Busch takes pole in 2nd playoff Results show Hendrick Motorsports slumping in ’17
Loudon, N.H. — Kyle Busch’s run in NASCAR’s playoff opener went from dominant to dud because of mistakes on pit road. Clean up those gaffes, and Busch again just may have the car to the beat.
Busch made it 2 for 2 in playoff poles, turning a lap of 135.049 mph to take the top spot Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He won his eighth pole of the season in the No. 18 Toyota.
“We just need to somehow figure out how to turn these things into good Sundays,” he said. “It would be nice to stay up front all day.”
Kyle Larson, who won the pole in July at New Hampshire, joins Busch on the front row. Larson was second in the first Cup race at the track.
Playoff drivers took 13 of the top 14 spots. The 16-driver field is sliced to 12 after next weekend’s race at Dover.
Loudon, N.H. — Jimmie Johnson smacked the wall first and Chase Elliott quickly followed the champion’s miscalculated route when his car slammed into about the same spot. The Hendrick Motorsports drivers traded their Chevrolets for John Deere golf cart rides to the medical center.
Even on routine laps in practice, the hits kept coming Friday at Hendrick Motorsports.
At first glance, team owner Rick Hendrick’s organization, long the class of NASCAR, has had a nice season with three drivers in NASCAR’s 16-car playoff field.
But Hendrick hasn’t been much of a player this season, winning just four races in a season of major transition behind the scenes and in the car. Hendrick gave underachieving Kasey Kahne the boot, effective at the end of the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has trudged through a forgettable final season. Chase Elliott still is winless in his Cup career and his career-best finish last week at Chicagoland was tainted because his team cheated.
There was more Hendrick upheaval this week in the pits. Kahne and Elliott will have new voices calling the shots at New Hampshire: Kahne has a new crew chief for the final nine races and Elliot’s was suspended for a race by NASCAR.
In the tale of the tape, only seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has had a decent season. But even his stats come with a bit of an asterisk: Johnson’s three wins are his only three top-five finishes this season.
“This year has been tough for our company,” Johnson said Friday. “Last year was tough, but we found a way still to get to the championship and the head table in Las Vegas. This year has been tough again, but there is a lot of change going on internally. I think directionally, we’re making some great changes and obviously the addition of the two new drivers will shuffle the deck a bit.”
New Hampshire hardly seems like an elixir to get the team rolling — Hendrick drivers have led just 14 laps at the track over the last seven races.
Elliott suffered a setback to his championship hopes when NASCAR penalized the No. 24 team for a modification to his Chevrolet in the opening round of the playoffs. The finish is now considered “encumbered” by NASCAR and Elliott does not keep a playoff point he earned with a stage victory at Chicagoland.
Crew chief Alan Gustafson was fined $25,000 and suspended one race, and car chief Joshua Kirk also was suspended one race. The team was docked 15 driver points and 15 owner points.
Other playoff drivers were not impressed with the decision.
“That was a big penalty,” playoff driver Ryan Newman said to laughter.
Denny Hamlin, who had Xfinity and Cup wins at Richmond ruled encumbered by NASCAR, called the penalty levied against Elliot, “a misdemeanor.”
“NASCAR didn’t deem that a very big penalty, so there must not have been any intent there. I guess it was all an accident,” he said.