ROAR! - Weekly Racing Magazine - September 14, 2020 by A.E. Engine

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A NEW CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITE IN 2020? In this week’s episode of Out of the Groove, host and creator Eric Estepp takes us through all of Saturday night’s action from Richmond Raceway. It was the second race of the Cup Series playoffs, and despite being relatively uneventful on the track, there were still plenty of consequences from the race leading into this week. Most importantly is the seemingly out-ofnowhere victory of Brad Keselowski. Despite his strong performance in 2020, his name 0 0 4

is hardly mentioned alongside the Kevin Harvick’s and Denny Hamlin’s of the world, at least as far as contenders go. But why is everyone sleeping on Brad Keselowski? Eric takes us through the details. But that’s not all. He also puts Richmond up on the patented Groovy Gauge, and this one could prove to be a bit controversial. Was it a great race at Richmond, or just a middling one? Find out that and more on this week’s episode of Out of the Groove!

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

5 LESSONS LEARNED

LESSONS LEARNED AT RICHMOND

lready all but assured of earning a spot in the Round of 12, Brad Keselowski made it official in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series showdown at Richmond Raceway as he scored a convincing victory that formally punched his ticket into the next round. Finishing a distant second to Keselowski’s Team Penske Ford was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., who has come on strong in recent weeks. Joey Logano finished third, giving Team Penske two of the top three positions. Following are five takeaways from the Federated Auto Parts 400. BY JA RED TURNER

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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5 LESSONS LEARNED

DENNY HAMLIN SUFFERED AN UNCHARACTERISTIC FADE

f there’s one track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule where Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 Toyota are reliably fast, it’s Richmond Raceway — the 3/4-mile short track where Hamlin is a three-time winner and a place that happens to be only about 30 minutes down the road from his childhood home of Chesterfield, Virginia. So, it came as a surprise to no one when Hamlin came out of the gate flying on Saturday night by leading 45 laps on the way to a win in Stage 1. Hamlin was never the same thereafter, however, as he eventually faded to finish a lap down in 12th. Hamlin’s slide was particularly notable when considering that along with being a three-time Richmond winner, he’s a six-time winner in 2020. “It just seemed like once the track rubbered up, we just weren’t any good,” Hamlin said. “We couldn’t get off the corner good, couldn’t get in the corner. Just nothing was really very good with it.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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5 LESSONS LEARNED

ABSENCE OF CAUTIONS WAS A SURPRISE

he biggest shocker from Saturday night’s race at Richmond wasn’t the winner or the order of finish; it was the lack of cautions. To the surprise of virtually everyone, nary a yellow flag waved outside of the obligatory cautions signifying the end of the first and second stage. So, how does one explain the dearth of cautions at a track traditionally known for close-quarters racing and numerous spins? “My opinion is it was the tire,” Clint Bowyer said after finishing 10th. “I think something is not meshing with the track. You look out there on the racetrack, it looks like a highway out there. It wasn’t putting any rubber down on the track, and they’ve got to do a better job of that. That’s unacceptable as far as I’m concerned. We can’t have it run lap after lap after lap with no cautions. Something’s got to change there, and the first thing I’d change if I owned the track would be the tire.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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5 LESSONS LEARNED

MATT DIBENEDETTO AND RYAN BLANEY HAVE DUG THEMSELVES A DEEP HOLE

fter Saturday night’s race at Richmond, there’s no way to sugarcoat it: Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney have their work cut out for them if they plan on advancing to the Round of 12. In the first two races in the Round of 16, DiBenedetto has finished 21st and 17th, respectively, while Blaney has come home 24th and 19th. You don’t have to be a NASCAR historian to know that those kinds of lackluster results don’t generally bode well for reaching the next round. DiBenedetto, who is 25 points to the wrong side of the cutline (Blaney is minus 27), sees his recent struggles as a testament to how tough the playoffs can be. “It can be quite humbling, I’ll say that,” the Wood Brothers Racing driver said. “We had a stretch through the mid part of the year where I felt like we couldn’t possibly mess it up. Then you can have a stretch where you just get pounded in the ground.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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AUSTIN DILLON HAS TURNED IT UP AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME

fter recording just two top-five finishes in the 26-race regular season, Austin Dillon has now posted two top fives in as many starts since the playoffs commenced. Call the improvement a coincidence if you may, but it seems that Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team have simply hit their stride at the right time. So what more do people need to see from them to stop doubting them? “I don’t know,” Dillon said on pit road after leading 55 laps en route to a fourth-place finish at Richmond on Saturday night. “I hope they keep doubting us. But we’ve got a lot of work still.” Dillon opened the playoffs with a runner-up finish at Darlington. “We’re putting ourselves in positions to win, and you do that long enough, it pays off,” he said. “We haven’t been here and we’re kind of new to this, so we’ve got to keep running up there, and those wins are going to start clicking off.”

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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THIS WAS A STATEMENT WIN FOR BRAD KESELOWSKI

oming into Saturday night’s race at Richmond, Brad Keselowski had already won three NASCAR Cup Series races in 2020 and was by all accounts considered a championship contender. However, Keselowski has to some extent flown under the radar for much of the year due to the incredible success of Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, who have combined to capture a total of 14 wins and been by far away and away this season’s two most dominant drivers. Yet, through it all, Keselowski has remained consistently fast — and the speed in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford has never been more apparent than on Saturday night, when he led 192 of 400 laps and picked up a stage victory on the way to his fourth triumph of 2020. With the win, Keselowski punched an automatic ticket into the Round of 12 (Harvick and Hamlin have already advanced as well) and reminded everyone that he’s every bit the title contender that Harvick and Hamlin are.

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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JUST SAYIN’

JUST SAYIN’ JA RED TURNER

▶

IT’S TIME FOR RICHMOND TO CONSIDER CHANGES

Back in the day, Richmond Raceway hosted a race known as the “Pontiac Excitement 400.” It’s a good thing the name changed. After all, I’m not sure that name would have survived the lackluster snoozefest that was Saturday night’s 400-lap affair at the ¾-mile Virginia short track. In a race that featured nary a caution that wasn’t already planned, Brad Keselowski led nearly half the laps and sped away to a 1.568-second victory over Martin Truex Jr. Maybe it’s time that Richmond consider making some changes to the track, like perhaps adding more banking. Regardless, no one needs to suffer through anything like this again. 0 1 8

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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JUST SAYIN’

▶ RICHMOND FANS GOT THE SHORT END OF THE STICK THIS YEAR The fact that no fans were allowed to attend Saturday night’s playoff race at Richmond is nothing less than a travesty. After all, fans who live in the area and are used to attending two race weekends here each year were already denied the opportunity to be at the track back in late April, when Richmond was originally scheduled to host the first of two race weekends in 2020. This past weekend was no better for the Richmond diehards, who literally plan vacations and family events around the track’s NASCAR events. Let’s hope that COVID-19 or no COVID-19, common sense prevails come 2021 and the track is allowed to resume its normal activities — even if reduced capacity and masks are deemed necessary to make it happen. 0 2 0

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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JUST SAYIN’

▶ THE TRACKS IN THE FIRST ROUND ARE DESERVING This year, for the first time ever, the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs consists exclusively of tracks in the Southeast. For a sport that has gotten far, far away from its roots in many respects over the past couple of decades, it’s about time the tracks with such a rich history get some love when it comes to scheduling. Of all the tracks on the schedule, there aren’t three any more deserving of being in the playoffs than Darlington Raceway, Richmond Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway — the three tracks that host races in this year’s opening round. 0 2 2

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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IN THE HOT SEAT

Zane Smith BY ROB TIONGSON

Throughout the season, Rob Tiongson interviews various drivers in the world of NASCAR. Today, he talks with Zane Smith, driver of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado. ▶▶ One of your first breakthrough moments was when you won the ARCA Talladega race in 2018 over Joe Graf Jr in the closest finish in that series’ history. How much of a thrill was it to score such a memorable win at one of the most exciting tracks? I’m actually staring at the trophy right now. Me and this thing have a love-hate relationship. It weighs about 80 pounds and I don’t have any room for it right now. But yeh, Talladega is definitely a track of its own. That was just a crazy race. But I don’t really look at the speedways as much as races of “look what he did,” I look at more of the mileand-a-halfs or short tracks. Those are really hard to win at. It’s just Talladega’s so crazy. If you asked me if I was going to win that thing, going into that race or even in the middle of the race, I would’ve said, “You’re crazy.” But, that’s just how Talladega works. I definitely like Talladega more than Daytona, racing-wise, but then again Daytona is also an animal of its own and kinda gives off the same vibe. ▶▶ Moving forward to this year, it’s been a terrific season, particularly since the summer stretch with your first career Trucks wins at Michigan and Dover. With the incredible string of success in recent weeks, how encouraged are you about your chances to battle for more wins and contend for the Truck championship? I think that’s what’s gotten a lot of attention that I’ve gotten on all my social media. I feel like, at least what I’m getting told, they haven’t really seen a rookie do what I’ve done for a few years. I think the last one was William Byron, probably. And he had even a lot more experience than I have going into the Truck Series.

