Chip Ganassi Racing 2017 paint schemes

 

Chip Ganassi Racing’s start to 2017 has been a phenomenal one. Kyle Larson leads the points standings and has one win and four second-place results while Jamie McMurray sits eighth in the points and has been strong each week.

Check out the paint schemes that CGR has run in each race this season. 

Allan Henry Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Larson, Daytona

Larson nearly scored another second-place finish in the Daytona 500 but ran out of gas in the closing laps and faded back to 12th. 

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Michael L. Levitt

Jamie McMurray, Daytona

McMurray’s Chevrolet drove more like a battering ram than a car as he started a few incidents at Daytona and finished 28th.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Michael L. Levitt

Kyle Larson, Atlanta

The streak of second-place finishes started for Larson at Atlanta. He had the lead late but couldn’t hold off Brad Keselowski.

 

Jamie McMurray, Atlanta

A solid showing by McMurray helped him rebound from his rough start at Daytona. He scored a 10th-place result in the Peach State.

 

 

Kyle Larson, Las Vegas

Another week of flirting with a victory showed that Larson was going to be a staple up front in the early season.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Jamie McMurray, Las Vegas

McMurray scored another top-10 finish and showed CGR had strong cars. 

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Kyle Larson, Phoenix

Guess where Larson finished in his CreditOne Bank paint scheme at Phoenix? Yep, second.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Jamie McMurray, Phoenix

McMurray donned Cessna as his sponsor at Phoenix and slid from a fifth-place starting spot to 15th. 

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Kyle Larson, Auto Club

After finishing second in three straight races, Larson broke through with a win at Auto Club. 

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

 

Jamie McMurray, Auto Club

McMurray also scored his best finish of the season at Auto Club, finishing sixth with McDonald’s on board.

© Russell LaBounty/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Kyle Larson, Martinsville

Larson started on the pole because qualifying was rained out and had a solid car, but faded late to finish 17th. 

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Jamie McMurray, Martinsville

A blown tire (see above) caused McMurray to spin and take a hard hit into the wall, finishing 38th. 

Kyle Larson, Texas

All was right in the world when Larson once again finished second. 

© Matthew T. Thacker/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Matthew T. Thacker

Jamie McMurray, Texas

Another strong day for McMurray and the No. 1 CGR team as he scored his fourth top-five finish of the season, coming home in 7th. 

Hendrick Motorsports 2017 paint schemes

 

 

While they haven’t made it to Victory Lane yet this season, Hendrick Motorsports has brought out some awesome paint schemes so far in 2017.

Check out all 24 schemes that the four HMS drivers have brought to the track in the first six races of the season.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Matthew T. Thacker

Chase Elliott, Daytona

Before running out of gas in the Daytona 500, Elliott had a car that was capable of winning the race. 

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson

Chase Elliott, Atlanta

Elliott’s primary NAPA scheme was featured at his home track, where he scored a fifth-place finish.

 

Chase Elliott, Las Vegas

In his best finish of the season, Elliott came home in third in Sin City with NAPA once again serving as the primary sponsor.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson

Chase Elliott, Phoenix

The No. 24 won its first stage of the season at Phoenix with Elliott bringing the car home in 12th.

© Matthew T. Thacker/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Matthew T. Thacker

Chase Elliott, Auto Club

Even though it was the same NAPA scheme for the first five races of the season, Elliott looks fast in it each week. He grabbed another top 10 in California.

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Chase Elliott, Martinsville

His first race with SunEnergy1 on the hood led to him tying his best finish of the season with a third-place result.

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Kasey Kahne, Daytona

Kahne started the season strong with a seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500 and led laps after going all of 2016 without leading a single one.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson

Kasey Kahne, Atlanta

Farmers Insurance served as the sponsor for the first two races as Kahne grabbed his best finish of the season so far, coming home fourth in the Peach State.

 

Kasey Kahne, Las Vegas

The sleek LiftMaster chrome and black paint scheme served Kahne well in Sin City. He ended up finishing 12th.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Kasey Kahne, Phoenix

A loose lug nut cost Kahne a top-10 finish in his Great Clips Chevy at Phoenix. He ended up 20th. 

