2014 NASCAR Race Review and Results

[HossC]

There was a bright moon for qualifying at the Charlotte Motor Speedway tonight.

Jimmie Johnson had a wobble just as he was starting his first qualifying lap, and had to abort the run. He went back to pit lane, and waited until the last few minutes to have a second try. He got through the first session in 11th. Tony Stewart also had a a bad first run, and radioed that he couldn't even go flat on the out lap. He eventually made it through in 16th.

All the Chase drivers made it made the cut in the first session, although Matt Kenseth was on the bubble in 24th. Twenty one of the cars beat the old lap record. Despite two attempts, Ricky Stenhouse Jr couldn't get higher than 28th (which was slightly better than his position in first practice!).

In the second qualifying session, only seven of the twelve Chase drivers made it through to the final round. Those not making the cut were Joey Logano (13th), Brad Keselowski (17th), Kasey Kahne (19th), Jimmie Johnson (21st) and Matt Kenseth (22nd).

In the third qualifying session, half of the drivers waited until there was less than 90 seconds left before setting a time. In the end it's good news for Lizzy this week, with Kyle Busch taking pole position. I'm sure Garrett won't be too disappointed with second place for Jeff Gordon. Gordon's teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr, starts back in ninth. For the first time in a couple of weeks, Kevin Harvick will have cars in front of him as he starts in seventh.

Here's the full lineup (Chase drivers are highlighted in yellow):

1. Kyle Busch

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Tony Stewart

5. Ryan Newman

6. Paul Menard

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Brian Vickers

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr

10. Carl Edwards

11. Kurt Busch

12. Greg Biffle

13. Joey Logano

14. Danica Patrick

15. Aric Almirola

16. Justin Allgaier

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Jamie McMurray

19. Kasey Kahne

20. Austin Dillon

21. Jimmie Johnson

22. Matt Kenseth

23. Martin Truex Jr

24. Kyle Larson

25. Clint Bowyer

26. AJ Allmendinger

27. Marcos Ambrose

28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

29. Casey Mears

30. Reed Sorenson

31. Michael McDowell

32. Landon Cassill

33. Alex Bowman

34. David Ragan

35. Michael Annett

36. Cole Whitt

37. David Gilliland

38. Josh Wise

39. Brett Moffitt

40. Timmy Hill

41. J.J. Yeley

42. Corey Lajoie

43. Blake Koch

With 44 cars on the entry list, Trevor Bayne is the unlucky driver going home.

The Bank of America 500 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway is this Saturday night at 7:30 PM ET. This week it's live on ABC.

For those of you looking for some motorsport on Sunday, why not try the first F1 race from Russia. The new course has been built around the 2014 Winter Olympics park at Sochi. First practice is still a few hours away, so I have no idea what to expect. The race is live at 7 AM ET, although NBC Sports will show it again at 1:30 PM ET.

[Garrett Duke]

Well y'all...I am sorry to say that I missed most of the race last night since we had family over. I turned the race on as they were getting ready to leave with like fifty laps to go or so. If that. So, I don't have much info about the race. I apologize for my lack of a review...I will write what I know. If someone knows more, feel free to add onto it.

I heard that Danica Patrick was running in the top ten when Joey Logano got into her and she got upset saying she was going to wreck him...though don't know if she did or not. Seems like I saw somewhere where she and Newman got in an accident?

Also heard that Dale Earnhardt Jr. shifter? broke. Which explains why he was like 23rd when I turned the race on.

Matt Kenseth was in third place when Brad Keselowski went to block him...Kenseth was already there and Keselowski got into the front of Kenseth's car. Later Keselowski and Hamlin got into each other...can't really see what happened other than it being a racing deal.

With ten laps to go a caution is thrown...I can't remember for what now...but that with five to go, Jimmie Johnson who was in fifth place, pits...and comes home seventeenth.

Kevin Harvick came home with the win with Jeff Gordon came home second.

I am sorry for my lack of a review today...of what I remember most of last night's game came AFTER the checkered flag flew. After the race was over, Brad Keselowski wrecks Denny Hamlin, before running into Matt Kenseth and running into the backend of Tony Stewart who was parked. Stewart got mad and reversed his car into Keselowski to wreck the front end of his car.

Denny Hamlin was so mad after the race, it took all his men to keep him away from Brad Keselowski, and Hamlin was still fighting his own crew to get to Keselowski. (someone said that Keselowski did burn out in the garage area. Did see pictures of it, but didn't understand what they were talking about...or why.) Later the camera showed Matt Kenseth running down between two haulers and shoving/hitting Keselowski who didn't know he was coming. Kenseth's crew (I even saw one of Kyle Busch's crew in the mix) shoving Kenseth away from Keselowski. Needless to say, Keselowski once again didn't make any friends last night.

They interviewed Kenseth right after wards and he said that he had his HANS devise off and was unbuckled when Keselowski ran into him going fifty miles per hour. Meanwhile Brad Keselowski found a way to place blame in everyone, but himself. I have my own opinion of all of this, but instead, I will just say that Keselowski was called into the NASCAR hauler after the race...and penalties will be handed out on Tuesday as they normally are. I will keep you updated when I find out about what they are. Here is the video of the fight/interviews...will be glad to hear what you think.

[Garrett Duke]

Well y'all...I am sorry to say that I missed most of the race last night since we had family over. I turned the race on as they were getting ready to leave with like fifty laps to go or so. If that. So, I don't have much info about the race. I apologize for my lack of a review...I will write what I know. If someone knows more, feel free to add onto it.

I heard that Danica Patrick was running in the top ten when Joey Logano got into her and she got upset saying she was going to wreck him...though don't know if she did or not. Seems like I saw somewhere where she and Newman got in an accident?

Also heard that Dale Earnhardt Jr. shifter? broke. Which explains why he was like 23rd when I turned the race on.

Matt Kenseth was in third place when Brad Keselowski went to block him...Kenseth was already there and Keselowski got into the front of Kenseth's car. Later Keselowski and Hamlin got into each other...can't really see what happened other than it being a racing deal.

With ten laps to go a caution is thrown...I can't remember for what now...but that with five to go, Jimmie Johnson who was in fifth place, pits...and comes home seventeenth.

Kevin Harvick came home with the win with Jeff Gordon came home second.

