Brad Keselowski survives steamy shootout at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Much like dominoes falling, NASCAR's high-speed machines could not withstand the collective forces of nature in the sport's most bouncy race track.

Boom, boom, boom, cars kept dropping out on a muggy Sunday afternoon. Engines overheating. Cars bumping into each other. Unfortunate circumstances. Silly, stupid human error.

Only 19 cars remained on the lead lap when Kyle Busch couldn't chase down Brad Keselowski on a green-white-checker, two-lap restart in the Aaron's 499.

Keselowski, with Busch's aerodynamic push, first slid by the dual Roush Fords of leader Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, who got disconnected and lost their momentum after surging ahead on the restart.

Then Keselowski held off the always-savvy Busch to win his second race of the season.

"I thought he might dump us at the end and slide underneath us," said Keselowski's team owner, Roger Penske.

Keselowski had other ideas.

"Once I saw the 17 [Kenseth] and 16 [Biffle] separate I knew this was our race," Keselowski said."You have to have the plan and you have to have the moves ready."

Next up was keeping Busch at bay. Keselowski got away from Busch with a move he said he had been plotting for a while. He went high on Turn 3, got away, and Busch had no chance of catching up.

"Once that happened, the race was over," Busch said. "It was all his."

"I wasn't too fast, I was just too stupid," said Kenseth, going for a restrictor-plate double-double after winning at Daytona.

So to review, Keselowski out-drove Kenseth, a former NASCAR Cup champion, and Busch, one of the top drivers on the circuit.

"Hell, it's my job to be good," Keselowski said. "That's what I get paid for. I don't paid to suck at this."

Most appreciative was Penske, who won for the first time in the Sprint Cup Series at Talladega.

The final restart came after a mental blip by A.J. Allmendinger — and that's a kind description — when he tried to block Denny Hamlin as Hamlin slid to the left trying to get through the pack on lap 186. Allmendinger managed to collect eight other cars and ruin the day for all of them.

"We didn't quite crash half the field, which is what we normally look to do here," Tony Stewart said sarcastically. "I was excited about it. … I made it further than I thought I would before I got crashed."

When crunched metal wasn't taking drivers out, blown engines were spoiling the day. The setups didn't allow cars to be engaged for very long without overheating issues, a situation that became exacerbated following morning showers. It caused a short delay in the start of the race, but most importantly, gave way to hotter temperatures and increased humidity.

It was a bad combination for drivers Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson, among others.

Newman was sidelined with engine failure on lap 43. Johnson lasted a little bit longer, but not much. He had engine failure on lap 65.

"It's just a bummer; we had such a great race car, up there leading the race and had something happen there," Johnson said.

It was a bummer for Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon too, whose string of unfortunate hiccups continued Sunday. He got caught up in the first bump-and-grind of the afternoon after Aric Almirola's No. 43 Ford ran out of gas, and collided with Dave Blaney's Chevy.

The ensuing chaos took out Gordon, the pole-sitter for this race, and 2011 Cup runner-cup Carl Edwards

Gordon, a four-time champion, has only two Top 10 finishes this season.

"Man this is just one of the most bizarre years that this team has ever gone through," Gordon said. "It's almost comical at this point. Gosh, I thought I was clear. …That's just the way this season has been going."

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

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Talladega racing brings restrictor-plate controversy again

When they were children, NASCAR drivers probably got peeved when they asked for G.I. Joe dolls and Santa delivered exactly what they wanted Christmas morning.

"We wanted Batman and Robin!" they would scream at mommy and daddy, who no doubt took a swig of the spiked egg nog to take the edge off.

As adults, drivers are programmed the same way. When it comes to restrictor-plate racing, they never quite seem to know what they want.

NASCAR officials tinkered with the car setups to do away with the tandem racing style that had become snooze-city for many fans in Daytona and Talladega. The return to traditional pack racing has brought another chorus of boos because car temperatures are spiking and cars are overheating. This is happening because the modified setups don't allow the drivers to stay in contact for very long, thus breaking up the tandem packs.

