Kevin Harvick, polesitter for the Coke Zero 400 due to qualifying being rained out, won the wreck-filled restrictor plate race at Daytona International Speedway. On a green-white-checkered finish, Harvick drove by teammate Clint Bowyer for the lead, then held off Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne to win.
Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick is working with James Finch, owner of Phoenix Racing and the No. 09 Chevy, to secure a 2011 ride for Kasey Kahne, who signed on to drive for HMS in 2012, earlier this year.
Denny Hamlin won a rain-delayed Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 at Pocono Raceway when the caution flew for an eight-car pileup occured on the Long Pond straightaway during a green-white-checkered finish. The win is Hamlin’s fourth of the year, the most in the series.
Kurt Busch overcame hitting the wall not once, but twice to win an action-packed All Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch charged to the front at the beginning of the final segment. Then, he survived two late-race cautions and held off Martin Truex Jr to earn his first All Star victory.
Jeff Gordon saw his 2.5 second lead in the closing laps of the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway evaporate when Elliott Sadler blew a tire and slid across the track. That allowed Kyle Busch to get tires and mount a charge that would ultimately result in his 17th career Sprint Cup victory.
Hendrick Motorsports has announced that the team has signed crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson to multi-year contract extensions. While Knaus’s role is certain, Gustafson’s role is up in the air after 2011. I have an idea where he might land.
Ever wonder what it would be like if NASCAR teams drafted drivers like players are drafted in the NFL? I did, so I decided to use a convoluted system to determine where drivers would end up if there was a draft today.
ESPN, citing anymous sources, is reporting that Kasey Kahne, arguably the hottest free agent available, has signed a mutliyear deal with Hendrick Motorsports starting in 2012. He’ll drive the No. 5 car. But, in 2011, FoxSports is reporting he will drive for SHR. There is skepticism about the validity of that rumor.
On the final restart of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson and his four fresh tires started fifth behind cars that took two tires. Ten laps later, he took the lead from Tony Stewart. He led the final six laps to earn his 50th career race, and first at Bristol.
Kurt Busch pulled away from the rest of the field on the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, and drove his Dodge to victory in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
