iNSIDE SCOOP: Phoenix Musings

The first non-Daytona 500 event of the season is in the books, and I must say, it went startlingly well.

Kevin Harvick was the fastest guy all day on Sunday. No one came close, though Dale Earnhardt Jr. did seem to have a chance at it. The Ford duo of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski made some noise too, and Jeff Gordon showed some pop in the closing laps.

The new qualifying rules went off just fine, with a little bit of trial-and-error, and that will change again this weekend because LVMS is larger than 1.25 miles.

As for the race? Well, it was the Happy Harvick show for most of the day, as he led more than 200 of the 312 laps, but it wasn't by huge margins, and while he had a decent cushion most of the day there were people in his mirror all day long too.

There was a term coined on the Tweeter that I really liked, too. On the occasion of a flat tire that saw her spin out, the caution for Danica Patrick turned into a Danicaution. 

Gotta love that.

At least she didn't get hit by her erstwhile beau this time.

Harvick wanted and needed the early victory, both to clinch a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and to repay his new SHR mates for all their hard work. It's amazing to watch a Harvick who is motivated and on his game. We all saw too many seasons of him sparking the ire of former team owner Richard Childress about competition issues and cars and the like.

I was impressed with young Kyle Larson on the day as well. He finished 20th, which is not bad at all for the kid stepping up to the Cup Series.

The racing was pretty good all day, and the changes made to the PIR layout make it almost as racy as Richmond. It's a sure testament to the fact that bigger is not always better, at least as far as race tracks go.

The only thing wrong with the TV broadcast was the leaderboard. Don't know about y'all, but I felt like I was in the airport, looking at the Departure monitor all day. It was new enough to be distracting for a while, but then it got annoying. 

So after two races, we have two drivers in the Chase already. Earnhardt Jr., thank the racing gods, made it in at Daytona, and Harvick on Sunday.

Who makes it in at LVMS? I'd bet a good bit on the 20 car or the 99. Both drivers run well there, and Kenseth is sneaky fast on 1.5-mile ovals. 

If you're lucky enough to be there for the race and are an ONMC Member, make sure you get hooked up with the VIP Team. Led this weekend by David Scism, you'll get to be in the inside of the Neon Garage and on the track for Intros. Bring your cameras and a smile...we'll take care of the rest!