I am sorry for my lack of a review today...of what I remember most of last night's game came AFTER the checkered flag flew. After the race was over, Brad Keselowski wrecks Denny Hamlin, before running into Matt Kenseth and running into the backend of Tony Stewart who was parked. Stewart got mad and reversed his car into Keselowski to wreck the front end of his car.

Denny Hamlin was so mad after the race, it took all his men to keep him away from Brad Keselowski, and Hamlin was still fighting his own crew to get to Keselowski. (someone said that Keselowski did burn out in the garage area. Did see pictures of it, but didn't understand what they were talking about...or why.) Later the camera showed Matt Kenseth running down between two haulers and shoving/hitting Keselowski who didn't know he was coming. Kenseth's crew (I even saw one of Kyle Busch's crew in the mix) shoving Kenseth away from Keselowski. Needless to say, Keselowski once again didn't make any friends last night.

They interviewed Kenseth right after wards and he said that he had his HANS devise off and was unbuckled when Keselowski ran into him going fifty miles per hour. Meanwhile Brad Keselowski found a way to place blame in everyone, but himself. I have my own opinion of all of this, but instead, I will just say that Keselowski was called into the NASCAR hauler after the race...and penalties will be handed out on Tuesday as they normally are. I will keep you updated when I find out about what they are. Here is the video of the fight/interviews...will be glad to hear what you think.

Here is the final results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Jamie McMurray

4. Joey Logano

5. Kyle Busch

6. Kyle Larson

7. Ryan Newman

8. Carl Edwards

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Kasey Kahne

11. Kurt Busch

12. AJ Allmendinger

13. Austin Dillion

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Justin Allgaier

16. Brad Keselowski

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Greg Biffle

19. Matt Kenseth

20. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

21. Tony Stewart

22. Aric Almirola

23. Landon Cassill

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25. Marcos Ambrose

26. Danica Patrick

27. Reed Sorenson

28. Cole Whitt

29. Michael McDowell

30. Alex Bowman

31. Casey Mears

32. David Gilliland

33. Michael Annett

34. David Ragen

35. Corey LaJoie

36. Timmy Hill

37. Brian Vickers

38. JJ Yeley

39. Black Koch

40. Brett Moffitt

41. Josh Wise

42. Paul Menard

43. Clint Bowyer

Well we are moving on to Talladega next Sunday...also the cut off date of this round in the Chase. Drivers will be eliminated after next week and right now, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson are in danger of getting eliminated. :( I think someone said last night that they will have to have a great race, great finish and those above them to have a bad race.

Which leaves me torn...because above all else, I want Gordon to continue on in the Chase, but I also want Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jr. to move forward as well. I guess we will see next week...

If you want my opinion, I really hate the fact that they have Talladega in the Chase. Talladega is a race known as providing the "big ones" as in accidents. One could be having a great race and someone else's small mistake to wreck them out of the race and out of the Chase. I know it adds so called excitement to it, but I'd rather see drivers move forward due to their talent or out of the Chase due to others being better than them. Not because one of the Chase drivers are involved in one of the big ones.

Also...I really hope there is no retaliation of last night's fight at Talladega...

[HossC]

Thanks for the video, Garrett. Last night's race proved too late for me, and I had to miss the last 100 laps. There wasn't much to report in the part I saw - I think three engines blew and Dale Earnhardt Jr's shifter broke (it's not the first time that's happened to an HMS driver this year - they really should've fixed that problem by now).

Normally I'd suggest that NASCAR slap the drivers involved in the post-race incident with large fines and race bans, but after seeing how they behaved, I think they should call in Supernanny and make the drivers sit on the Naughty Step until they stop behaving like children.

Up until I saw that video, I thought the stupidest behavior of the night was by NASCAR themselves before the race. The way the commentators explained it was that NASCAR told Matt Kenseth's crew they had a loose decal on the right rear quarterpanel, and asked them to remove it. A team member then cut off the decal (as requested by NASCAR), and Matt Kenseth was sent to the back of the field for making "an unapproved adjustment" after the car had cleared inspection! Matt and his crew chief weren't happy to say the least.

[Garrett Duke]

Wow leave it to NASCAR to punish a driver for doing what they asked them to do...

I am sure HMS will solve the problem or find out what it is that is causing all this.

Personally, I understand Hamlin/Kenseth/Stewart being upset. No call for how Keselowski had acted last night and then act like he did no wrong just seems to make it worse. Personally I think the fines/punishment should fall on Keselowski's shoulders and would like to see him parked, but I doubt they will do that. My opinion...

[Hobie Hartkins]

I think it's all fake...just to stir up drama and promote racing.....look at how that guy grabbed that other guy....if he was REALLY trying to hurt that guy....he doesn't know how to fight at all!!

[HossC]

This week it's the third and final race in the Contender round from 'Dega. Four more drivers will be eliminated, and there are likely to be at least a couple of big names amongst them.

After looking at the practice times, I knew qualifying would be interesting because several of the drivers who were fast in the first practice were slow in the second and vice versa. In the end I got to watch the strangest qualifying I can remember. Talledega is a restrictor-plate track, and today saw the first use of a new format for this type of circuit. Each session was five minutes long, and the first was split into "A" and "B" groups with 23 cars in each. What followed was an hour of chaos and confusion from everyone involved.

I missed the first couple of minutes, but I don't think anyone was on the track. Despite the short window for qualifying, no one wanted to go on track by themselves. With about two minutes to go, about half the drivers took to the track, and were joined precariously by the other half of the drivers after a lap. Everyone seemed to want to run different speeds and lines, but they managed to get times on the board.

The commentators pointed out how chaotic the "A" group had been, and predicted that if the "B" group went out early, they could build up to a good speed and beat all of the "A" group. Obviously no one told the drivers or crew chiefs, because they all moved their cars to somewhere on pit lane and waited until there was only two minutes to go (just like the first group). Again, no one wanted to lead, and they broke up into small clusters of three or four cars. After doing a couple of slow warm-up laps, at least one of these clusters failed to cross the line in time to do a fast lap. For some reason it took NASCAR about ten minutes to determine who'd made the flag, and the qualifying order kept changing. Joey Logano must have been right on the line, because he was intially shown well inside the top ten, but then back in 39th and ended up with 40th. Most disappointingly, Ricky Stenhouse Jr failed to make the field for the first time in his Sprint Cup career. Jeff Gordon only scraped through in what was eventually given as 43rd and last place. He admitted afterwards that they'd got their timings wrong.