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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IN THE HOT SEAT It’s hard to put any NASCAR race together to win it, but I feel like if you’re just always up there, to put yourself in contention is all you can ask for. Just asking for a shot at it. I feel like whether I’ve screwed myself out of a couple of them this year, like a dumb little mistake I made, or something on pit road, or just something dumb, just a flat right rear at Texas - I feel like we’ve gotten a couple of them just fallen right out of our hands. I have a problem with trying to forget those but definitely, when you have, like winning at Michigan was my first one, which was crazy because me and Michigan have a love-hate relationship, it hasn’t been nice to me the past couple times I was there. That was a huge win for Chevrolet, and just a crazy place to get your first win. I feel like that doesn’t really happen too often. Michigan’s just a crazy place. And then Daytona Road Course. There’s another one where I made a dumb mistake on lap 1. And that’s really where the no practice hurts you, but I feel like we wouldn’t have won there anyways, we were struggling all day. But then to go to Dover and just have a really good day with the stage win and winning the race, along with 50 grand, makes you forget about the road course pretty quick. ▶▶ You have a relatively young group of teammates in Tyler Ankrum, 2018 Truck champion Brett Moffitt, and Sheldon Creed. As absolutely skillful and competitive drivers, how would you describe your relationship and rapport with each? Believe it or not, me and Sheldon actually go way back to the off-road racing days. And he’s probably one of my best friends. We hang out the majority of the week, whether we’re just hanging out or working out with Josh Wise and getting ready for the race weekend. So yeah, he’s definitely one of my good buddies. Tyler Ankrum’s starting to hang around me a good bit, he’s a cool dude. We’re two completely different personalities. He’s from California, but he’s definitely, we call him the California cowboy. That’s literally the perfect name for him. Then I hang out with Brett occasionally, mostly just at the track or whatnot. But, yeah, it’s a fun group of drivers. 0 2 6

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

IN THE HOTSEAT ▶▶ While it can be difficult to predict the future, how do you foresee these next five years as a young driver working his way up the NASCAR ladder? I don’t know. Just keep winning! There’s two teams I definitely have circled that I’d like to be at one day. Obviously at Hendrick, I would love to race at and I’m a big fan of Chip Ganssi’s. I like his outlook on it - I see his tweet, “I like winners.” Hopefully, I keep winning and get his attention. But really, any of those top teams are a dream. But to make that dream happen, I think you just have to win and perform and show you belong there. I know there are probably some people I could go in there with, a big sponsor or family money or whatever, and it probably helps their pick out but, I don’t have that, so I guess I’ll have to win twice as much as them. ▶▶ If Hollywood approached you about making the “Zane Smith” biopic about your life and racing career, which actor would you want to have portray you on the silver screen? Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s just the man. He’s awesome. Mark Whalberg’s cool. If it’s gonna be a funny movie, for sure, Will Ferrell.

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020 5/15/2020 8:30:21 AM

mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

ROB IS RACIN’

JOEY LOGANO FIGHTS HARD WITH PODIUM AT RICHMOND BY ROB TIONGSON

fter a decent 10-race stretch prior to the NASCAR Playoffs, Joey Logano has roared his way into the postseason with a second straight third-place result. On the surface, the 30-year-old Middletown, CT native has compiled an average season, a bit uncharacteristic for the usually dynamic, aggressive racer. Shockingly, Logano’s 12.8 average finish this season is his third worst since joining Team Penske in 2013. However, if you ask Logano his thoughts on his No. 22 Shell/ Pennzoil Ford Mustang team’s performances since Darlington in May, he doesn’t sound like a worried man. “I don’t think we’re that far off, to be honest with you,” Logano said following a gritty third-place finish at Richmond. “Last week, we finished third and we fought through plenty of adversity. A few weeks before that we were pretty good. We’ve been pretty good here recently, clicking off quite a few top fives, so that’s something to be very proud of.”

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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MEMORY LANE

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Coming off a solid third at Darlington, Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe found themselves in the fight with teammate Brad Keselowski and postseason rivals like Austin Dillon and Martin Truex, Jr. Unlike past races, where Logano worked his way through the field or needed pit strategy to gain track position, he had the pace and power. Starting second in Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at the 0.75-mile short track, Logano placed third in Stage 1 behind Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon. Once the lead lap drivers pitted on Lap 85 for the stage break, Logano’s pit crew came through with a quick stop. Restarting in the lead on Lap 90, Logano held the top spot for 36 laps, seemingly looking more like the driver that reeled off those wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix earlier in the season. On Lap 121, Keselowski caught Logano and the two engaged in a bit of short track, paint trading battle for the lead. As Keselowski prevailed in this scrap, Logano dropped to second before pitting on Lap 163 for tires and fuel. Once again, the No. 22 pit crew reeled off another lightning fast, 13.6-second stop, although, in