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

Kasey Kahne, Auto Club

Farmers hopped back on the No. 5 Chevy at Auto Club as Kahne once again slipped late, finishing 20th for the second week in a row.

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Kasey Kahne, Martinsville

Kahne kept his Great Clips Chevy relatively clean at Martinsville as he came home in 14th.

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Jimmie Johnson, Daytona

The seven-time champ got taken out of the Daytona 500 and finished 34th in his first race after winning the championship.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson

Jimmie Johnson, Atlanta

Atlanta wasn’t much of an improvement for Johnson as he came home 19th in the iconic Lowe’s Chevy. 

 

Jimmie Johnson, Las Vegas

It was back to black for the No. 48 in Sin City as Johnson posted an 11th-place result.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson

Jimmie Johnson, Phoenix

Johnson finished ninth at Phoenix in his only top 10 so far this season. It’s been a surprising struggle for the No. 48 team.

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Jimmie Johnson, Auto Club

He was supposed to have his turnaround at Auto Club…it didn’t happen as Johnson finished 21st. 

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Jimmie Johnson, Martinsville

With nine wins at Martinsville, it was a disappoint to see the No. 48 Chevy come home in 15th.

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona

In his first race back from a concussion, Earnhardt got swept up in an accident while leading and finished 37th.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk John K Harrelson

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Atlanta

Atlanta didn’t go much better as Dale Jr. finished 30th in the Nationwide Chevy. 

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Las Vegas

It seemed like Earnhardt had a better car than his 16th-place finish but it was an improvement from the first two weeks.

, LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Nigel Kinrade

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Phoenix

With Axalta on the car, Earnhardt posted his best finish of the season, 14th. Still not the results he and JR Nation are hoping for.

© Nigel Kinrade/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.ukNigel Kinrade

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Auto Club

It was another 16th-place finish for Dale Jr. when the circuit made its way to Auto Club. 

© Barry Cantrell/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Barry Cantrell

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martinsville

A damaged radiator ended Earnhardt’s day early at the Virginia short track. He once again finished outside of the top 30, coming home in 34th.

 

 

 

16 winners of NASCAR’s West Coast Swing races

 

 

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series concludes its three-race West Coast Swing today with the running of the Auto Club 400 (FOX, 3 p.m. ET) at Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway. 

The West Coast Swing began two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and then last week visited Phoenix Raceway. 

Northern California’s Sonoma Raceway road course, which hosts its lone race each June, is the fourth and final western track on the Cup circuit. Since the start of 2010, these four tracks collectively have hosted 39 Cup races, with 16 different winners. Here they all are:

Getty Images Getty Images

16

Matt Kenseth, 1 victory

Kenseth scored his very first victory with Joe Gibbs Racing at Las Vegas in 2013. He’s won 13 more races since then.

Getty Images for NASCAR Todd Warshaw

15

Jeff Gordon, 1

At Phoenix in the first of two races, Gordon racked up one of his 93 career NASCAR Premier Series  victories, third overall in NASCAR history behind only David Pearson (105) and Richard Petty (200).

Getty Images Getty Images for NASCAR

14

Kasey Kahne, 1

Kahne won the fall race at Phoenix in 2011, his only full season with the now-defunct Red Bull operation.

(c), Lesley Ann Miller LAT Photo USA, All Rights Reserved (c)2012, Lesley Ann Miller

13

Denny Hamlin, 1

After a heartbreaking loss in the fall of 2010 at Phoenix, Hamlin led the final 59 laps in the first race there in 2012, holding off Kevin Harvick for the victory.

 

Getty Images Getty Images

12

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 1

The start of the fall 2015 race was delayed seven hours by rain and then cut short after 219 of the scheduled 312 laps. But when it was over, Earnhardt was the winner.

© Russell LaBounty/LAT Photo USA Russell LaBounty

11

Joey Logano, 1

The Team Penske driver is the most recent winner at Phoenix, having won there last fall.

Getty Images Getty Images for NASCAR

10

Clint Bowyer, 1

In 2012, Bowyer had a career year and was runner-up in the championship to Brad Keselowski. One of Bowyer’s victories that season was at Sonoma.

© Nigel Kinrade 1240 Briers Creek Drive Alpharetta, Georgia 30004 Nigel Kinrade/Autostock

9

Kurt Busch, 1

A native of Las Vegas, the elder Busch’s lone West Coast triumph came when he drove a Dodge for Roger Penske at Sonoma in 2011.

© Russell LaBounty/LAT Images http://www.latphoto.co.uk Russell LaBounty

8

Ryan Newman, 2

In 2010, when he drove for Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman won the first Phoenix race. And he won again last week in the Valley of the Sun, breaking a 127-race losing streak for himself and a 112-race losing steak for Richard Childress Racing.

 

Stephen R. Sylvanie Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sp

7

Martin Truex Jr., 2

Driving for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2013, Truex scored what is to date the lone road-course victory of his Cup career. And two weeks ago he scored his first victory at Las Vegas.

NASCAR NASCAR via Getty Images

6

Kyle Busch, 3

Busch’s remarkable championship run of 2015 began with a surprise victory at Sonoma, where he almost didn’t race because he was recuperating from gruesome leg and foot injuries suffered at Daytona earlier that year.

Getty Images Getty Images

5

Brad Keselowski, 3

Twice in the last three years, Keselowski has won at Las Vegas, including 2014, when leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas on the backstretch during the final lap.

Getty Images Getty Images

4

Carl Edwards, 4

It’s unfortunate Edwards isn’t racing anymore, because he was really good on the West Coast. In the first Phoenix race last year, he and Kevin Harvick put on an epic duel, trading paint all the way to the start-finish line, where Harvick narrowly won.

Getty Images Robert Laberge

3

Jimmie Johnson, 4

Although he leads active drivers with 80 victories and he’s a Southern California native, Johnson is merely very, very good out west, instead of exceptional. In 2010, he won at Auto Club, Las Vegas and Sonoma, all in the same season.

 

Getty Images Getty Images

2

Tony Stewart, 4

The three-time champion has had many memorable races, but none more so than his final career victory, which took place last year at Sonoma in a thrilling duel with Denny Hamlin. On the last lap, Hamlin passed Stewart for the lead, but Stewart got underneath in the last corner to take the victory.

Getty Images Chris Graythen

1

Kevin Harvick, 9

Since the start of the 2010 season, Harvick has won an amazing seven times at Phoenix and once each at Auto Club and Las Vegas. Given that he’s a California native and raced all over the West Coast, Harvick’s success is hardly surprising.

 

‘Race Hub’ debates the no-penalties decision following LVMS fight

 

The “NASCAR Race Hub” crew debates whether or not it was the right call to decide not to hand out any penalties to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch and Joey Logano after last Sunday’s post-race incident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Busch took issue with Logano after believing that Logano wrecked him deliberately as the drivers battled for position on the final lap of the Kobalt 400.

After confronting Logano and taking a swing at him in the garage, Busch ended up with a gash in his forehead after the ensuing scuffle.

 

See what our FOX Sports experts, including former crew chief Jeff Hammond and current driver David Ragan, had to say about NASCAR’s decision not to penalize anyone who was involved in the video above.

 

 

 

 

Martin Truex Jr. didn’t know stage racing would be this great

 

It’s likely that a dominating performance and sweeping the entire race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway helped boost Martin Truex Jr.’s thoughts on the new NASCAR stage racing format.

He liked the idea when it was in the planning stages, but after three races, it’s playing out better than he expected.

“I think stage racing has been really fun so far,” Truex said. “I was a proponent of it before the season started, but we all didn’t really know how it was going to play out. The coolest part about stage racing is if you run really well, you get rewarded even if you have a bad finish due to a wreck or a parts failure. Stage racing really would have helped us last year.”

With the consistency that Truex has shown to be a front-runner over the past few seasons, getting points through the stages could have helped Truex from his early elimination in the playoffs last year.

After grabbing 20 points through the stages at Las Vegas, Truex now has 34 stage points, the third-most so far this season. He also has seven playoff points, which can be a huge advantage in the post-season.

Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are the only two drivers ahead of Truex with 43 and 39 stage points, respectively.

The strong start to the season has Truex exactly where he wants to be with a lot of momentum heading into Phoenix this weekend.

“We’re starting off the season strong, putting ourselves in a position to win races and that’s really the key,” Truex said. “We need to continue to run up front, lead laps and be there when it counts. That’s what we did in Las Vegas.”

Truex has won four of the last 15 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the most by any driver over that span.

Radioactive from LVMS: ‘Get the [expletive] off me’

Things got heated between Joey Logano and Kyle Busch on the final lap of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, then it all came to an ugly head on pit road.

And let’s not forget, Martin Truex Jr. won all three stages en route to his first victory of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

As things got intense in Sin City, listen to the best scanner sound from the race with this week’s edition of “Radioactive.”

Joey Logano says he missed Kyle Busch’s punch with ‘ninja reflexes’

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano, who was involved in a post-race confrontation with former teammate Kyle Busch Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, joined NASCAR Race Hub Tuesday on FS1 to discuss the incident.  Logano’s appearance alongside NASCAR Race Hub co-hosts Adam Alexander and Shannon Spake was part of his regular duties as an analyst on the one-hour program. Below are excerpts from Logano’s comments regarding the events that unfolded on and off the track with Busch:

Spake: There has been a lot of discussion on social media about whether or not the punch landed. Did it land? Did it not land?

Logano: “Honestly, [with] my ninja reflexes, I was able to just kind of lean back just enough to get past it (the punch). But no, I did not get hit.”

 

Alexander: So, you see him coming down pit road. Then what?

Logano: “He’s obviously wearing the same color suit that I do. It’s easy to see him, so at that point I was trying to calm everything down and tell him, ‘Hey, I got loose underneath you. My bad.’ It didn’t seem like he wanted to talk much at the time. At this point, I realized that. Not the way that I think any of us wanted that to end.  That’s not good, really, for any of our team partners, so the good thing is no one got hurt and everything is okay.”

Spake: Have you guys spoken since Sunday?

Logano: “Yes, we’ve spoken.  Obviously, we didn’t speak much there. I called him up earlier today and was able to talk to him for a little bit and at least tell him my side of the story. We’re going to have two sides to the story, like there is all the time, but really the bottom is we’re two passionate race car drivers. We’re two of the best in the sport that are going to go for the wins. We’re aggressive and we collided. That’s the part that’s … it’s tough because it’s going to happen.  You want to get through it as quick as you can and try to talk it out.  The bottom line is it wasn’t intentional, and we’re going to have to work through it somehow.”

Alexander: How are you two going forward?

Logano:  “We’ve been racing against each other for nine years and we’ve never had a problem. We’ve been teammates.  We’ve known each other really well. We talk to each other a lot.  I consider him a friend of mine. But in the heat of the moment when you’re competing, there’s 40 drivers out there with one goal. It’s the same goal for everyone – to go win the race. That’s the one thing.  So, eventually, tempers are going to fly.  We’re all type-A personalities.”

Alexander (while breaking down video of the on-track incident with Logano): Tell us exactly what happened here.  You’re on the inside of Kyle …

Logano: “We’re headed down the backstretch … we get to Brad [Keselowski}, we get kind of jumbled up into the corner, I try to throttle back up, got loose, got off the line, slid up into Kyle.  Obviously nothing intentional there. Hard racing.  End of the race. I’m trying to get every position I can. Kyle’s trying to do the same thing, as well.  And we collided.”

Alexander (referencing video): Kyle with a big swing left to get around Brad [Keselowski].  What are you anticipating from Kyle at this point?

Logano: “I’m already on the white line. This is very early into the corner.  Really the line you want is where the 18 is and you want to come down to get a nice, wide entry to carry the speed.  What this forces me to do with a shallow entry is to use a ton of brakes, slow the car down, try to get down on the line, stay on the line. As you come through the corner … I’m not where I want to be.  I’m too low.  I’ve gotten down too low because of the entry of the corner.  I’m going to hit the apron and get loose, and I’m going to wiggle up once.  He gave me plenty of room. I make the mistake by getting down on the paint too low. I’m going to get loose and this gap (between their cars) is going to get very tight, which is going to make it even harder for me to control the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford. I’m going to keep getting loose, and unfortunately, we are going to collide.”

Logano: “It’s hard racing, in my opinion.  We’ve raced each other for a long, long time.  We’ve run over 500 races with each other, racing for wins plenty of times.  It happens sometimes. You race each other very, very hard.  It’s the first time something like this has happened for us.  But I’m sure we’re going to find a way to work through it.”

Editor’s Note: NASCAR Race Hub airs at a special time of 7:00 p.m. ET this week on FS1 but returns to its regular time of 6:00 p.m. ET next Monday.

NASCAR mailbag: The Kyke Busch-Joey Logano incident, plus more heading to Phoenix

 

 

It’s Tuesday afternoon, and that means it’s NASCAR mailbag time. We have a lot to talk about this week, so let’s get right to it without delay.

Getty Images Getty Images

 

It appears that there is some bad blood between Joey Logano and Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m wondering if that’s true. Also, is there bad blood between Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing?  — Amy 

Great question, Amy! Logano, of course, used to drive for JGR, but since his move to Team Penske, he’s had high-profile incidents with four different JGR drivers in less than four seasons:

• In 2013 at Auto Club Speedway, Logano slid up the track and hit Denny Hamlin going into Turn 3 on the last lap of the Auto Club 400. Hamlin’s car went down the track and went headfirst into the wall, breaking Hamlin’s back and knocking him out of four races.

• At Kansas Speedway in the playoff race in the fall of 2015, Logano tapped leader Matt Kenseth with less than five laps to go, turning his JGR Toyota around. Logano went on to win the race, Kenseth finished 14^th.

Then, at Martinsville two races later, Kenseth got wrecked by Brad Keselowski, who like Logano drives for Team Penske. After getting repairs to his Toyota, Kenseth drilled Logano into the wall intentionally, drawing a two-race suspension.

• Last year in the championship race at Homestead, JGR’s Carl Edwards was ahead of Logano as the field came to the green on a restart with 10 laps to go and both men racing for the title.

Logano tried to dive under Edwards heading towards Turn 1. Edwards tried to block Logano and Logano hit him from behind, sending Edwards into the wall and out of the race. It’s highly debatable who was to blame for that incident.

• Sunday at Las Vegas, Logano and Kyle Busch were racing for fourth place on the final lap. Just like at Auto Club Speedway in 2013, Logano’s car washed up the track, this time hitting Busch and spinning him. Logano finished fourth, Busch 22^nd.

Kenseth swore the Kansas incident was a case of Logano trying to wreck him on purpose. In all four incidents with his former JGR team, Logano said it was just hard racing. You can argue about who was to blame and you can argue whether these incidents were a remarkable coincidence.

But what you can’t argue about is this: When one driver wrecks a bunch of cars that belong to a rival team, there is bad blood and there are hard feelings. Like Kansas in 2015, I doubt this latest dust-up between Logano and JGR is over. Drivers — and crewmembers — carry hard feelings for a long time.

 

Should Joey Logano have been racing that hard on the last lap? — Mike

Of course, he should have, Mike. It’s the last lap of the race. He’s not going to say, “Oh, it’s final lap and Kyle’s faster than I am. I should just get out of his way and let him pass me.” 

Let me be very clear — it’s called racing, and on the last lap, drivers do everything humanly possible to advance or at least hold their positions. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

In Logano’s case at Las Vegas, it worked fine for him, but less well for Kyle Busch.

 

Would other drivers have criticized the safety crew at Las Vegas the way Kevin Harvick did after his crash? — Lance

Some would, some wouldn’t, but Harvick absolutely had a right to be angry. “The worst part was the medical response. It took them forever to get to the car,” Harvick said after he blew a tire and hit the wall, and he was right.

I went back and watched the tape. After Harvick’s car hit the wall, the track went yellow and the field did a lap under caution. Then, all the drivers who wanted to pit did so. The rescue crew did not reach Harvick until after the lead-lap pit stops had all been completed. That’s not good enough, especially when a driver hits the wall at close to 200 miles per hour.

 

Why is a wrecked car given a 5-minute clock, but if a part breaks on a car they can take it to the garage and repair it with no clock and then go back on the track. Why does it matter how the parts became broken? — Ken 

The difference is safety. If you break a rear-end gear and replace it, the car does not become more or less safe with a new rear-end gear. It’s exactly the same as it was.

If a car hits the wall at 180 miles per hour and suffers significant body and/or chassis damage, there’s a very good chance it won’t be as safe as it was before the contact. In fact, you can pretty much bet it won’t be as safe.

Shanna Lockwood Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

 

Why will NASCAR not move to speedometers in the cars? Digital dash seems very easy! — Clay

You’re absolutely right, Clay, a  speedometer would make it easier for the drivers. But NASCAR doesn’t want to make it easier for the drivers — they want pit-road speeds to be another variable for the drivers to have to manage.

In some forms of racing, the cars have buttons that drivers push to electronically limit their speeds on pit roads, so no one ever gets a speeding penalty. But that’s kind of boring to me.

Jasen Vinlove Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

 

If you had your pick what manufacturer would be brought back or in and what team do you think would benefit from it … or would a new team form? — Shane

I’d love to see Dodge come back. Ray Evernham got Dodge off to a strong start in 2001 and Team Penske won a championship with Dodge in 2012, the automaker’s last year in what’s now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

To do it right again would take a lot of money and probably an entirely new team. I don’t you’d ever get one of the elite teams to move to Dodge with massive rewards. It’s one thing for Stewart-Haas Racing to switch to Ford this year. But to switch and do it with a new manufacturer? Just don’t see it.

Nigel Kinrade/LAT Photo USA

 

How exactly does NASCAR think it might lessen the noise from the cars, and do they have a particular decibel level in mind? It just wouldn’t be the same if it were not loud. — Kathy

Exactly? That’s to be determined, as is, I suppose, specific targets for noise levels. As I understand it, they aren’t trying to silence the cars, just make them not quite so loud.

If this ever comes to pass, most likely NASCAR would use some form of muffler in the exhaust headers. In doing research for your question, I found something called a “Vortex Insert Cone” that sounds intriguing: “The Vortex Insert Cone is an excellent way to reduce the noise level of your exhaust without robbing a lot of power. Installed near the exit of the exhaust, it provides a large friction area to reflect and dissipate sound energy. Unlike most mufflers, the open area of the cone is actually greater than the area of the collector or exhaust pipe, thus reducing backpressure.”

Of course the down side to all of this is if NASCAR does come up with changes, the engine builders will spend a small fortune trying to maximize performance out of the new exhaust/muffler systems.

 

22 Cup Series drivers who’ve scored stage points this season

 

 

 

Through three races under the new stage racing format in NASCAR, the points standings look a bit different than it would have in previous years. Some drivers have thrived with high-stage finishes while others only have a few stage points.

Check out all 22 drivers who have grabbed stage points so far this season:

Stephen R. Sylvanie Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sp

22

Trevor Bayne, 1

Bayne has managed to finish 13^th or better in every race this season but hasn’t spent much time running in the top 10 at the end of stages.

21

Matt Kenseth, 2

It’s surprising to see Kenseth with only two stages points but a crash at Daytona and fighting back from pit road penalties at Atlanta eliminated his chances at those tracks. It’s surprising it took until Las Vegas for him to grab stage points.

20

Erik Jones, 3

The rookie put together a strong performance at Atlanta and has been the most consistent rookie of the group so far in 2017.

