Denny Hamlin wins the STP 500

By @GucciardoJoey

Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the STP 500
at Martinsville Speedway.
(Steve Helber/AP)

Denny Hamlin had to hold off a charging Brad Keselowski for his first win of the season, and fifth win at Martinsville Speedway.

Hamlin started 15th, and worked his way to the front for the win.

Hamlin had this to say: "We just weren't going to be denied today," Hamlin said. "Hats off to Brad; he had an option there at the end and he took the latter. I thank him for that." -SB Nation

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite ford of Penske Racing said, "I did everything I could but wreck him."

Joey Logano finished third after starting from first place, followed by Hamlin's teammate Matt Kenseth, and David Ragan to round out the Top-5.

Danica Patrick finished 7th. Her best finish in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is 6th.

Hendrick Motorsports had a bad day.

Dale Earnhardt JR. finished 36th. Chase Elliott, who was making his Sprint Cup Series debut, finished 38th.

Jimmie Johnson, who was plagued by bad restarts and long pit-stops, finished 35th.

Jeff Gordon almost won the race, but had a late pit-road speeding penalty. He finished 9th.

Kasey Kahne finished 11th.

Gordon had this to say: "Oh my gosh, I'm so disappointed in myself. I know I was pushing the limit. I didn't think I had done anything different than I had all day long. I'm very, very disappointed. I felt like we finally got the car, got ourselves in a position to win that race." 

-SB Nation

Kevin Harvick finished 8th. He had a streak in the last four races of finishing either first, or second in a Sprint Cup Series race.

Joey Logano wins Kroger 250

By @GucciardoJoey

Joey Logano wins the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway.
PHOTO: http://joeylogano.com/joey-logano-
wins-at-martinsville-speedway/

Boy, what a race.

Joey Logano started on the pole (1st place), and that's where he finished after passing Matt Crafton on a late restart to win the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

The race ended under a Green-White-Checkered. Cole Custer, who won a truck series race last season at the young age of 16, who was driving the No. 00 for JR. Motorsports as they made their debut today, spun out after making contact in Matt Crafton in the No. 88 truck of ThorSport Motorsports.

"It's special because now I can say I've won in all three series" said Logano to FOX Sports.

Logano has now won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, XFINITY, and Camping World Truck Series.

Logano also qualified on the pole for tomorrow's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the STP 500.

Custer, now 17, made a huge pass on Crafton and Logano with five laps to go. But the contact with Crafton would end his day. But Crafton wouldn't be affected so much, because he would start first on the Green-White-Checkered attempt, but finished second to Logano.

Grafton would maintain his points lead with his second place finish.

Erik Jones finished 3rd, followed by Johnny Sauter, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez. James Buescher, John Wes Townley, Matt Tiff, and Justin Boston would round out the Top-10.

Finish Under Green? Penalization?

By @GucciardoJoey

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Greg Biffle after wrecking on the last lap of the 2015
Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
(PHOTO Credits: Jonathan Moore/NASCAR)

Yesterday, Greg Biffle spun out on a second attempt at a Green-White-Checkered finish at Auto Club Speedway during the Auto Club 400. Just as the leaders took the white flag, Biffle spun out from the rear of the field. The race continued as Biffle drove away.

According to a NASCAR.com Staff Report, "the spotters' checked for debris turned up nothing."

Brad Keselowski would pass the two front-runners, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch for the win.

The NASCAR.com Staff Report had this quote from NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell, and boy, did he have a lot to say.

"I think when you look at the end of the race, we will always try to finish the race under green-flag conditions, but we're always going to err on the side of safety," O'Donnell said Monday during NASCAR officials' weekly debrief with NASCAR.com. "So if you want to look back at Daytona, we made the decision based on the hit that we saw Kyle Larson take, based on our need to dispatch the safety equipment as quickly as possible. We made that decision to go ahead and display the yellow."