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

combination with differing pit strategies, relegated the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion to the fifth spot on Lap 181. Placing fourth in Stage 2, Logano and his lead lap comrades returned to pit road for their next stop on Lap 240. Boosted like a hockey team on a power play, Logano gained one spot exiting pit road with an excellent stop by his Team Penske weekend warriors. Seemingly an adjustment or two away from matching Keselowski’s pace, Logano found himself running in the second spot on Lap 262. Just 52 laps later, Logano returned to the lead, possibly in position for his third win of the year. However, Keselowski and Truex were just too much for Logano on this Saturday night tussle at Richmond Raceway. Crossing the stripe in the third position, while a win would’ve been a sweet moment for the 13th year racer, there were some positive takeaways for the typically optimistic racer. “They’re not wins, I know,” Logano said. “We haven’t won since the pandemic started, but I also think from where we were six to eight

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mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

MEMORY LANE weeks ago to where we are now, I’m very proud of. We’ve made some big gains and put ourselves in position now to where we’re close to winning again. We’re running solidly in the top-five, and wins will come along eventually when you keep doing that.” In the grand scheme of things, Logano realizes how NASCAR Cup Series racing and championship battles are as competitive, gritty, and intense as it gets in any motorsports series. He’s faced the highs like his 2018 championship and the lows like losing out on the title in 2014 and ’16. “You’ve got to level up,” he said. “That’s what the Playoffs are about. It’s always about trying to find a little bit more, and what you did during the regular season will never be enough in the playoffs. And as each round and as each race goes, the intensity will pick up, and you need to figure that out for yourself.” Highlighting the strides that his No. 22 team has made this year, a relatively new group following the Team Penske shuffle, he knows that they’re 0 4 0

catching the likes of Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin with the 550 horsepower, high downforce package. “I don’t feel like we’re that far on 550s anymore,” Logano observed. “I did feel like we were way off, and now I feel like we’re maybe not as good as we are at 750s, but we’ve made gains. Some other cars have been good 550s. We’ve been, as the 22 (has been) a little bit off, but we’ve made some good gains there, as well. Speaking on behalf of the 22 only, I’d say, yeah, our strengths are still 750s but we’re getting closer to where we need to be to win one of those 550s again.”

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

BY THE NUMBER

CAR NO. BY K EITH WA LTZ

■■ 2011 – David Reutimann (Getty Images photo)

econd-generation racer David Reutimann made 140 of his 235 NASCAR Cup Series starts in cars carrying No. 00, the same number his father, Buzzie Reutimann, made famous during a long and storied short-track racing career. Of the 55 drivers who have driven NASCAR Cup Series cars with No. 00, David Reutimann is the only one to visit Victory Lane. Reutimann’s first career victory came on May 25, 2009, when he topped a rain-

■■ 2020 – Quin Houff (Getty Images photo)

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shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway while driving the No. 00 Toyota fielded by Michael Waltrip Racing. Reutimann then scored his second and final Cup Series victory in No. 00 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10, 2010. Reutimann’s last start in car No. 00 came at the end of the 2011 season and he made his final Cup Series appearance in 2014. Ralph Liguori, who went on to a successful open-wheel career, was the first driver to wheel car No. 00 in a NASCAR Cup Series race. The number’s debut came on July 15, 1951, when Liguori drove a 1950 Ford at Pennsylvania’s Heidelberg Speedway. Overall statistics show that cars carrying No. 00 in the NASCAR Cup Series have recorded 49 top-10 finishes in nearly 450 starts. StarCom Racing has been the caretaker of No. 00 since first using the number late in the 2017 season. Quin Houff currently drives the team’s Chevrolet Camaro.

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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COMMUNITY CREATOR: DANNY B

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AUSTIN DILLON ALMOST GOT IT...ALMOST In this week’s episode of Danny B Needs a Minute, Danny takes us through his recap and reaction of the Richmond Raceway weekend. And as a dedicated Austin Dillon fan, Danny has some mixed feelings about the final results from Saturday night’s playoff battle. In fact, it seems a lot of Danny’s favorites weren’t doing so hot at Richmond, and Danny takes us through the ups and downs. Danny also talks us through exactly what went down with Austin Dillon on the track Saturday night. He was running great, 0 4 4

battling for the lead, and even gaining 18 positions at one point thanks to Denny Hamlin’s situation. But ultimately, it was for naught, as some late game pit mistakes cost Dillon the precious seconds he needed to stay competitive. Austin Dillon wasn’t the only one having trouble with the pits at Richmond on Saturday though, as penalties and even complete whiffs (like Kevin Harvick) raised questions among fans. What’s the fallout? Check out this week’s episode of Danny B Talks to find out!

ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

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mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

NASCAR DEFINED - XFINITY AT RICHMOND

■■ Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway on September 12, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia.

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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER,14 2020

mr.steak THE MAN - THE LEGEND - THE STEAKS

NASCAR DEFINED - XFINITY AT RICHMOND

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■■ Myatt Snider, driver of the #93 Superior Essex Chevrolet, poses on the grid prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway on September 12, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia.

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