Small tracks bring big fun
NASCAR’s shortest tracks have provided some of the sport’s most spectacular moments to start the 2014 Sprint Cup Series. The closing laps of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway were a cut-and-paste of old-school stock-car racing.
The four drivers with a chance to win were thumping and banging each other like they were driving bumper cars. Joey Logano emerged from fourth place in the running order to steal the triumph.
One sure sign of a good race? When it’s not over after the checkered flag falls.
Brad Keselowski was mad that Matt Kenseth squeezed him up to the wall during an outside pass attempt for the lead. Jeff Gordon was in the mix, too, with Logano starting shotgun among the race contenders.
When it was over, Keselowski did a brake-check on Kenseth, causing damage to several cars, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s, who was just making his way around the track on the cooldown lap.
“The No. 2 (Keselowski) was mad at the No. 20 (Kenseth) and he slammed on the brakes after the checkered and the No. 47 (AJ Allmendinger) ran into the No. 20 and I ran into the No. 20, and I don’t know what that was all about,” Earnhardt said. “You know, get over it.”
And nobody is quite sure what happened between Casey Mears and Marcos Ambrose, who were battling to finish 18th Saturday night.
After the race, Mears found Ambrose in the garage area. They had a heated exchange before Mears gave Ambrose a good shove.
Ambrose, a gritty Australian, did a walkabout on Mears’ face, landing a solid right hook on Mears’ left cheek.
If you didn’t see the fracas Saturday night, no fears. The video is garage gold for Fox, which we guess will be using it the rest of its broadcast season to promote races.
LEAP OF FAITH
Brad Keselowski was upset he didn’t win the race, but pleased his teammate Joey Logano scored the victory. Keselowski was so happy, when Logano arrived on pit road in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford, Keselowski did a kangaroo hop — his two feet flat on the ground — to the hood of Logano’s race car, then tapped on Logano’s windshield. It was an impressive show of quad strength by the 2012 Cup Series champion. Keselowski had no comment about the dazzling jump in post-race interviews.
TALLADEGA QUALIFYING
There is so much anticipation about Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 Cup Series race that Saturday’s qualifying session will be live on Fox and not one of its cable networks. Driver Clint Bowyer said don’t look for much blocking during group qualifying. “You’re just going to be ridiculed and make yourself look like a fool,” he said. “Being cute and doing stuff like that, it will catch up to you just like it always does.”