You'd have thought that the drivers might have changed their behavior for round two of qualifying, but they didn't. Carl Edwards tried going out a little earlier, but did a lap and returned to pit lane when no one joined him. When they did get on the track, the outcome was just as random and unpredictable as the first two sessions. Although Jimmie Johnson came in second, the fastest time was set by Travis Kvapil.

For round three of qualifying, only four Chase drivers remained among the final 12. In the end it was Brian Vickers who took pole, with Jimmie Johnson joining him on the front row. Ryan Blaney (making his second Sprint Cup start) set the fourth fastest time, just in front of teammate Brad Keselowski. Travis Kvapil, Michael McDowell and Michael Annett are also names that you don't see starting in the top ten very often. Terry Labonte starts in ninth for his last top division race. His car had a different color scheme on each side for qualifying to pay tribute to previous winning designs. The color scheme will revert to normal for the race (as NASCAR insist on both sides being the same).

With all the madness, I've probably left something out!

Here's the final lineup (Chase drivers are highlighted in yellow):

1. Brian Vickers

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. AJ Allmendinger

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Brad Keselowski

6. Michael McDowell

7. Travis Kvapil

8. Kasey Kahne

9. Terry Labonte

10. Michael Annett

11. Ryan Newman

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Matt Kenseth

14. Alex Bowman

15. Carl Edwards

16. Trevor Bayne

17. Aric Almirola

18. Kurt Busch

19. Casey Mears

20. Paul Menard

21. David Gilliland

22. Cole Whitt

23. Mike Wallace

24. Greg Biffle

25. David Ragan

26. Marcos Ambrose

27. Danica Patrick

28. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

29. Landon Cassill

30. Austin Dillon

31. Jamie McMurray

32. JJ Yeley

33. Clint Bowyer

34. Michael Waltrip

35. Josh Wise

36. Reed Sorenson

37. Tony Stewart

38. Denny Hamlin

39. Kevin Harvick

40. Joey Logano

41. Kyle Busch

42. Kyle Larson

43. Jeff Gordon

Going home this week are Ricky Stenhouse Jr , Justin Allgaier and Joe Nemechek. Nemechek had originally made it to the second session, but was later eliminated for a technical infringement, reinstating Reed Sorenson. The last seven drivers, including five Chase drivers, qualified on owner points rather than a fast time! With quick drivers at the back, there's bound to be some action tomorrow.

Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski will both drop to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments.

The GEICO 500 from the Talladega Superspeedway is this Sunday at 2:00 PM ET. It's live on ESPN.

[Garrett Duke]

I'm sorry Hoss...I thought of you when I saw Ricky didn't make it. If it makes you feel any better... my man Jeff Gordon was thirteen seconds away from not making it as well. Though I think he could rely on past championship points to get him in. But still...I really hate this new qualifying they have now. Especially for restrictor plate races. Don't understand why NASCAR is intent on making things worse this year...they are just asking for drama and wrecks and what not. Whatever happened to watching the race to watch them actually race? Just frustrating.

[HossC]

I don't know whether it was the fault of the drivers or the new format, but for whatever reason, yesterday's qualifying didn't work for me.

It's a shame that Ricky missed out as he was 10th in second practice, and briefly held the 17th spot in the first qualifying session until NASCAR worked out that he hadn't crossed the line in time. Some of the races only get 43 entries - it had to happen on one where there were 46!

[Garrett Duke]

Well the race is over...so I guess I should write my review. I will be honest with you, I am not very happy with how this race has ended and I go back to that I don't agree with this elimination they put in the Chase. At all.

For Talladega it was pretty calm...for the most part. I think they had five or six cautions. Two was for debris and three for accidents. Though the accidents happened to be pretty big ones. The first one involved Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart who both were collected in the accident (sorry...I can't recall who started it right now). Tony was able to stay out while Kyle Busch was in the garage for forty laps before coming back out. Though with how bad his car was, I was surprised he was able to get up and running again. That accident may have been one with Joey Logano and Keselwoski...but both Logano and Keselowksi didn't get affected much by it.

I know there were a couple other accidents, but at the moment, can't think of it. This race got me so upset, I can't even think right...LOL.

Jimmie Johnson led the most laps today, but didn't lead the lap that counted the most...the last one. He was leading at the end, but with no teammates up there to help him, he was shuffled back after a restart.

Jr. hung out in the front of the field for awhile but with thirty laps or so fell back to mid pack...and with four laps to go, Junior got wrecked with the 38 got into the back of Greg Biffle who got into Jr.

Which produced a green and white and checker finish and had Ryan Newman to the lead. . .until NASCAR threw a caution for debris once again and they were all back to a final restart for two laps. On the last restart Keselwoski passed Newman...Newman tried to get past him on the last lap, but failed to do so and Keselowski went on to the win the race.

As for Jeff Gordon...because I know y'all are curious about him...hung out in the back all day. Didn't do much of anything...other than he just missed getting caught up in the first wreck and Jr almost wrecked him and Hamlin out on the last wreck. So at least he was able to finish the race...even if it was 26th place.

Here is the final results:

1. Brad Keselwoski

2. Matt Kenseth

3. Clint Bowyer

4. Landon Cassill

5. Ryan Newman

6. Travis Kvapil

7. Kurt Busch

8. Marcos Ambrose

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Casey Mears

11. Joey Logano

12. Kasey Kahne

13. Austin Dillion

14. Reed Sorenson

15. Cole Whitt

16. Michael Waltrip

17. Kyle Larson

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Danica Patrick

20. Brian Vickers

21. Carl Edwards

22. Ryan Blaney

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Jimmie Johnson

25. Greg Biffle

26. Jeff Gordon

27. Martin Truex Jr.

28. Josh Wise

29. David Gilliland

30. David Ragen

31. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

32. Trevor Bayne

33. Terry Labonte

34. Tony Stewart

35. Jamie McMurray

36. Paul Menard

37. Michael Annett

38. Mike Wallace

39. Aric Almirola

40. Kyle Busch

41. Michael McDowell

42. JJ Yeley

43. Alex Bowman

And since this is the elimination race...four drivers have left the Chase and we are down to eight chasers for the next four races.

