Search Results for: Ty Gibbs

Thinkin’ Out Loud: Fontana’s Wild NASCAR Race Recap

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*Key Moment* – Kyle Busch stayed out when most of the other lead lap cars came to the pits during two crucial caution flags. His two biggest rivals all day chose to stop. Denny Hamlin came in and took tires with 24 to go; Joey Logano got fresh skins with 29 laps left. Those moves, while costing them track position early allowed them to get past Busch and set up the day’s crazy ending.

Nationwide Breakdown: Royal Purple 300

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Another Nationwide race, another Kyle Busch victory.

For the third time in five races this season, Busch emerged victorious in the second-tier series, leading 92 laps en route to his 54th career win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. It was a commanding performance from the Las Vegas native, who started from the pole and was substantially challenged by points leader and runner-up Sam Hornish Jr., who added 28 laps led.

His win continues a return to form for Busch, who returned to Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series in 2013 after driving for his own team in 2012. After being unable to secure any sort of win in the series last year, he’s already scored enough victories this year to compensate — and then some.

Pace Laps: The Latest On Hamlin’s Health, Sizzling Starts And New TV Deals

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*Sprint Cup: The Latest On Hamlin’s Health* The week off for NASCAR’s top series couldn’t have come at a better time for Denny Hamlin. Hospitalized after his last-lap wreck with Joey Logano, Hamlin will stay there through at least Monday morning as a precaution. While no specific injuries have been announced, his back – which he’s had problems with in the past – remains a primary concern after head-on contact with the inside wall off Turn 4.

It should be noted that area, before the start of pit road is not equipped with a SAFER Barrier. That left Hamlin susceptible at a track whose speeds reach upwards of 205 miles an hour on the straightaways — roughly 5-10 MPH faster than you’d see at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR requires that every Sprint Cup oval has some degree of those barriers installed, on the outside walls but has no such requirements for other areas within the track.

Nuts for Nationwide: A NASCAR Journeyman’s (Comparably) Hot Start

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If you’re looking for a feel-good story four races into the Nationwide Series season, look no further than Mike Harmon.

Harmon, a longtime journeyman contender in multiple NASCAR series and ARCA, published an article with Catchfence last October decrying the change from 43- to 40-car Nationwide fields, writing that he “just [didn’t] think NASCAR has really thought this thing out” and that he was “just about finished with NASCAR.”

Mirror Driving: 2013 NASCAR Crossroads On Attendance, Talent, Rivalries

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*We’ve already seen former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano butt heads at least twice in only four races this season. Going forward, should we expect this phenomenon to rear its head again at tracks like Martinsville — or is this rivalry just a bunch of hot air?*

Phil: I wouldn’t be surprised if they “had at it” again at some point this year. The Twitter Duel looks ridiculous, though. That probably didn’t need to be public.
Summer: That whole thing was ridiculous. It was fun to watch, but it was ridiculous.

Tech Talk: Steve Letarte On Tires, Aerodynamics And Fontana

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_Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the second hottest driver on the Cup circuit right now, with top-10 finishes in all four of the races that have been held this season. Some pundits predicted that Earnhardt would do better with this new generation car than he did with the previous incarnation of Cup cars. Other people might just point to the man on top of his pit box. Earnhardt is starting his third season with Steve Letarte as his crew chief and the two seem to be hitting their stride as they begin the 2013 season. Letarte gave Frontstretch a few minutes to look back at Bristol and ahead to California._

Mike Neff: *Dale made some contact with the wall early on in the race at Bristol. He fell back for the remainder of that run but rebounded rather quickly after the next pit stop and ended up with his fourth top 10 of the season. Did the contact damage the car requiring adjustments to correct it or was it just cosmetic damage?*

Side By Side: Should Interlopers Cut Series Regulars a Break?

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_Welcome back to Side By Side. There are always two sides to every story, and we’re going to bring them both, right here, every week. Two of our staff writers will face off on an important racing question … feel free to tell us what you think in the weekly poll and also in the comments section below!_

*This Week’s Question: After a late-race shove from Chris Buescher knocked him out of the top 5, Nationwide regular Justin Allgaier expressed his unhappiness with the way Buescher raced, saying, “Unfortunately when you’re not racing for points, when you’re racing those who are racing for points, it’s hard to sometimes not do something like that so you can prove yourself. But at the same time, it screws a lot of people up around you don’t even realize it.” Do drivers need to race the regulars who are racing for a title in a series differently than they might race the regulars in their own declared series?*

Who’s Hot / Who’s Not in NASCAR: Bristol-Fontana Edition

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With performance of the new Generation-6 models beginning to come into question, NASCAR got just what it wanted in an exciting weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Action packed racing took center stage as some drivers found that the World’s Fastest Half-Mile wasn’t spacious enough to contain their ill fortunes and boiling tempers.

Pace Laps: A Returning Rookie, Action-Packed Bristol And Tragedy Out West

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_Did you miss an event during this busy week in racing? How about a late-night press release, an important sponsorship rumor, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each week, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that you need to watch going forward for the week ahead. Let our experts help you get up to speed for the coming week, no matter what series you might have missed, all in this edition of Pace Laps!_

*Sprint Cup: Action-Packed Sunday* Kasey Kahne ended the day in Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time in his Sprint Cup career.