Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Phoenix weekend

Hey there folks! The Trucks, Nationwide and Cup just raced in Phoenix. Here's my take on what happened in the desert.

Friday was the Truck race. Erik Jones won it with 84 laps led and became the youngest Truck race winner. Ross Chastain the pole sitter finished second and led 63 laps. Brendan Gaughan was third with three laps led. Ty Dillon was fourth. Rounding out the top ten were Matt Crafton, Cale Gale, Ryan Blaney, Jonny Sauter, James Buescher and Chase Elliot. John Wes Townley, Ron Hornady, Jr, Miguel Padulo as well as J. J Yeley and D.J. Kennington were all in accidents that end their days.  Brian Silas had engine issues on lap ten, which ended his race.

Saturday was the Nationwide race. Kyle Busch, the pole led 169 laps and won the race. Justin Allgaier was second with 17 laps led. The rest of the top ten were Austin Dillon, Regan Smith,  Sam Hornish, Jr. Matt Kenseth, Trevor Bayne, who led 6 laps, Elliot Sadler, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney. Joe Nemechek had to go to the garage with engine issues on lap 171, which ended his day.  Kyle Larson and Kevin Swindell each had accidents that ended their race on lap 156 and 148 respectively.

Sunday was the Cup race. Kevin Harvick won the race with 70 laps led. Kasey Kahne was second with  41 laps led. Pole sitter Jimmie Johnson was third with 1 lap led. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fourth with two laps led. Rounding out the top ten were Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, who led 33 laps and Ryan Newman who led 31 laps. Brad Keselowski was eleventh with 27 laps led.  Greg Biffle finished 13 with one lap led. Jeff Gordon was 14th with 49 laps led. Eighteenth place finisher Jamie McMurray also led one lap. Carl Edwards was 21st with 36 laps led.  David Gilliland, the 24th place finisher led 2 laps.  Denny Hamlin was 28th after leading 18 laps.  Reed Sorenson and Joe Nemechek had blown engines on laps 266 and 193 respectively. David Reutimann and Cole Whitt had accidents on laps 187 and 142, respectively.  Travis Kvapil had a blown engine on lap 129.

 On a sad note, Trevor Bayne revealed he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis but will still race, which is less sad.  He takes no medication and has no symptoms right now with diet and exercise.  We can only hope and pray this lasts. The disease can be slow progress, which means he could have close to a full career. He's a devout Christian and shares his testimony, which may be why someone called him a motivational speaker.  He faces this new challenge with the optimism and strong will we've seen in him throughout the years. I've been a fan of his since Palm Sunday 2011, but watched him earlier that year. Kelly Sutton also raced with MS, including NASCAR Trucks 2003-2007.

2 comments:

  1. That's too bad about Trevor Bayne. Good for him for continuing strong. I hope he does well.

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