even remember them talk about it during the race broadcasts. 132. cjs3872 posted: 03.06.2018 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @129, as long as he isn't rushed into the Cup Series before he's ready, he might do very well. Custer is in an interesting situation, because, like some drivers of past generations, he's basically a Ford development driver that races with multiple teams in multiple series. He's driving one of Roush's XFinity series cars part-time while under contract with Stewart-Haas Racing. But in this race, he drove for a completely different operation under the Ford banner. Decades ago, we saw this with drivers such as Mario Andretti and Swede Savage, drivers who competed in other series that came to NASCAR because Ford wanted them in a NASCAR ride for the races they drove in. It obviously worked with Andretti, who won the 1967 Daytona 500, but the results were more mixed with Savage, who drove for both Holman-Moody and the Wood Brothers in the late 60s before going to IndyCar racing, where he was ticketed for stardom before two enormous crashes curtailed his career and eventually took his life. 133. Sector posted: 03.06.2018 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #130 Hope this helps joey2448! I did some research for ya! Driver- year track (# laps led of total laps) 1) Kurt Busch: 2005 Phoenix-1 (219 of 312), 2005 Pocono-2 (131 of 203), 2007 Pocono-2 (175 of 200), 2009 Atlanta-1 (234 of 330) 2) Tony Stewart- 2005 Watkins Glen (83 of 92) 3) Kevin Harvick- 2006 Phoenix-2 (252 of 312), 2014 Phoenix-2 (264 of 312), 2015 Phoenix-1 (224 of 312), 2018 Las Vegas (214 of 267) 4) Clint Bowyer- 2007 New Hampshire-2 (222 of 300) 5) Jimmie Johnson- 2008 Fontana-2 (228 of 250), 2009 Dover-1 (298 of 400), 2012 Indianapolis (99 of 160), 2013 Texas-2 (255 of 334) 6) Denny Hamlin- 2009 Richmond-2 (299 of 300) 7) Carl Edwards- 2010 Homestead (190 of 267) 8) Brad Keselowski- 2014 Kentucky (199 of 267) 9) Martin Truex Jr- 2016 Charlotte-1 (392 of 400) 10) Kyle Busch- 2016 Indianapolis (149 of 170) I don't understand how this works. Especially since Keselowski's 2014 dominance at Richmond (383 of 400) is much stronger leading 84 more laps than Denny Hamlin's 2009 Richmond-2 performance. # of times a driver had 150.0 driver ratings: 1) 4- Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick 2) 1- Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch # of times a 150.0 driver rating was done at a track: 1) 4- Phoenix 2) 2- Pocono, Indianapolis 3) 1- Atlanta, Charlotte, Dover, Fontana, Homestead, Kentucky, Las Vegas, New Hampshire, Richmond, Texas, Watkins Glen Some interesting facts to note: 1) Kurt Busch, as the reigning champion, is the first driver to score a 150.0 rating at Phoenix, the 8th race with the new driver's rating installed of the 2005 season. Kurt is also the first to score it the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time before Jimmie Johnson tied him, then Kevin Harvick. 2) Two seasons has a record high with 150.0 driver ratings: 2005 & 2009 with 3. Kurt Busch 2 & Tony Stewart 1 for 2005. Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson & Denny Hamlin 1 a piece for 2009. Kurt Busch is listed for both years. 3) Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch both rated 150 at Crown Jewel races in 2016; Charlotte and Indianapolis. They both went on to lead 2,000+ laps led in a single season in 2017. 134. Sector posted: 03.06.2018 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't understand how this works. Especially since Keselowski's 2014 dominance at Richmond (383 of 400) is much stronger leading 84 more laps than Denny Hamlin's 2009 Richmond-2 performance." Forgot to mention, Keselowski's Richmond only got 149.8. 135. kup posted: 03.07.2018 - 7:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2018 Standings: 1. Kevin Harvick (135) 2. Joey Logano (132) 3. Ryan Blaney (131) 4. Martin Truex, Jr. (115) 5. Kyle Busch (104) 6. Kyle Larson (104) 7. Brad Keselowski (99) 8. Denny Hamlin (97) This Top-8 finally gonna be in the Play-Off Top-16 or later even Top-8. Add-ons are / could be: #3 AD, / #9 CE, #48 JJ - they are 3 most likely. 16 - 8 - 3 = 5 last - too many candidates: they are 10 for 5 spots. #1 JM, #17 RS, #41 KB, #31 RN, #14 CB, #20 EJ, #19 DS, #21 PM, #10 AA, #43 DW. 136. Mannoroth posted: 03.07.2018 - 7:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 127. I agree - they didn't rush it like JGR, but unfortunately, Roush and Childress don't have elite equipment anymore, so no matter when you come to Cup, you just won't run for wins immediately. And unfortunately again, both Stenhouse, Jr. and Austin Dillon aren't able to win a race normally... 133. "6) Denny Hamlin- 2009 Richmond-2 (299 of 300)" I'm sure you meant 299 of 400. Richmond races are run for 400 laps. 137. Altracing posted: 03.07.2018 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) L1 penalty for Harvick which means his playoff points will not count towards the playoffs 138. Not Sure posted: 03.08.2018 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2009: 6.5, 11.1 million 2010: 4.4, 7.1 million 2011: 5.9, 10 million 2012: 5.2, 8.5 million 2013: 4.7, 7.5 million 2014: 4.5, 7.3 million 2015: 4.6, 7.7 million 2016: 4.4, 7.2 million 2017: 3.6, 6 million 2018: 2.9, 4.7 million Tied for fourth-lowest ever for any Cup race on FOX. 139. Not Sure posted: 03.08.2018 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I did a little more digging on Jayski's website. From 2001 to 2007, the rating for Las Vegas ranged from 5.8 to 6.9 (no viewership totals listed). 2008 was the all-time high with a 7.1 and 12.1 million viewers. So in ten years this race lost over 7 million viewers. Another thing to keep in mind is the first several races following the Daytona 500 typically rank among the highest rated races of the season. If a 2.9 and 4.7 million is the best they can do for race number three - not to mention the 3.3 and 5.6 million for Atlanta - imagine how bad the ratings will be the rest of the season. 140. Buddy posted: 03.08.2018 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Fox probably doesn't help with ratings anymore with their goofy antics with Michael Waltrip and trying to make it a comedy show. Chris Myers and his goofy stuff too. Plus the older fan base probably left when Stewart Gordon Earnhardt retired. The younger drivers need to start winning more to attract new up and coming young fans 141. Al posted: 05.08.2018 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Cole Custer's owner was Stewart Haas Racing, despite the RWR logo on the car, it was the #00 SHR team, not Rick Ware's team 142. Rich posted: 12.08.2020 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon were the commentators. Matt Yocum, Vince Welch and Jamie Little were the pit road reporters. Larry McReynolds was the in-race analyst. Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: