ROAR! - Weekly Racing Magazine - August 20, 2020

DOUBLE UP TONY STEWART HAS WORDS FOR NASCAR

MEMORY LANE 24 VERSUS 88 AT DOVER

BUBBLE BOYS TAKE TWO SHOTS AT THE MONSTER MILE

NATALIE DECKER RACING WITH THE BEST DRIVERS

MATT DIBENEDETTO DREAMING ABOUT DIECASTS

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STEWART CALLS ON NASCAR TO REINSTATE KYLE LARSON In this week’s episode of Out of the Groove, host and creator Eric Estepp has some especially spicy hot topics to go through ahead of this weekend’s races in Dover. There’s been a lot of drivers making the press junket rounds this week, and Eric is here to sort through all this commotion and find out what it all means.

First up, the legendary Tony Stewart was out with fiery comments this week in regards to Kyle Larson, and his ongoing suspension from NASCAR over an on-stream incident earlier this 0 0 4

year. Stewart wants Larson back in the Cup series as soon as possible, and Eric is here to break down the pros and cons of that idea.

But that’s not all. Eric also takes a look at the plans being floated in the press to reduce some Cup series events on the schedule down to single day events, due of course to the ongoing uncertainty with coronavirus. Eric walks us through what that entails and how it might help the teams, plus a whole lot more in today’s episode of Out of the Groove!

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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5 THINGS TO WATCH

5

THINGS TO WATCH AT DOVER Just call it the double at Dover Downs. This weekend — and for the third and final time in 2020 — the NASCAR Cup Series will embark on a doubleheader, racing on both Saturday and Sunday evening. Dover International Speedway, sometimes known as “Dover Downs” for the many horse races that have been held on the property, is atypically fast and high-banked for a 1-mile track and is almost universally considered one of NASCAR’s most treacherous layouts. Following are five things to watch for in two Cup races both formally dubbed the Drydene 311.

BY JA RED TURNER

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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5 THINGS TO WATCH

5

A MORE CONFIDENT CHASE ELLIOTT

A

fter struggling for a couple of months to match his frontrunning early-season form, Chase Elliott put on a driving clinic this past weekend in the NASCAR Cup Series’ first visit to the Daytona International Speedway road course as he led 34 of 65 laps and earned a commanding win that was his first in a points-paying event since late May (he did win the All-Star Race in mid-July). Now fresh off a victory, Elliott hopes to build on last weekend’s success this weekend at Dover — a track where he won in the fall of 2018 and has recorded an impressive six top-five finishes in eight NASCAR Cup Series starts. “There’s been a lot of emphasis put into Dover and trying to improve, especially after a tough month,” Elliott said after last weekend’s victory.

“Winning, there’s nothing that replaces that. I just think it makes everybody on our team feel like they deserve to feel. I think we have a winning group. I believe that.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

5 THINGS TO WATCH

4

THE FATIGUE FACTOR

B

y all accounts, Dover International Speedway is one of the most challenging and physically demanding tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. After all, they don’t call it the “Monster Mile” for nothing. Now consider that Cup Series drivers will be racing not once but twice at the fast, high-banked track this weekend, doing so on consecutive days. Between Saturday’s race and Sunday’s race, which will each consist of 311 laps and miles, drivers will be running 622 miles in a roughly 24-hour period. Considering how grueling it can be to race at Dover just once in a weekend, fatigue could become a factor, especially by late Sunday evening. “It will be a lot about hydration,” Roush Fenway Racing driver Chris Buescher said. “I’ve worked a lot on nutrition the last several years now just trying to be more prepared there, and that’s helped me a lot, so I’ll just stick to what I know, and that should be enough.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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DESPERATION AROUND THE BUBBLE

o matter how things shake out this weekend at Dover, this much is certain: No driver wants to enter the following weekend’s regular season finale at Daytona behind the proverbial eightball. Translation: If you have ground to make up or need a win to make the playoffs, Dover is the place to do it. This is due to the highly unpredictable nature of the racing at Daytona, where one small mistake by someone can eliminate half the field. Sitting squarely on the bubble but currently in position to reach the playoffs is Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. Closest in pursuit of Byron is teammate Jimmie Johnson, who trails Byron by 25 points while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones is another 10 points back. Realistically, Johnson and Jones are the only drivers capable of leapfrogging Byron in points over the final three races of the regular season. For anyone else to knock Byron out of the playoffs, they’ll need to score a surprise win.

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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5 THINGS TO WATCH

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KYLE BUSCH’S NEXT ATTEMPT TO EXORCISE HIS 2020 DEMONS

I

n the midst of quite possibly the most frustrating campaign of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Kyle Busch enters this weekend’s doubleheader at Dover winless in 23 starts this season. The two-time and reigning series champ endured a particularly rough outing this past weekend at the Daytona International Speedway road course where he showed decent speed in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota but experienced multiple setbacks that included a wreck, an excursion off course and a mechanical issue. Busch finished 37th out 39 entries and needs to avoid any major mishaps in the final three races of the regular season just to be assured of reaching the playoffs. If there’s any good news to be had for Busch, it’s that he’s a three-time Cup Series winner at Dover and has historically performed well at the popular Delaware track. “I love that place,” Busch said.

“It’s fun to race there, and it’s a place I’m looking forward to going to with our Camry.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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JIMMIE JOHNSON’S BEST, AND POSSIBLY LAST, REAL SHOT

J

immie Johnson has enjoyed a lot of success at a lot of tracks over the years. But none compare to Dover International Speedway, where Johnson is the NASCAR Cup Series’ all-time wins leader with 11 career victories — the last of which came on June 4, 2017, when Johnson made his most recent trip to Victory Lane. If there’s any track on the schedule that lends itself to Johnson ending his lengthy drought and securing an automatic playoff berth in this last full season in NASCAR’s premier division, it’s the high-banked 1-mile oval commonly known as the “Monster Mile.” It doesn’t hurt Johnson’s chances any that he’s heading to Dover on the heels of a fourth-place finish this past weekend at the Daytona International Speedway road course. “That was a really fun and a solid day,” said Johnson, who is seeking a recordbreaking eighth NASCAR Cup Series championship this season. “That’s what we needed, and now we go to my favorite track — Dover.”

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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RECAPPING JIMMIE JOHNSON’S NASCAR CAREER

■■ Jimmie Johnsonand crew chief Chad Knaus celebrate in victory lane after winning during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400.

JUST ONE GOOD RESTART FINAL GREEN FLAG PITS THE 48 VERSUS THE 88

BY JA RED TURNER

J

immie Johnson has won a record 11 NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway, but none were harder earned than his victory in the AAA 400 on September 29, 2013.

Despite having the fastest car in the field throughout much of the afternoon, Johnson found himself in a vulnerable position on a final restart with 26 laps to go. That was because the driver lining up in the second position for the restart — Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — had four fresh tires compared to Johnson’s two fresh tires.

Typically, at Dover, a driver with four fresh tires would have a huge advantage over a driver with just two new Goodyear Eagles.

Such was not the case on this Sunday afternoon, however.

Johnson used a big restart to quickly put some distance between himself and Earnhardt’s No. 88 car and never relinquished the lead over the final laps as he went on to take the checkered flag .446 seconds ahead of his teammate.

“The pressure was on,” Johnson said of the final restart with Earnhardt. “I ran my guts out to stay ahead of him. Any switch I

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

could flip in the car that was a fan that might help the car turn, my brake bias, everything and anything I could twist, turn, pull, push, I did, then just drove the shit out of that thing. …

That opening 10, 12 laps were a pressure-packed situation.”

Johnson’s greatest reward for getting up on the wheel in the final laps was breaking a tie with NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for most wins all-time at the “Monster Mile.”

Coming into the weekend, the three former champs had seven victories apiece at the high-banked concrete oval.

“It’s really cool,” Johnson said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever done what Richard Petty hasn’t.

To get this eighth win here is very, very special. Truthfully, it was the first thought that went through my mind when I crossed the finish line.”

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IN THE HOT SEAT

IN THE HOT SEAT

Matt DiBenedetto

BY ROB TIONGSON

0 2 0

When Matt DiBenedetto takes the green flag for Saturday’s race at Dover International Speedway, it’ll be his 200th NASCAR Cup Series start. Rob Tiongson catches up with him. ▶▶ You are genuine with fan connections at the track and on social media. Even during these times, how important is fan interaction?

That’s everything. I love sharing stories with the fans and being able to connect with them. That’s an essential part of my journey. I wouldn’t be here without them and that’s not a cliché.

Going back to Bristol last year, it was amazing with their outpouring of support that we had. That evening actually affected my whole future and got the attention of everyone in the garage that we had that many people pulling for us. That helped lead me into my opportunity this year. ▶▶ How excited are you to see your actual cars made into diecast cars by Lionel Racing, and do you collect them for keepsakes?

It’s huge. I dreamed about that as a kid, so it’d be something that I’d hang on to forever. If Taylor and I have kids, we’d pass it on to them. It’s special and it’s been my whole life’s work. It’s beyond a dream to be driving for a team that I’ve been a huge fan of since I was a kid and learned the whole history of the sport. ▶▶ How have you kept busy and positive during the pandemic?

Oh man, we’re fortunate to be able to still work out with plenty of gym equipment that we own.

