It's been quite a start to the 2019 Nascar Monster Energy Cup Series!
Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports pulled off the win at The Clash. Did he wreck the whole field in the process? Paul Menard may agree, but he did come down a little bit on that wreck. This was definitely a case of side drafting gone wrong at the end of a race, I'd still put most of the blame on Johnson.
Speaking of Paul Menard, he was the main causer of the Daytona 500 Big One. While he took out a good portion of the field in the process, Ricky Stenhouse got by it and could feel good that all the attention wouldn't be on him. Stenhouse had an interesting situation early on when it appears Kurt Busch spun after losing the air at the back of his car. I really don't think Stenhouse touched him, he just lost control and the spotter shouldn't have cleared him in front of the 17. Stenhouse was to blame for the Larson wreck later in the race. A miscalculation on his part he thought he could get through the middle and was just a little too aggressive at that point. Stenhouse was also involved in the pit road wreck, when the 51 and 52 teammates wrecked coming onto pit road. I think both drivers had equal fault in that wreck, but mainly the 52 given he was the trailing car, perhaps the front car slowed down a bit too much and a lack of judgment ensured. The dominant Fords were also involved in another wreck with Clint Bowyer. Here, Bowyer came off the bottom and McDowell didn't recover on time.
At the end, Denny Hamlin took an emotional win in honour of J.D. Gibbs. Quite a race, and a Gibbs 1-2-3 finish. That finish was only possible because Michael McDowell decided to draft with Kyle Busch instead of fellow Ford driver Joey Logano. Logano was upset, as it is correct to point out McDowell would've finished higher by going with him and it cost Logano a shot at the win. However, McDowell pushed Busch all the way to 2nd, so perhaps McDowell thought Busch would give him the best chance to win.
Now on to Atlanta. A couple situations occurred in this race. BJ McLeod was going into his pit box when Ryan Preece ran into him. People tried to blame McLeod, but he had every right to be in the pits, and he apparently also had a flat tire. I put this on Preece for not paying attention and not going immediately to the left as he exited pit road. Also the crew chief and spotter should mention to Preece as he leaves what to expect from the surrounding cars.
Truex was initially assessed a penalty at Atlanta for man over the wall too soon. However, NASCAR determined on second look that they had no evidence his foot was actually on the ground, so they reversed the call. My instinct says if the call was initially made, you should have evidence to prove the contrary, otherwise stick with it. Then at the end Truex once again complained because Stenhouse cost him the win, according to Truex. I think while Stenhouse could have let him by a couple laps prior, that's not why Truex lost. Truex should have gotten to the front quicker. Stenhouse wanted to be as close to the leaders because he wanted to lap Chase Elliott ASAP to remain in the free pass. Then he wanted to stay ahead of Joey Logano on fresh tires so he can stay up. Stenhouse had several things to fight for.
Keselowski showed Penske was good this weekend, winning the race. Perfect way to end a day you've been ill!
Next week, expect Kyle Busch to win in his hometown of Las Vegas! So far this season, I'm batting 0 for 2, as I picked Keselowski at Daytona and Kyle Busch at Atlanta. Hopefully Kyle gets it this weekend!
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