Here is what the new Chase grid looks like:

1. Joey Logano (won at Kansas)

2. Kevin Harvick (won at Charlotte)

3. Brad Keselowski (won at Talladega)

4. Ryan Newman (+27 points ahead of ninth)

5. Denny Hamlin (+10)

6. Matt Kenseth (+9)

7. Carl Edwards (+9)

8. Jeff Gordon (+3)

Drivers who were eliminated:

9. Kasey Kahne (-3 to Gordon)

10. Kyle Busch (-7)

11. Jimmie Johnson (-40)

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-48)

I am very happy to see Gordon make it onto the next round...even by three points. But am very sad to see Johnson, Jr, and Kahne out of the Chase due to things that were beyond their control.

Meanwhile, Brad Keselwoski, who threw his fit last week and caused all that drama, wins the race and gets into the Chase. Something does not add up to me and it has left me upset.

Onto Martinsville next weekend ... where I am glad to be back to a normal track where drivers have a say over their race and in more control. I like Talladega...just not in the Chase. Super glad Gordon has made it...but frustrated to see my other three drivers get the boot...

[HossC]

After a disappointing qualifying session yesterday, I bet Ricky Stenhouse Jr had a bit of a cheer when Danica Patrick led seven laps today.

I've never been a great fan of the restrictor-plate tracks (even though they do produce a lot of action), and agree with Garrett that Talladega doesn't seem like a great choice for one of the Chase races. I hope NASCAR thoroughly rethink the Chase for next year, and do something about the qualifying procedure at tracks like this.

Finally, I know rules are written for a reason, but I thought that NASCAR's decision to penalize Terry Labonte was very petty. As I mentioned in my preview, today was Terry's last Sprint Cup race, and his team surprised him with a paint scheme which paid tribute to previous championship winning sponsors with a different color on each side. NASCAR ruled the paint scheme illegal on Friday, but Terry had to use the car for qualifying, with the team saying they'd change the paint scheme for the race. Today, NASCAR sent Terry to the back of the field from 9th for modifying the decals on the car. I accept that the paint scheme was against the rules and had to be changed, but enforcing a ridiculously severe penalty for a driver's 890th race seems completely unneccesary and, in my opinion, reflects badly on those in charge. Don't forget, it was only last week that Matt Kenseth suffered the same punishment for removing a loose decal at NASCAR's request. Maybe he should have removed the loose sticker by ramming his car into several other drivers on pit lane - that way he's have just got a fine and a slap on the wrist!

[RogerDuke]

There's sure been a lot of fighting in NASCAR lately and now there's more news of another big battle brewing. Garrett's fantasy NASCAR team has just replaced RogerDuke's fantasy NASCAR team for the top spot in the league. To make matters worse, Garrett knocked RogerDuke's team down to third place......rumour on the circuit is that RogerDuke is fighting mad.

[HossC]

Roger, I hope this doesn't become a physical altercation, or we may have to follow NASCAR's lead and do absolutely nothing about it .

PS. Thanks for using the correct (OK, the British) spelling of rumor .

[HossC]

This week's race at Martinsville marks the start of the Eliminator Round of the Chase. The remaining eight drivers still in contention have all had their scores reset to 4,000 points.

The qualifying sessions today were quite a contrast to last week's spectacle, and as a result, there isn't too much to say. The first session was 30 minutes long, with 12 drivers progressing to the second session which was 10 minutes long. Due to the size of the track, all the drivers had start from their garages rather than the pit lap, so when the session started, it reminded me of a Formula 1 qualifying session.

During the first session, most drivers did multiple laps, and nearly all of them achieved their fastest time on the second lap. The only incident to report was Kevin Harvick scraping the wall. He starts down in 33rd place. Jeff Gordon led the leaderboard for a while, but eventually got nudged out to 13th, just three thousandths of a second behind Tony Stewart. The commentators estimated that time gap equated to about six inches on the track. In the interview afterwards Gordon seemed quite happy with his starting position, and he was fastest in practice.

I don't think there's much to write about in the second session other than the result. For the second week in a row we have a non-Chase driver on pole, with today's winner being Jamie McMurray. McMurray had his son with him for the interviews, but he looked like he'd rather be elsewhere.

Six of the eight Chase drivers made the top 12, with Joey Logano joining Jamie McMurray on the front row. For Garrett, Jimmie Johnson may no longer be in the Chase, but he did qualify seventh. Likewise for Lizzy, Kyle Busch was one of the other drivers who dropped out of the Chase last week, be he starts in eighth. After the disappointment of last week, Ricky Stenhouse Jr bounced back to qualify in 18th place.

Speaking of Ricky Stenhouse Jr, his car will be decorated in the 'Pit for a Pair' paint scheme this week in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). The other Roush Fenway drivers will also have pink color schemes for the same program. If you've never seen how the cars get their decals applied, check out this short video:

Here's the final starting lineup (Chase drivers are highlighted in yellow):

1. Jamie McMurray

2. Joey Logano

3. Matt Kenseth

4. Tony Stewart

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Kyle Busch

9. Ryan Newman

10. Kurt Busch

11. Carl Edwards

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Jeff Gordon

14. Paul Menard

15. AJ Allmendinger

16. Kyle Larson

17. Brian Vickers

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

19. Austin Dillon

20. Casey Mears

21. Greg Biffle

22. Justin Allgaier

23. Dale Earnhardt Jr

24. Kasey Kahne

25. Marcos Ambrose

26. Martin Truex Jr

27. Aric Almirola

28. Landon Cassill

29. David Ragan

30. Danica Patrick

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Alex Bowman

33. Kevin Harvick

34. David Gilliland

35. Josh Wise

36. Cole Whitt

37. Michael Annett

38. Clay Rogers

39. Travis Kvapil

40. J.J. Yeley

41. Timmy Hill

42. Kyle Fowler

43. Mike Wallace

Making his Sprint Cup debut this week is former Nationwide Series driver Kyle Fowler. NASCAR are now well on their way to having all their Sprint Cup drivers called Kyle .

There were only 43 drivers entered this week, so no one had to go home.

The Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 from the Martinsville Speedway is this Sunday at 1:30 PM ET. It's live on ESPN.