"If you fast-forward to what happened yesterday in California, when we looked at it in terms of Greg Biffle was able to drive away, the cars were still in Turn 2, we had eyes immediately on the ground in terms of our flagstand personnel to be able to see if there was any debris on the track. There wasn't, so we were able to let the cars come back and race under green-flag conditions to the checkered flag. So if we can do that, we will, but under no circumstances would we compromise safety in terms of a driver to be able to do that."

~NASCAR.com Staff Report

Biffle was able to drive away as the other cars entered Turn 2. There was no debris on the track, so NASCAR must have figured that they should let the cars race.

O'Donnel clearly is stating that NASCAR does not want to endanger its drivers in ANY way. But he also seems to state that Biffle seemed to put himself in a situation where he had ESCAPED any danger, so everything seemed fine to let the cars finish.

Some of our Facebook fans reminded us about the 2015 DAYTONA 500, how this is sort of the opposite of that event.

Two cars spun on the backstretch during a Green-White-Checkered finish, one of them being Jeff Gordon. The two cars had spun into the infield of the backstretch, where they had escaped harm, but NASCAR still threw the caution and ended the race there, where Joey Logano was the winner.

Brad Keselowski in victory lane after winning the
2015 Auto Club 400.
(PHOTO Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Also, O'Donnell mentioned Denny Hamlin's late pit road penalty for the loose tire on pit road that gave Hamlin a 28th Place finish.

Again, this is from the NASCAR.com Staff Report.

"Again, we'll go back to video replay. That's why the system was put in place," O'Donnell said. "I think Dave questioned whether we would err on the side of the competitors and referenced what we said at the beginning of the year. We did say that, and we still hold to that, that we will err on the side of the competitors if we can't make a distinctive call, but under the review process … it was clear to us that there was a violation and in that case, we're going to make the call. With this system, it is precise. It's black and white in terms of whether or not we can make a call, very similar to pit-road speeding penalties.
 
"The drivers had asked for that to be more transparent, and under this new system, we're going to be more transparent as well. The good news is we can share that with the race teams, not only during the race, but after the race as well, and walk them through why the call was made and show them as well."

~NASCAR.com Staff Report

What is your take on this hectic controversy?

Should Hamlin have been penalized? Should the yellow flag have been thrown, or did NASCAR make the right call by letting the cars race back to the line?

Please comment what you think.

Let Them Race? NASCAR and the Fontana Finish Controversy

By @GucciardoJoey

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Brad Keselowski doing a victory burnout after winning yesterday's
Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.
(Photo Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Well, I'm sure you saw it and said "What is going on here?"

On the last lap of the Auto Club 400 yesterday, Brad Keselowski beat Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch to the checkered flag. Keselowski managed to get passed both of them on the second Green-White-Checkered attempt.

He kept Kevin Harvick from winnning all three races of the 2014 NASCAR West Coast Swing.

But, here's the controversy.

Greg Biffle spins out in the tri-oval, and his car is lying in the middle of the track.

Now, NASCAR let the drivers race because Biffle managed to get his car off the track. But the question is, should NASCAR have ended the race?

Auto Club Speedway's tribute to Jeff Gordon that they put on the
pit road wall.
(Photo Credit: Brendan Littell: UNB! Network)

You are allowed three attempts at a Green-White-Checkered attempt. If the yellow flag is waved BEFORE the white flag is waived, you will have another attemp, UNLESS, it it the third attempt. In THAT case, the race ends whether the cars crossed the Start/Finish line or not. NASCAR will look at scoring loops on the track to determine the final results.

But this caution involving Biffle was right when the white flag was being waived.

Should NASCAR have thrown the yellow flag, or should they have let them race back to the Start/Finish Line?

Well, they let them race back to the line.

I was scared, and I'll tell you why. I didn't know that Biffle had moved his car off the track, because I was not at the race, I was watching FOX's NASCAR On Fox television broadcast of this race. Had I known that Biffle had gotten his car off the track, I would have said, let them race.

But I didn't know that Biffle had done that, which made me shout "END THE RACE! END THE RACE!"

But, the race ended without Biffle getting slammed into. He was facing the wrong way on the track.

Noticed how I said ON THE TRACK, but I said that he drove the car off the track.