19

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 4

Stenhouse grabbed stage points at Atlanta but hasn’t seen the results he’s wanted so far this season.

18

Austin Dillon, 5

The Richard Childress Racing cars brought great speed to Atlanta but were definitely off this past weekend at Vegas. Dillon doesn’t have many stage points.

17

AJ Allmendinger, 5

Allmendinger grabbed some stage points in the Daytona 500 but took a heavy hit in the standings after a 35-point penalty at Atlanta for loose lug nuts.

16

Clint Bowyer, 6

Bowyer and the No. 14 SHR Ford has decent speed week after week but he’s struggled to get his car up front at the right times.

15

Denny Hamlin, 6

It’s a surprise to see how little points the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas have grabbed in stages after there seemed to always be at least one near the front the past few seasons.

14

Danica Patrick, 7

Patrick grabbed all of her stage points in the Daytona 500 with a great stage finish. It’s been downhill from there in 2017.

13

Jimmie Johnson, 8

Johnson has been near the bottom of the top 10 several times at the end of stages but hasn’t finished a race in the top 10 this season.

12

Kurt Busch, 8

The Daytona 500 winner hasn’t done much during the stages to grab extra points.

11

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 11

A good portion of Earnhardt’s points came from the opening stage of the Daytona 500. He hung around the top 10 at Vegas but drifted to 16^thlate.

10

Jamie McMurray, 12

After a rough start in the Daytona 500, McMurray has rebound nicely with strong performance and solid stage finishes.

9

Kyle Busch, 13

The first stage winner of 2017 hasn’t added much to that total in the following weeks.

 

8

Ryan Newman, 17

Newman has softened the hit of poor performances by running up near the front during the closing parts of stages.

7

Joey Logano, 21

Logano has been the most consistent finisher so far in 2017 and has grabbed a solid amount of stage points, too.

6

Ryan Blaney, 22

The rising star has been superb for Wood Brothers Racing and the No. 21 Ford. Strong finishes and sixth-most stage points.

5

Chase Elliott, 30

While his teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have struggled, and Kasey Kahne has put together strong finishes but has no stage points, Elliott has done it all for Hendrick. He’s not far off from dominating a race.

4

Kyle Larson, 33

Larson is one of only two remaining drivers who have grabbed points in every stage of 2017. He hasn’t been high in the top 10 every time, but he’s consistently near the front every race.

 

3

Martin Truex Jr., 34

A clean sweep at Las Vegas quickly shot Truex up the standings as he grabbed 20 stage points.

2

Kevin Harvick, 39

Harvick came into Vegas with his worst stage finish being second place in the first stage at Daytona. A blown tire cost him on Sunday. He’s still in much better position than he would have been due to the stages.

1

Brad Keselowski, 43

Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in every stage this season and that lands him with the most stage points, which translates to the No. 2 Team Penske Ford as the points leader heading into Phoenix.

 

Ryan Blaney, Wood Brothers bringing No. 21 back to prominence

 

The season is still young but so is Ryan Blaney.

One of the leaders of NASCAR’s youth movement has been consistently fast to start the season and currently sits sixth in the points standings.

Mixing one of NASCAR’s young stars with one of the most iconic teams and cars in the sport’s history has turned out to be a perfect union.

After finishing second to start the season in the Daytona 500, Blaney had a shaky weekend at Atlanta where he finished 18th, before rebounding with a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas.

“I thought we were a little bit better than that,” Blaney said after the race at Las Vegas. “Our car was good enough and once we got back inside the top 10 I felt that we had a shot at fourth or fifth but that last restart didn’t go our way.”

After a learning process for Blaney and his Wood Brothers Racing team last season, it’s time to be a top-tier contender in 2017.

The alliance between Team Penske and the Wood Brothers, along with moving the shops closer to each other has clearly paid off in the early part of the season.

“I can’t thank the Wood Brothers enough,” Blaney said.

We’re sure that feeling is mutual as the Wood Brothers enter their second full-time season since 2006 and are on-pace for one of their best seasons since the late 70s when David Pearson was behind the wheel.