[Garrett Duke]

Well before I start, I have to thank Hoss and Roger for the laugh. LOL. Well Roger, I may have beat you last week...but seeing how I picked Jimmie Johnson this week and well...he didn't do too well today...you may just have kicked me out of first place. That is unless you picked JJ as well or perhaps Harvick or Keselowski. Please don't be too mad...or if it does become violent, I may be forced to delete your team off my league. Or better yet, I'll just hide behind Hoss for protection. Then he'll be forced to take action...unlike NASCAR. :roll:

OK...now to get serious....

As for my race review of Martinsville...I really don't know where or how to start. I should really have this window open and write it as it goes on that way I won't forget anything. Because I really do feel like I will forget something big today. Because well, the ending has overshadowed the race itself. HA.

Jamie McMurray started the race from the pole and led over eighty laps...he dominated the first quarter of the race but after a rough pit stop and fighting his car, he slid back from the front.

Where my man Jeff Gordon stepped up to plate and I believe, led the most laps today. He had a rocket of a race car...if I say so myself. After Brad Keselowski got caught speeding on pit road...Jeff Gordon got caught speeding on pit road. Where he went from first to thirtieth! (I wasn't very happy. LOL) But he proved he had a fast race car when it didn't take him very long to get to the front again.

Martinsville lived up to it's high caution rate...though I can't remember how many. I think the announcers said that last time they had 17 yellow flags. Don't know if we lived up to be that high...but we did have two red flags that lasted ten minutes.

Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne got upset at one another...it started when Kahne got into Vickers when Vickers wouldn't give him any room on the track. Vickers went to the garage and when he came back out, he intentionally wrecked Kahne. Though according to Vickers on the radio his car just veered into him. Kahne went to the garage and when he came back out he got back into Vickers. NASCAR then called down to both their crews and told them that was enough from them two.

Kahne was later taken out by the first red flag accident...my memory is a blank right now on who started it and why. Kasey hit the wall hard as did Casey Mears. They were both OK. Just a rough day for Kasey Kahne today for sure.

It was also a rough day for Jimmie Johnson who went to his pits out of turn due to a tire issues. They came back out only to go back to the garage due to some oil leak or something. He came back out but only finished 32nd today at a track that he normally dominates at.

[Garrett Duke]

Well before I start, I have to thank Hoss and Roger for the laugh. LOL. Well Roger, I may have beat you last week...but seeing how I picked Jimmie Johnson this week and well...he didn't do too well today...you may just have kicked me out of first place. That is unless you picked JJ as well or perhaps Harvick or Keselowski. Please don't be too mad...or if it does become violent, I may be forced to delete your team off my league. Or better yet, I'll just hide behind Hoss for protection. Then he'll be forced to take action...unlike NASCAR. :roll:

OK...now to get serious....

As for my race review of Martinsville...I really don't know where or how to start. I should really have this window open and write it as it goes on that way I won't forget anything. Because I really do feel like I will forget something big today. Because well, the ending has overshadowed the race itself. HA.

Jamie McMurray started the race from the pole and led over eighty laps...he dominated the first quarter of the race but after a rough pit stop and fighting his car, he slid back from the front.

Where my man Jeff Gordon stepped up to plate and I believe, led the most laps today. He had a rocket of a race car...if I say so myself. After Brad Keselowski got caught speeding on pit road...Jeff Gordon got caught speeding on pit road. Where he went from first to thirtieth! (I wasn't very happy. LOL) But he proved he had a fast race car when it didn't take him very long to get to the front again.

Martinsville lived up to it's high caution rate...though I can't remember how many. I think the announcers said that last time they had 17 yellow flags. Don't know if we lived up to be that high...but we did have two red flags that lasted ten minutes.

Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne got upset at one another...it started when Kahne got into Vickers when Vickers wouldn't give him any room on the track. Vickers went to the garage and when he came back out, he intentionally wrecked Kahne. Though according to Vickers on the radio his car just veered into him. Kahne went to the garage and when he came back out he got back into Vickers. NASCAR then called down to both their crews and told them that was enough from them two.

Brad Keselowski, who won last week, had some sort of issue that sent him up the track and got hit from behind by Casey Mears. Kahne somehow got connected in that one and hit the wall hard. It went to red flag for ten minutes before Keselowski took his car back to the garage. Can't remember if they said what was wrong with his car. Know they thought it was one thing but it wasn't that. Do know that it was a rough day for Kasey Kahne today.

It was also a rough day for Jimmie Johnson who went to his pits out of turn due to a tire issues. They came back out only to go back to the garage due to some oil leak or something. He came back out but only finished 32nd today at a track that he normally dominates at.

Matt Kenseth checked up and got into Kevin Harvick and sent Harvick to the garage for several laps with lots of damage. Harvick came back out not understanding that it wasn't done on purpose and had shown Kenseth his displeasure by bumping into him.

Kurt Busch had a pretty good day until his car went up in smoke during a pit stop and he parked it out in the garage area and when they opened the hood his engine was on fire. Not a Kurt Busch fan, but will give him a lot of credit that during his interview he had a positive attitude about it and had a smile.

Danica Patrick spun out during one of the accidents and Marcos Ambrose was involved in another two or three car accident. Sorry I don't have much info on that...I actually forgot about them until I was writing the results down. As I said, I should have started this review as the race started and wrote it as it went along.

Tony Stewart led a few laps today as did Clint Bowyer. Denny Hamlin led a lot of laps and also had a car to win.

At the end Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the guy to beat once he got out front. Gordon was running second and almost got to him when the red flag came out after another accident...can't remember who or why at the moment. But with seven laps, the top cars pitted for fresh tires and maybe gas. When the race went green, there was like four laps to go and Jr and Gordon were quick to get up to the front. Gordon raced Jr. to the checkered flag, but came in second to Dale Earnhardt Jr who won his first Martinsville race and grandfather clock.

It was kind of an emotional win for Hendrick...ten years and two days ago, Hendrick's plane crashed in Martinsville killing ten people including Rick's son, two nieces, someone who worked for Stewart...and maybe a brother? Am not sure about the brother. But I remember it like it was yesterday. Jimmie Johnson won the race that day and afterwards before he could celebrate, he was walked off with no post race celebration. What a sad day that was. Know JJ and other drivers were close to Ricky Hendrick (Rick's son). It will be something always remembered and they will be forever missed. It was great to hear Jr play tribute to them (as did Gordon) during their post race interviews...Jr wasn't part of Hendrick at the time that happened, but am sure he was close to Ricky and was upset about it.

Here is the official results:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Ryan Newman

4. Tony Stewart

5. Joey Logan0

6. Matt Kenseth

7. Clint Bowyer

8. Denny Hamlin

9. AJ Allmendinger

10. David Ragen

11. Kyle Busch

12. Austin Dillion

13. Greg Biffle

14. Paul Menard

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Jamie McMurray

17. Justin Allgaier

18. Cole Whitt

19. Landon Cassill

20. Carl Edwards

21. Aric Almirola

22. David Gilliland

23. Marcos Ambrose

24. Michael Annett

25. Josh Wise

26. Mike Wallace

27. Brian Vickers

28. Kyle Folwer

29. Alex Bowman

30. Kyle Larson

31. Brad Keselowski

32. Jimmie Johnson

33. Kevin Harvick

34. Danica Patrick

35. Reed Sorenson

36. Kurt Busch

37. Casey Mears

38. Martin Truex Jr.

39. JJ Yeley

40. Kasey Kahne

41. Travis Kvapil

42. Timmy Hill

43. Clay Rogers

As much as I like Dale Earnhardt Jr...I really do...I was really wanting Gordon to win this race. Well I would like Gordon to win every race, but also, if he won this race he would be automatically in the Chase come Homestead in three weeks. But at least it is Earnhardt Jr. that won (Congrats Roger...bet you are on cloud nine right now. As you should be. )

If the Chase were to go to Homestead right now...it would look like this:

1. Jeff Gordon

2. Ryan Newman

3. Joey Logano

4. Matt Kenseth

Well...we have two more races before we can worry about Homestead. Texas is next Sunday (Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick will be swapping crews next week) and then Phoenix after Texas...and then Homestead.

And if you are bad at math...that means we ONLY have THREE more RACES left of the SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for me, I am really hoping Gordon gets his fifth championship this year. Who y'all going for? (Better be Gordon...LOL)

[HossC]

Thanks for the review, Garrett. I think you covered most of the important points.

It was good to see Ricky Stenhouse Jr on the front row for the final restart after he'd been nudged out by Landon Cassill on lap 132. I think it was well worth the gamble not to pit at the last caution, and he may have ended up with a top 10 finish if he'd restarted in third instead of second. In the end, he nearly got pushed into the wall as they went three wide. Speaking of Landon Cassill, he's been running strongly in the last couple of races. It doesn't seem long ago that he was usually one of the first retirements at each race.

The result was obviously a good one for Dale Earnhardt Jr, and it was intersting hearing him talk about how his father's clock had pride of place in their house when he was growing up. If the same situation had happened in an F1 race, I think the team would have told Junior to let Jeff Gordon past. Mercedes currently have the top two drivers in the Drivers' Championship, and like Rick Hendrick's drivers, they are free to race so long as they don't hit each other (which they haven't done since Belgium). However, if a certain end-of-season result was beneficial to the team as a whole, team orders would be given. I appreciate that the situation is different because each F1 team only has two cars, and each car within a team has the same sponsors. Still, with only two possible automatic entries for the final race left, Jeff Gordon is in the best position.

[HossC]

All eyes are on Texas this weekend with just three races of the season left. So far Lewis Hamilton has been fastest in the first two practices sessions, but I guess y'all didn't come here to read about the Formula 1 US Grand Prix from Austin .

OK, so just under 200 miles away in Fort Worth, there's just three races of the season left. This is the middle race in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

This week there were three rounds of qualifying, but the way the drivers went out one or two at a time, it looked quite like the old style of qualifying where everyone got one run. Jimmie Johnson set the early pace in the first session, and hung on to the fastest time until the end. Danica Patrick and Trevor Bayne were among the only drivers to set a faster time on their second run, although neither made it through to the second session. Brad Keselowski was the only Chase driver who didn't progress - he'll start in 26th place.

The big news from the second session was that Tony Stewart set a new lap record at over 200 MPH. Ricky Stenhouse Jr was 10th in practice and 12th in the first qualifying session, but could only make 18th in the second session. Still, that's a few places higher than usual. Denny Hamlin became the second Chase driver to be eliminated for qualifying - he starts in the race in 20th place.

Unlike the first two sessions, no one wanted to make the first move in the third session, despite it only being five minutes long. Eventually, Matt Kenseth was first out on track, and ended up setting a time that was good enough for pole on Sunday. He'll be joined on the front row by Jeff Gordon who was a massive one thousandth of a second slower! The good news continues for Garrett as Jimmie Johnson took the third spot and Dale Earnhardt Jr was 12th. For Lizzy, Kyle Busch gets a top 10 start in ninth.

Here's the final starting lineup (Chase drivers are highlighted in yellow):

1. Matt Kenseth

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kurt Busch

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Tony Stewart

7. Ryan Newman

8. Martin Truex Jr

9. Kyle Busch

10. Joey Logano

11. Carl Edwards

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr

13. Brian Vickers

14. Kasey Kahne

15. Paul Menard

16. Marcos Ambrose

17. Kyle Larson

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

19. Greg Biffle

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Jamie McMurray

22. Aric Almirola

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Clint Bowyer

25. Trevor Bayne

26. Brad Keselowski

27. Danica Patrick

28. Michael McDowell

29. Austin Dillon

30. Justin Allgaier

31. David Gilliland

32. Reed Sorenson

33. Michael Annett

34. Landon Cassill

35. Alex Bowman

36. Josh Wise

37. David Ragan

38. Casey Mears

39. J.J. Yeley

40. Cole Whitt

41. Brett Moffitt

42. Timmy Hill

43. Joey Gase

There were only 43 drivers again this week, so no one had to go home.

The AAA Texas 500 from the Texas Motor Speedway is this Sunday at 3:00 PM ET. It's live on ESPN.

Unfortunately, the Formula 1 race is on at roughly the same time, so I'll probably miss a chunk of the NASCAR race. I hope it's not up to me to write the review this week .

[Garrett Duke]

Hey Hoss...thanks for paying tribute to Landon Cassill. Have I ever mentioned that he is from Iowa...actually only a half hour a way from me. Sadly I don't know him personally or his family, but he has been fun to watch. Love seeing him run so well. His dad owns a car dealership in his home town...Landon's car got stolen from the shop a couple of months ago, but think they did find it.