Well, he was half in the infield, and half on the TRACK, so he wasn't 100% off the track.

So should NASCAR have let the drivers race?

But, back to the race in general.

Brad Keselowski did not even know where victory lane was at this track.

"I know [Kevin Harvick] and [Kurt Busch] had been the class of the weekend and deserved to win on speed. Maybe we kind of stole one today." Keselowski said, according to ESPN.

Dale Earnhardt JR. and Jimmie Johnson had been trying to gain some ground on the three cars of Keselowski, Harvick, and Kurt Busch, but JR. wound up finishing 6th, and Johnson wound up finishing in 9th.

Danica Patrick finished 19th, her highest finish of this season so far.

Harvick would finish 2nd, and Kurt Busch would finish third after rolling off pit road before the first drop of the green flag on the pole position (1st place).

He had not won since March of 2014 where he beat Jimmie Johnson to the checkered flag.

Harvick, on the last pit stop of the race, took two tires and drove off. His crew was going to the others side of the car to change the OTHER two tires, but Harvick just drove off to hopefully exit pit road in first place.

Congratulations to Brad Keselowski on winning the 2015 Auto Club 400!

Chase Elliott: How He Will Do In His Cup Series Debut At Martinsville

By @GucciardoJoey

PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT I AM NOT A NASCAR EXPERT AND I AM ONLY EXPRESSING MY OPINION AND MY OPINION ONLY. MY OPINION IS NOT NECESSARILY SHARED WITH OTHER WRITERS ON THIS BLOG.

Since he will be replacing Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 car at the start of the 2016 season when Gordon retires, Chase Elliott will be running a few races this season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

His first race is at Martinsville Speedway on March 29th, 2015.

Our 5/24 shop is temporarily a 5/24/25 shop as @chaseelliott's Chevy SS is being built for the @MartinsvilleSwy race. pic.twitter.com/LKj3jD68L9
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 18, 2015

But Elliott has never made a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in his career. But here's why I think he will do well.
~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~
1.) Elliott has plenty of talent. Elliott won the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship in 2014 in his ROOKIE year in the series! I predict that Elliott qualifies in the Top-20, and finishes within the Top-15, which is not to bad for your debut in NASCAR's premier series (Sprint Cup).

2.) Elliott has a great mentor. Elliott is learning from two of NASCAR's most popular drivers, Bill Elliott (his father), and Dale Earnhardt JR., who is the owner of the NASCAR XFINITY Series team JR. Motorsports, which is Elliott's XFINITY Series team.

3.) Elliott must be ready for the Sprint Cup. We all know that rick Hendrick would want a driver that he knows can win behind the wheel of a Chevy, so he must have picked Elliott because he KNEW that Elliott could win. I personally believe that Elliott is the wisest choice to drive the No. 24 car starting in 2016.
~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Kevin Harvick wins at Auto Club

By @GucciardoJoey

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Kevin Harvick in victory lane at Auto Club Speedway
after winning the Drive4Clots.com 300
(Photo: Alex Gallardo)

Happy Harvick can't stop winning.

Today, Kevin Harvick got his second XFINITY Series win of this season at Auto Club Speedway.

He led 100 of today's 150 laps.

"We've been close to winning here before, but today was a day that was pretty much flawless from start-to-finish. Everything is clicking right now and you just gotta keep riding the wave." Harvick said, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Brendan Gaughan finished 2nd.

Erik Jones, who rolled off the starting gird in 1st (pole position), finished 3rd, Chase Elliott finished 4th, and Chris Buescher finished 5th.

Kyle Larson, who finished 7th, won this race last year, and he actually HELD OFF Harvick for the win in that race.

[:POINTS UPDATE:]

Due to finishing 5nd today, Chris Buescher sits second in XFINITY Series points behind Ty Dillon, current XFINITY Series points leader, who finished 14th today.

Harvick Dominating?

By @GucciardoJoey

Follow UNB! On Twitter!

Kevin Harvick in victory lane after winning
the CampingWorld.com 500 this past
weekend at Phoenix International
Raceway.
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Kevin Harvick is on a roll right now.