Good? No. Bad!

Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson were among the drivers who got zapped with engine issues at Talladega. Others now worry about what will happen next.

"I don't know what we are going to do in Daytona in July," Jeff Gordon said. "There is just that fine line between getting the temperatures right and not being able to push. To me right now we are teetering on the side of having to be just a little too conservative. I'd like to be up there taking it three-wide, pushing cars and making some good exciting moves because I know we have a car that can be up front, but it's just too risky at this point in the race. That is why we were in the back where we were."

Gordon makes a valid point that drivers shouldn't be racing like nervous Nellies monitoring their temperature gauge. But the flip side is going back to snooze city, and that's the far worse of the evils.

Fans simply don't like it, and that's why NASCAR modified the setups during Speedweeks in February to do away with tandem racing.

"The most thankless job in sports is the referee because everyone wants an advantage,' said Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway. "It's a competitive desire to be No. 1. NASCAR is in a really tough position because no matter what they do people are going to be unhappy."

The best advice for everybody is to embrace the lunacy of restrictor-plate racing. Strategy is pointless until the final laps because there are too many X-factors. Witness the events that transpired last weekend, when just 19 of 43 cars were left on the lead lap. Brad Keselowski pulled off two brilliant moves to outgun Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch at the end, but it was way late for a bunch of other drivers who got collected in the usual assortment of bumper cars or went down with over-heating issues.

"I made it further than I thought I would before I got crashed," said Tony Stewart, who got bumped off on Lap 187. "I call it a successful day."

Be careful what you wish for, boys. You just might get it.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

Earnhardt's impact

The tragic legacy of Dale Earnhardt continues to impact NASCAR — in a positive light these days.

Eric McClure is very likely alive today because SAFER barriers were in place at Talladega when he slammed into a an inside retaining wall during a Nationwide race in Talladega last weekend. There was an apprehensive silence for a while as McClure had to be cut from his car, but he escaped relatively unscathed.

McClure was released Monday evening from the UAB Medical Center in Birmingham. He was airlifted there after suffering a concussion and mild internal bruising and is expected to make a full recovery. McClure is expected to talk to the media in Darlington on Friday.

McClure's wife posted on McClure's Facebook page that the family is "so thankful that he survived. It is nothing short of a miracle that he was not hurt more than he is."

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Jimmie Johnson back chasing championships

It didn't seem that long ago that Jimmie Johnson was sputtering, his chances of taking back his Sprint Cup championship all but doomed after a disastrous Speedweeks.

Crew chief Chad Knaus got busted for having an illegal C-post — the pieces of sheet metal connecting the roof to the rear quarter panel — on the No. 48 Chevy. Johnson got docked 25 points from the get-go, which only added to the misery of a 43rd-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Johnson, it seemed, was only intent on chasing misery, not championships, this season.

But an appeals process reversed the penalties. And Johnson has since taken care of the rest.

His victory at Darlington last weekend moves him to No. 5 in the standings, up three slots from the previous week (which ended with a blown engine at Talladega). Johnson now has five Top 5 finishes and seems fully locked and loaded to resume his habit of winning titles. He snagged five consecutive ones until Tony Stewart snapped the streak last season.

Johnson added a historic notch in Darlington by claiming the 200th career victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

"My focus really has been on making sure the 48 does the best job that it can," Johnson said. "If we're able to win, we'd hopefully be able to be the guy to get the 200th win. We've been very close, especially through the start of the season.

"I'm so glad to have it behind us and glad for this moment to be here for Rick [Hendrick], the company, all the people that have contributed to the 200th win. It's a special day."

Johnson has celebrated a bunch of those during his illustrious career. He's a consummate professional, which coincides with the fact that the NASCAR media named him as the driver to beat in 2012 — not Stewart, or anybody else.

He took some extra time to decompress following the 2011 season, choosing not to race in the Rolex24 at Daytona. He wanted to come back, he said, "refreshed and excited."

"There is just an energy you have when you walk through those gates as a rookie and every veteran comes in excited and hungry," he said in Daytona in February. "There is something a little different when you come in and you are early in your career. I feel like I have found those things again.