Three races left, including Texas, and I am so nervous that I can't hardly stand still. I hope you are right that Gordon is sitting in the right spot. It would have been super nice if Jr would have let Gordon pass for the race, but at the same time, like Gordon said, you don't want to win that way. THat has been a big conversation this week. People saying Jr should have let Gordon win...after all, Gordon has more to gain and lose than he does, and others saying that Jr did the right thing. As much as it hurts being so close to being locked into the Chase, each driver is out there for the win, whether or in the chase or not. There was even a Jr fan page on FB that insisted that Gordon was mad after the race last week. I don't see that. I saw Gordon being disappointed at being so close, but not mad at Jr for doing what he is suppose to do. Win.

With that said, they ran a good piece on Gordon on Race Day on Speed Channel before the pre race started. Good seeing Gordon so happy and confident. Hopefully it pays off.

Everyone seems to be paying Ryan Newman respect with being this far without a win. Am sure James Best is happy...I talked to James Best the last time I saw him about Gordon. He had just got done doing some project or something with Gordon. He said Ryan Newman was his favorite driver. They live close to each other and James helps with Ryan Newman's pet charities, if I remember right.

Though despite that, I am still going for Gordon to win it...feel like he has had the better season than those that are currently in the Chase. That should play out for a win, right? I think it should.

Well the race is about to go Green...I am going to attempt to write my review as the race goes on. Not promising perfection, but should do better, right?

With that said...lets go JEFF GORDON AND TEAM 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Garrett Duke]

Well never mind about that idea of writing this during the race seeing how my computer just closed the window up after writing it up three fourths of the race. .URGH. Dang thing.

I really don't know where to start now that it was deleted and now that the race is over and I am beyond upset right now.

Kenseth led the first fifty laps or so before Jimmie Johnson passed the race and led a lot of laps. Gordon led a lot of laps.

Urgh...I really did have all this wrote up and waiting for the end and I pushed some dang button and it closed out everything. And now after all the drama, I can't think beyond the end of the race. So...I guess I will write about the end. I apologize.

They had a restart where Tony Stewart helped pushed Gordon back to the lead after JJ retook the lead. After a few laps of Gordon pulling away from everyone with seven laps to, Clint Bowyer decides to spin out. (After his intentional spin out last year and his feelings towards Gordon, it's hard to know if it was on purpose or not. I will try and give him the benefit of the doubt here...) So they went to another restart...and on the restart, Jimmie had a better restart seeing as Gordon chose the outside line and he went back only for Brad Keselowski to come up and side slam Gordon to cut Gordon's tire. Gordon hit the wall to bring out another caution. (At which point, I left the room to take care of laundry. I'll admit, I was a little upset. Sad to see anyone have such a good and strong race only for someone to ruin the race.)

They went to W-G-C and I guess Jimmie Johnson held Brad Keselwoski off and led the race. Keselowski came in second...while Jeff Gordon finished 29th.

And then after the race ended...

Gordon parked alongside Brad Keselwoski's car and got out and walked around where Keselowski was getting out of his car. He had a crew member standing in Gordon's way. Well Kevin Harvick came behind Keselowski and shoved Keselowski forward where Gordon hit him and it started an all out fight between the crew and the drivers. Both Gordon and Keselowski stepped away from the fight with a bloody lip. Keselowski more so.

Keselowski doesn't seem to think he did any wrong and Gordon had some pretty strong words towards Keselwoski in his interview.

I have a feeling, that y'all know which side I am in all of this. I am not for fighting and I had told Gordon when he parked next to his car not to sink to his level...but at the same time, don't blame him for being upset and doing what he did either. If you ask me, NASCAR had asked for things like this to happen by putting this new Chase format in and had predicted it before the season even started. Though had hoped Gordon wouldn't be involved. Also feel like NASCAR promoted all this by not punishing Keselowski or too much at least a couple of weeks ago when Keselowski was wrecking people for no reason.

I am beyond upset right now. Gordon had that race won...if not a decent finish up until Keselwoski got into him. And now we are one point into the Chase if we were to go to Homestead right now. I am just glad that Jimmie Johnson won...well I would have anyway, but am glad Johnson won over Keselwoski.

We have two races left of the season. Phoenix next Sunday where they will eliminate four more drivers to leave four drivers going for the cup at Homestead on November 16th. Going into today's race, I felt Gordon had a good chance at winning his fifth championship. Now I am not so sure. Which is sad, because I feel like of all drivers, Gordon has had the best season. I say that as a fan, but also because he had. I am pretty sure that above all drivers right now, Gordon has the best average finish...should account for something.

I apologize for my bad review...I had it all planned out that I would write it as it went along so I wouldn't forget it something, but then I had to go mess that up and with how it ended, well, that is all that I can think about.

I am sure NASCAR will have a thing or two to say about this...but when they do, I really hope they remember how they felt about Brad a couple of weeks ago when they only fined him ten thousand dollars and four race probation. They will come out on Tuesday if with anything and I will make sure to let you all know. I am sorry for putting my opinions on here...just right now I am just upset about it all. About how it ended. The fight. Everything. As I said, I don't condone the fight, but do understand where Jeff is coming from and why he did what he did. I will always support Jeff and his team. Proud of them...no matter what.

NASCAR wanted drama by this new Chase format...well they got what they wanted. Hope they are happy...

[LizzyJackson-Davenport]

First of and most importantly I want to preface this by saying for the first 10 to 15 years that I watched Nascar I was a huge Gordon fan. I don't know if that was because he drives the 24 car and I was born on the 24th or if it was because he always seemed like a great guy. Lately I've moved to support Kyle Busch but I still like Jeff.

After watching today's race i have to say I have never been more disappointment in him. Jeff has always been above the stuff that has happened on the track. Think about it this way: Had it been Junior or Jimmy or Denny Hamlin or another driver besides Brad no one would be quite as upset. In fact I'm pretty sure had the situation been reversed Jeff wouldn't have said anything about it. The way I saw it Brad saw an opening between Jeff and Jimmy and went for it. Jeff slid down to cover him but didn't have the clearance he needed so they connected and Jeff's tire went flat. Brad takes chances and sometimes they pay off. Brad's still in the chase for the race and he wanted that win just as bad since he's like 7th or 8th in points. Both Brad and Jeff needed the win to go through to Homestead.