Harvick has won two races this season, and we're only four races into the season.

Harvick just won this past weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, officially locking himself into the Chase.

Notice how I said "officially" locked in.

Truth is, a win doesn't OFFICIALLY lock you into the Chase. TWO wins locks you in. Let's say you win a race. But 26 different drivers win a race (There's only 26 races before the Chase), only 16 can get in. Two wins locks you in.

Harvick is now locked in.

Harvick went into 2015 coming off his first ever career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in November of 2014.

I'll put it to you this way, Harvick has won 4 of the last 6 points races.

The first of those four, was at Phoenix in November of 2014, where Harvick guaranteed himself a spot in the final four of the Chase for the Cup.

He won the race, beating fellow Final Four member Ryan Newman to the Checkered Flag to win the championship.

Kevin Harvick is an amazing driver with amazing talent.

Isn't that why his fans call him "Freaky Fast?"

The NASCAR On FOX broadcasters call him "Mr. Where Did He Come From." because of his late race moves where he suddenly passes the first place car for the lead.

Will Kevin Harvick win the 2015 NSCS Championship, or will someone stop him?

Joey Logano wins at Phoenix

By @GucciardoJoey

Follow Us On Twitter!

Well, he started on the pole (1st Place), and Joey Logano has won at Phoenix International Raceway.

Victory Lane tastes so good for @joeylogano! Your #XFINITYSeries #Axalta200 champion! pic.twitter.com/GWitcMW0cD
— XFINITY Racing (@XFINITYRacing) March 14, 2015

(Photo: NASCAR.com)

He led 176 of the 200 laps in today's race.

After a late restart on lap 143/200, Logano had to hold off Matt Kenseth, who finished 2nd in today's race. Kevin Harvick, who started second, finished 3rd, Austin Dillon finished 4th, and Erik Jones, filling in for the injured Kyle Busch, finished 5th.

Matt Kenneth led the first 14 laps, NASCAR XFINITY Series rookie Brennan Poole led 6, and Austin Dillon led four.

Chase Elliott started seventh in today's race. But on lap 138, he spun with Ty Dillon, and spun in Turn 2, but would finish where he started, in seventh.

Logano hadn't won in the XFINITY Series since September of 2013, so he really made his mark in this series today.

Congratulations to Joey Logano on winning today's Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200!

Eldora Speedway website hacked by Islamic State

By @GucciardoJoey

Well, Rossburg, Ohio got a little taste of the Islamic State.

The small dirt-track called Eldora Speedway located in the small town of Rossburg has been hacked by ISIS, or the Islamic State.

Or at least, an Islamic message.

The hack happened this past Saturday.

Tony Stewart, part-owner of the track, was very confused.

"Seriously? I guess we're a big enough blip on the radar now if we've gotten their attention. Maybe we can give them season passes." Stewart said to USA Today.

Jimmie Johnson and the Current Success of Team #48

By @GucciardoJoey
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Photo: Goodyear Racing on Twitter
Jimmie Johnson in the garage at Las Vegas
Motor Speedway

Look at 2014 for Team #48. They had four wins, and finished a career-low 11th in final Sprint Cup Series points.

It took them 11 races last season to get their first win. The first win was the first of three in the next four races.

They won four races total in 2014, but like I said, they had their career-lowest points standings finish.

But I really think this team has turned over a new leaf since 2014.

They qualified 2nd for the 2015 DAYTONA 500, then won a Budweiser Duel (They won Duel #1/2) and finished fifth in the DAYTONA 500. He led the first 13 laps, and led a few near the end of the race but racing grooves were formed on late restarts that plagued Johnson and stole the win from him. He still managed to finish 5th in the race.

Then they went from 37th to first to win the second race of this season this past Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500.

This team is off to one of their greatest seasons yet in 2015.

Their best season was in 2007, where they won 10 races, and won the championship to go along with it.

I really think this team is at the point where they are performing at their best, and that effort is really paying off. They are always on the same page with each other, and they work as a team. If Jimmie Johnson has any complaints about his car during a race, the team is ready to fix it nice and quickly. This team is at it's best right now, and if not that, then things will get better.