"I'm walking in here with a different set of eyes than I have the last five or six years."

Right now, those eyes are focused on another Cup title.

Wouldn't bet against him.

Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego or e-mail him at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com

Busch burnout

It's official: We have our first Busch brouhaha.

Most skeptics figured it was only a matter of time before one of the Busch brothers — Kyle or Kurt — went over the edge despite promises to be on their best behavior this season.

Congratulations if you had Kurt in your Busch Brothers pool.

To review, Kurt Busch cut a tire and wrecked with six laps to go in Darlington last Saturday night, collecting Ryan Newman's car as he lost control. But inexplicably, Busch did a burnout and went through Newman's pit box after the race, bumping Newman's car. Busch claims he didn't do it on purpose.

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Jimmie Johnson tames Darlington for third career win at track

DARLINGTON, S.C. ? Darlington Raceway is known as "the track too tough to tame," but Jimmie Johnson had little trouble doing just that, holding off Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart to capture Saturday night's Bojangles Southern 500.

Johnson grabbed the lead in the closing laps and made it look easy as he cruised to the checkered flag and his third career win at Darlington and also snapped a 16-race losing streak for the former five-time Sprint Cup champion.

"There really was a lot of drama," Johnson said. "In a fuel mileage race, when you see that 14 (Stewart), you always second-guess yourself because he's so good at it. I was really concerned. I was just pacing myself based upon what he was doing and hoped I had saved enough (fuel).

"There are a lot of hungry drivers out of there that want to win this race. This race is so special, so great and Darlington is such an awesome race track."

The win also earned Rick Hendrick his 200th career Cup win as a team owner.

"This is special, without a doubt," Johnson said. "You've got to love that man (Hendrick). He just said 200's reached, let's go get 250."

Kyle Busch finished 4th, followed by Martin Truex Jr. Rounding out the top 10 were Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Marcus Ambrose and Joey Logano.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 17th, while Danica Patrick wound up 31st in only her second career Sprint Cup race.

After an almost sedate first two-thirds of the race, things began to heat up around Lap 235 of the 367-lap event as drivers who had sat back early-on to watch how the race would unfold suddenly and collectively began to make aggressive moves to the front, a trend that would continue all the way to the checkered flag.

Of note, Jeff Gordon's string of bad luck this season continued on Lap 193 when he made contact with Denny Hamlin, prompting an unscheduled pit stop for fresh tires. The damage initially appeared minor and Gordon was able to get back on track after a pit stop to change tires, while Hamlin's car suffered no damage and continued on.

Just over 10 laps later, Gordon was forced to pit road again when the left rear tire on his Chevrolet went flat, causing him to go two laps down to the race leaders. Unfortunately for the seven-time Darlington winner, Gordon was eventually forced to take his car to the garage so crew members could repair an issue that caused that second flat tire.

Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne pushed his way up through the pack following Gordon's problems to assume the lead, but would eventually give it up as his car's handling went away.

Greg Biffle, who started from the pole and has led the Sprint Cup points standings for the past eight weeks, was in command from the start of the race, leading the first 48 laps before pitting for fuel on lap 49 of the scheduled 367-lap event. Biffle's biggest challengers were Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

Kyle Busch took over the lead and held the rest of the field at bay for 23 laps before Biffle, who was seeking his third career Sprint Cup win at Darlington, regained the top spot.

Biffle gave up the lead for a second time on Lap 99 for his second pit stop, with Denny Hamlin briefly taking over the top spot of the 43-car field before Johnson found his way to the top of the leaderboard and remained in command as the race transitioned from the first third to the middle third. Johnson came into Saturday night's action not having won a race in his last 16 starts.

Danica Patrick, making only the second Sprint Cup start of her stock car racing career, chose to race conservatively, essentially feeling her way around the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval that has the reputation of being one of the toughest tracks in the sport.