If you want to blame someone blame Clint. Three to go and he wrecks his car. If he hadn't done that then they wouldn't have had the two green white checkereds and Brad wouldn't have had the chance to go for it.

Unfortunately I think Nascar is going to come down harder on Jeff for what he called Brad during the post fight interview than they will for Brad taking a chance to win.

[Garrett Duke]

I guess we feel differently about it. No need to run people over to get the win like that. Gordon was going for the same thing as Keselowski and didn't run anyone over. Not saying what he did was right and I am sure NASCAR will have a thing or two to say about it. I think all in all, everyone is getting tired of Keselowski and the stunts he has been giving this past season or so. Just my opinion.

Sorry you are disappointed in Jeff Gordon. I don't agree with what he did, but do understand that. He has to stand up for himself and will always be a proud Jeff Gordon fan.

[LizzyJackson-Davenport]

You're right we don't agree and we probably never will. I don't like the fact that Jeff started the fight and what he called Brad on live tv. I thought he was better that. Everyone interprets events differently. I don't think Nascar should get involved and like I said I think had it been anyone but Brad people wouldn't come down so hard on that driver. They would have called it an accident and moved on. But because it's Brad Keslowski, who is 30 years old and has only been racing Nascar Sprint cup for SIX years. SIX compared to Jeff's 21 years in the Sprint Cup.

I'm not defending what Brad did, not really, he is a hot head, but I think a 20-year veteran in the sport should conduct himself better even when frustrated.

Personally I think it happened and that should be the end of it. We'll have to wait and see.

[HossC]

I tried writing this reply last night, but I was too tired to make all of it coherent. I hope this makes more sense .

I'm an outsider here. I've only been watching NASCAR for a couple of years, and do not particularly follow any of the drivers involved in today's incidents, although I have formed opinions on some of them.

For anyone who missed the incident, it can be found here. The post-race brawl is here.

I've just watched the video again, and I'd have to say that Gordon appears to come down the track more than Keselowski moves up (check the in-car view at about 45 seconds into the first video above). Collisions in Formula 1 are often investigated by race stewards either during or after the race (it's supposed to be a non-contact sport, and one of the drivers in yesterday's race got a seven place grid penalty for the next race after he hit another car), but I think this one would be called a "racing incident" - i.e. no action would be taken. The side to side contact could just as easily have resulted in a puncture for Keselowski or no serious damage to either car.

I know Gordon had driven around the outside of Johnson a little earlier, but I'm still confused as to why he didn't choose the inside for the restart. Of course, spinning his tires on the restart didn't help either. Also, I think Gordon's pit crew made a bad call in changing his right tires first and sending him out before they'd changed the punctured tire, even though he was already too late to avoid going a lap down - it was all a bit messy.

I can see why Gordon's emotions would be running high, but I can't condone any driver resorting to a fight. Watching the second video again, I'm not sure whether Gordon or Keselowski were actually going to fight until Harvick pushed them together, even though someone could be heard repeatedly shouting "kick his a**". I'm not quite sure what NASCAR can do about the fight, seeing as they did nothing a couple of weeks ago. Then again, they're not exactly famous for consistency. I look forward to seeing the outcome since Keselowski is on probation. Yet again, NASCAR will get loads of free publicity for their Chase.

Either way, Brad Keselowski now has a reputation amongst viewers and drivers, and, as this incident proves, it may be difficult to shift. You can respect a driver who takes chances and goes for gaps when the moves come off - it makes for very exciting racing. If you can nail an overtaking move whilst giving the other driver just enough space, you're very talented. If there's a 50/50 chance you'll crash and take both cars out of the race, then maybe you're not good enough to be there. I've seen the same thing in F1. There was a young driver a couple of years ago who was fast, but caused several accidents, and even got suspended from one race because of a particularly bad one. Some drivers like him disappear at the end of the year, but to his credit, he's come back as a much better driver. The really talented drivers trust each other implicitly, and can go halfway around a twisting track with their wheels just inches apart. If you're being paid the big money, you should be able to do the job.

Lizzy, like you, I was surprised at the language that Jeff Gordon used in the post-brawl interview, and that no one on-screen commented on it. I noticed that the word was bleeped when the interview was repeated a few minutes later. I know that broadcasters in the US seem to get in a lot of trouble for allowing things like that to go out.

To summarize, I was all in favor of Brad Keselowski being parked for a race after his actions of a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not sure he did anything wrong this time. Garrett, as hard as it is to hear this, Jeff Gordon and his crew made mistakes before and after the restart, both on and off the track. I'm not blaming him either - as I said above, in F1 this would be a racing incident. The fight is a separate matter, as is the bad language.

On the plus side, we had another non-Chase driver winning a race, so there are still no guaranteed entries into the last round.

[HossC]

After all the post-race action and comment, no one posted the final result (you can look away now, Garrett).

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Kyle Busch

5. Jamie McMurray

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr

7. Kyle Larson

8. Kurt Busch

9. Carl Edwards

10. Denny Hamlin

11. Tony Stewart

12. Joey Logano

13. Greg Biffle

14. AJ Allmendinger

15. Ryan Newman

16. Brian Vickers

17. Paul Menard

18. Casey Mears

19. Martin Truex Jr

20. Justin Allgaier

21. Austin Dillon

22. Michael Annett

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

24. Aric Almirola

25. Matt Kenseth

26. Cole Whitt

27. Marcos Ambrose

28. Clint Bowyer

29. Jeff Gordon

30. Michael McDowell

31. J.J. Yeley

32. David Ragan

33. Reed Sorenson

34. David Gilliland

35. Timmy Hill

36. Danica Patrick

37. Joey Gase

38. Kasey Kahne

39. Trevor Bayne

40. Brett Moffitt

41. Josh Wise

42. Alex Bowman

43. Landon Cassill

I'm not sure what happened to Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the race. He was a lot further up the field in practice, but after making up two places at the start, he slipped back and spent most of the race in around 30th position. He finally got back on the lead lap with nine of the planned number of laps to go!

It also looks like I jinxed Landon Cassill as he only completed just over a third of the full race distance!