We’re still able to train mostly like normal. We’re cooking a lot of food, we’re eating at home a lot, and we’re cooking a lot of good stuff. I’ve been getting stuff done around home, playing with our dog Brian, and hanging out with my wife.

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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17 JIMMIE JOHNSON

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18 ERIK JONES

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19 TYLER REDDICK

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20 CHRISTOPHER BELL

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21 BUBBA WALLACE

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22 CHRIS BUESCHER

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23 MICHAEL MCDOWELL

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24 RICKY STENHOUSE JR.

396

25 RYAN NEWMAN

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28 MATT KENSETH

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

WINS

POLES

TOP 5

TOP 10

6 0 15 19 5 0 13 15 3 1 9 16 2 1 8 13 2 0 6 12 1 0 8 10 1 1 8 14 1 0 2 6 1 0 2 6 1 0 2 5 0 0 5 13 0 1 4 14 0 1 10 12 0 1 2 6 0 0 2 7 0 0 0 7 0 0 3 7 0 0 5 8 0 0 2 7 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 3 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BLUE AREAS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS

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3

NOAH GRAGSON

740

4

HARRISON BURTON

645

5

BRANDON JONES

561

6

JUSTIN HALEY

637

7

ROSS CHASTAIN

709

8

JUSTIN ALLGAIER

633

9

MICHAEL ANNETT

567

10 RILEY HERBST

462

11 RYAN SIEG

462

12 BRANDON BROWN

409

13 JEREMY CLEMENTS

381

14 MYATT SNIDER

357

15 ALEX LABBE

333

16 JOSH WILLIAMS

330

17 JESSE LITTLE

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18 JOE GRAF JR.

250

19 DANIEL HEMRIC

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20 ANTHONY ALFREDO

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28 KYLE WEATHERMAN

141

29 COLBY HOWARD

129

30 KODY VANDERWAL

129

31 JEB BURTON

115

32 JOSH BILICKI

97

33 DAVID STARR

96

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

WINS

POLES

TOP 5

TOP 10

5 0 13 15 5 0 11 14 2 0 9 13 2 0 9 13 2 1 6 10 1 0 6 12 0 0 7 16 0 0 4 10 0 1 3 10 0 0 2 10 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 4 0 2 2 5 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BLUE AREAS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS

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GRANT ENFINGER

366

3

AUSTIN HILL

476

4

ZANE SMITH

417

5

MATT CRAFTON

375

6

BRETT MOFFITT

422

7

BEN RHODES

413

8

CHRISTIAN ECKES

412

9

TYLER ANKRUM

343

10 TODD GILLILAND

340

11 DEREK KRAUS

338

12 TANNER GRAY

295

13 RAPHAEL LESSARD

285

14 JOHNNY SAUTER

273

15 STEWART FRIESEN

253

16 TY MAJESKI

222

17 AUSTIN SELF

194

18 TATE FOGLEMAN

168

19 SPENCER BOYD

163

20 CORY ROPER

161

21 CODIE ROHRBAUGH

159

22 JORDAN ANDERSON

150

23 SPENCER DAVIS

167

24 NATALIE DECKER

109

25 PARKER KLIGERMAN

100

26 TYLER HILL

95

27 CLAY GREENFIELD

92

28 ANGELA RUCH

84

29 RYAN TRUEX

79

30 CHASE PURDY

78

31 TIMMY HILL

76

32 JENNIFER COBB

70

33 KORBIN FORRISTER

68

WINS

POLES

TOP 5

TOP 10

2 1 4 7 2 0 4 6 1 0 6 10 1 0 3 7 1 0 6 7 0 0 4 7 0 0 4 8 0 0 4 6 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 7 0 0 2 7 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 2 0 2 3 6 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BLUE AREAS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS

0 2 6

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020 5/15/2020 8:30:21 AM

DRIVER Q&A

NATALIE DECKER SEEKS GROWTH WITH NIECE MOTORSPORTS

BY JOSEPH WOLK IN

Natalie Decker is ready to take the next step in NASCAR, and Niece Motorsports is helping her do exactly that. The Wisconsin native is competing in the majority of the RV & Outdoors Truck Series season in the No. 44 Chevrolet, and she’s determined to grow with this team. ▶ WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR? “This year, I need to keep learning and running well in the race. I need to finish the races. This year, the Truck Series has so many drivers who can win the race. It’s the most stacked I’ve seen the field in a long time, and it’s so cool to be part of it. I feel like I’m racing some of the best drivers out there.” ▶ WHAT DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVE UPON? “The biggest thing I’ve struggled on throughout my whole career is just being able to be more aggressive on restarts. We don’t qualify anymore or practice, but if we were doing that, I’d want to improve on qualifying. When we would unload the truck for practice, I need to go hard as I can right away instead of working my way up to speed. Now that we’re not doing that, I need to start the race and get up to speed right away. I can’t take my time. I’ve personally struggled with that and I’m working really hard to get better at it.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

MEMORY LANE

MEMORY LANE:

JEFF GORDON WINS WILD RACE AT DOVER

BY ROB TIONGSON

W

hile the 1996 running of the MBNA 500 at Dover International Speedway was frustrating for some, it was a race to remember for 25-year-old Jeff Gordon.