If you really remember well I wrote articles on Team #48's struggles in 2014. I always mentioned the paint scheme changes, how Team #48 got rid of their white paint scheme because they thought it was bad luck, and how they switched over to the Blue car that they won the 2013 championship with, and almost won the 2012 championship with.

But only believe that if you are a superstitious person.

I really think that Team #48 has turned over a new leaf, and is ready to compete and compete well in 2015 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Austin Dillon wins Boyd Gaming 300

By @GucciardoJoey

Austin Dillon managed to win an amazing Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Dillon started on the pole (1st Place)

Ryan Blaney came in second, followed by Regan Smith, then Denny Hamlin filling in for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Toyota. Then it was Chase Elliott in 5th to round out the Top-5.

Brendan Gaughan, Darrell Wallace JR., Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole, and Daniel Suarez rounded out the Top-10.

Brian Scott had engine troubles the MOMENT of the first drop of the green flag. He instantly fell to the back of the pack, but no caution was thrown.

The first caution, which came on Lap 13, Scott had no hesitation in taking the car behind the pit-road wall.

Scott would finish 38/40. The only two drivers behind him were Mike Bliss, who brought out that first caution for hitting the wall, and Jeff Green in 40th.

The top-3 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings after today's race ARE:

(1) Ty Dillon (#3)

(2) Chris Buescher (#90)

(3) Ryan Reed (#16)

Erik Jones was wrecked in a late-race incident.

Ryan Blaney was really mad at himself for wrecking Jones, but Jones was mad too.

Jones's car was mangled on the front only, and he also went on an ambulance ride to the infield care center.

"I hate to see him wreck" said Blaney, who finished 2nd.

Blaney's car got EXTREMELY loose on the backstretch and directly hit Jones, which sent Jones into a spin.

"The 22 just lost it, obviously." said Jones.

Jones would go on to say that he basically saved the 22 (of Blaney) from wrecking, and how he wrecked instead.

Jones finished 29th.

But congratulations to Austin Dillon and we wish the best of luck to Erik Jones.

Matt Crafton wins truck series race at Atlanta

By @GucciardoJoey

(Photo: John Amis/AP)

Hampton, GA--- Kevin Harvick had won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race earlier in the day before this race, but Matt Crafton won right after that.

MORE: Harvick Wins Hisense 250

Crafton is coming off winning his second consecutive NCTWS championship in 2014 (first one in 2013).

Crafton took the lead on lap 59, and led the rest of the race from there. Crafton started fifteenth in his No. 88 Toyota. This was his 6th career win in the NCTWS.

Grafton finished 8th in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

"I was really, really disappointed with qualifying. But I knew once the green flag dropped and we ran three laps, these boys are in trouble." Grafton said.

"It was a great day." Ty Dillon, who finished 2nd to Crafton, said.

Crafton also started in the Daytona 500 the same weekend as the NCTWS season opener at Daytona International Speedway, filling in for the injured Kyle Busch.

The battle for third between Ben Kennedy and Daniel Suarez was exciting, as Kennedy held off Suarez by 0.696 seconds, Tyler Reddick, who won the season opener, was 5th.

Kevin Harvick wins Hisense 250

By @GucciardoJoey

(AP Photo/John Amis)

Hampton, GA--- This race was just another XFINITY Series race won by a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star.

This was Harvick's third straight win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, his fourth win there overall in the series.

Logan finished 2nd the past two years. He led early in the race. "it seems like I finish 2nd here all the time." said Logano after qualifying on the pole for this race. He will also start first in today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the same track.

"He's a great talent. Kevin has got a knack at this place. When it comes to Atlanta, he's hard to beat." said Dale Earnhardt JR. owner of the no. 88 car that Harvick drove for JR. Motorsports.

Jeffery Earnhardt spun on lap 9, bringing out the first caution.

@BlogNascar Either Harvick or Logano
— Avery Hage (@AveryHage) February 28, 2015

Harvick won a race off of pit road with 27 laps to go under caution. "That pit stop was what won the race." said Harvick.