Patrick qualified 38th, worked her way up to 20th during the first series of pit stops, but by lap 75 had fallen back to 34th place, one lap off the lead lap. By Lap 115, she had fallen to two laps off the lead lap.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., meanwhile, started 24th and was unable to climb any higher than 17th during the first 100 laps. Earnhardt had complained about his car following Friday's mediocre qualifying session. Earnhardt came into Saturday's race with a winless streak of 139 races, and just one win in his last 215 Sprint Cup starts.

Surprisingly, the race almost reached the halfway point caution-free until Lap 171 (for debris), at a track known for lots of banging, beating and crashing and caution flags. Kyle Busch grabbed the lead on the restart in a race that was on target to potentially set a track record for fastest event and fastest average speed.

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NASCAR fans should show up for trailblazing black driver Wendell Scott

Dear NASCAR fans:

You have less than 48 hours to cast your ballot for this year's 2013 Hall of Fame nominees on NASCAR.com. Some of your options are quite glamorous and obvious, such as Richard Childress, Rusty Wallace or Rick Hendrick.

But I'd challenge you to be bold and vote for the late trailblazing NASCAR driver Wendell Scott.

I realize this choice scoffs at statistics, for Scott finished his career with only one victory in the top NASCAR series at a small track in Jacksonville in 1963. This, of course, pales in comparison to the hefty accomplishments of fellow ballot nominees such as Fireball Roberts, who racked up 33 top-series wins, including the 1962 Daytona 500.

There are statistically stronger choices.

Woody Allen once said 80 percent of success is showing up. And in Scott's case, you could argue that 100 percent of his success was in just showing up.

After all, NASCAR races weren't exactly booming with black men in the 1960s. Unfortunately, they still aren't today.

Scott's simple presence — where it was allowed — was a victory in itself, given the insurmountable odds he faced to compete in a sport he adored.

Aside from the obvious dangers of traveling across the Jim Crow south during a time when blacks could be lynched or beaten for even looking at a white person in the "wrong" way, Scott raced with inferior equipment.

He rarely had the newest tires, best engines or latest-model cars. Sponsors were nearly impossible to come by even for white competitors, given how young the sport was and the limited media coverage it received in the '50s and '60s.

The best exposure a sponsor could hope to get from a driver would be through corporate appearances. You can imagine why Scott was not considered an ideal candidate for these kind of opportunities.

He didn't have much money, but he possessed a resolute love for this sport and won the respect of fans and peers such as Ned Jarrett.

Jarrett, a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, would give Scott his used tires and sold him the car — at a discounted rate — Scott drove in his first and only top-series win.

"I really was having a hard time myself trying to make it to the higher level of the sport," said Jarrett, who once worked on his dad's sawmill and lumber yard to help make ends meet. "That part of it I could relate to — how tough it was trying to make a living from it."

"I always felt that Wendell had the ability, but if he would have had some of the equipment that the rest of us had, he could have won more races. But there's a lot to be said for what he did with what he had."

Jarrett was so taken by Scott's story that he influenced former Ford Vice President Lee Iacocca over lunch to give Scott a new race car so he could compete with his peers on an equal playing field.

"Unfortunately, they gave him one of their worst cars," Jarrett said. "That was not what Lee Iacocca had in mind when he made that call."

Despite the constant hurdles, Scott always found a way to make the best of what he was given. It's a part of what makes his one career win in Jacksonville so memorable.

The other part is less thrilling. Scott finished a full two laps ahead of second-place finisher Buck Baker, but Baker was declared the winner before race officials reversed the decision and named Scott the victor.

Stories abound as to whether it was due to an honest miscount or an intentional slight, but the case certainly wasn't helped by the fact that the winner's trophy from that 1963 race was not awarded to Scott until 2010 — 20 years after his death.

Amends were eventually made, and in the spirit of Scott, I won't dwell on the bitter past.

Instead, I'll focus on the future that could include NASCAR's first African-American Hall of Fame inductee.

He was a better man and a better driver than his opportunities presented.

You can honor that by doing what he did so well: Show up. And vote Scott into the Hall of Fame.

sjowens@tribune.com

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