After all, Gordon, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, approached Round 25 of the 31-race championship battle with loads of confidence. In fact, the “Wonderkid” ranked second, only four markers behind points leader “Texas” Terry Labonte.

Following a rather meager start to his title defense, the Californian won seven races and seemed ready to collect his eighth victory at “The Monster Mile.” However, it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk to the winner’s circle on this treacherous afternoon.

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

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Starting third from the grid, Gordon snatched the lead from Labonte, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, on Lap 42.

Leading the way in his No. 24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet, Gordon seemed a bit untouchable.

Mark Martin, who had the second strongest car for this race, worked his way around Gordon on Lap 76. Meanwhile, Gordon would run inside the top-10 for the next 127 laps, battling an ill-handling Monte Carlo.

On this day, Gordon’s Rainbow Warriors, led by crew chief Ray Evernham, constantly made improvements to the car. Finding the sweet spot just before the halfway point, Gordon returned to the lead on Lap 203.

Although Gordon’s fortunes improved as the 500-miler progressed, it wasn’t a very memorable afternoon for his rivals. In fact, one could call this the race with two stories.

For Gordon, it was relatively smooth sailing on this picturesque afternoon in “The First State.” However, the same couldn’t be said for the likes of Ernie Irvan and his No. 28 team.

While Irvan was leading on Lap 199, the Salinas, Calif. native got a “little help” into the Turn 3 wall from Derrike Cope. Not surprisingly, Irvan had some pointed comments for his Ford Racing comrade.

“The guys who were going a lap down, they don’t really want to (move over),” Irvan said. “A couple of them, once you get to them, they say OK, but some of them don’t.”

The most memorable incident of the race took place on Lap 458. As the field made their way towards the frontstretch, Jimmy Spencer and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. tangled and crashed into the inside retaining wall.

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 20, 2020

MEMORY LANE This incident, which collected Ted Musgrave and Brett Bodine, became infamous when Spencer, fuming out of his battered No. 23 Ford, ran towards Dallenbach’s No. 15 car, giving the road course specialist a piece of his mind with animated expressions.

Once Dallenbach walked back into the garage area, the pride of Basalt, Colo. was not amused with “Mr. Excitement” and his antics.

“We had a pretty decent run going,” Dallenbach observed.

“Something like this happens. Spencer blamed me and he’s got another thing coming.”

On Lap 466, Cope’s day somewhat mirrored Irvan’s afternoon as he’d meet the Turn 3 wall. While the 1990 Daytona 500 champion was collecting his thoughts, he encountered the wrath of Larry McReynolds, Ernie Irvan’s crew chief.

“Well, Larry accosted me,” Cope remarked. “So, I have a real problem with that, and I have a problem with Ernie Irvan and that whole bunch. Evidently, it wasn’t my fault in that deal. He drove up into me and he wrecked himself.

“And then he had the audacity to accost me. I’m not happy with it, and I’m going to have a talk with NASCAR about it. He’s just lucky that I didn’t knock him on his butt.”

Certainly, tempers flared at Dover like a short track struggle at Martinsville, the series’ next stop. On the other hand, Gordon cruised his way to his eighth victory of the 1996 season, perhaps the only driver smiling along with “Miles the Monster.”

“I’m amazed at the way things have gone for us,” Gordon said. “It’s been a pretty amazing season. I didn’t think anything could be as sweet as last year was.

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Things are really turning around for us when we really need it most.”

Fortunate may have been on Gordon’s side, but Labonte’s luck in September was truly rotten. Finishing a rather disappointing 21st, “The Iceman” might’ve been knocked down, but he was still optimistic.

“It’s not over until the last race,” Labonte observed. “And we’ve got some good racetracks coming up for us. We’ve just gotta go out and do our best.”

Just as Joe Namath provided his guarantee prior to Super Bowl III, Labonte provided a rather quiet promise that proved true following his Dover defeat. It may have seemed inconceivable at the time as Gordon won two more races and seemed destined for his second consecutive title.

Ultimately, Labonte, who parlayed consistency in the final six races, tallied an incredible average finish of 3.2 to Gordon’s 8.8, good enough to win his second Cup title while Gordon finished second, 37 points from realizing another championship. In fact, the year of empty dominance fueled Gordon and Evernham in their quest for an even better season in 1997.

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