Homestead Championship Recap

Good evening everyone and welcome back to Captain Josh's Pit Stop. Tonight I recap the Championship weekend from Homestead. I hope all of my followers had a Happy Thanksgiving with all of their families. I also want to note that Christopher Bell won the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship. Chase Briscoe won the race for the final start of Brad Keselowski's truck team. His team has shut down after the 2017 season. William Byron won the 2017 Xfinty Series Championship as well. Cole Custer won the Xfinity race. Now onto the final Cup race of the year. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The Ford Ecoboost 400 ran on Sunday afternoon to determine the 2017 Cup Series Championship. The Championship 4 are listed above in a photo. Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski would fight for the title. Also in the photos listed above, it was the final start for veterans Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth. Danica Patrick was also making her final start in the #10 car and her final start in full-time NASCAR competition. Kasey Kahne made his final start in the #5 car for Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne will move to the #95 car in 2018 for Leavine Family Racing. Denny Hamlin edged out Martin Truex Jr for the pole. The first and second stages consisted of 80 laps. The final stage made up the final 107 laps of the season. The race was 267 laps, 400 miles. Photos courtesy of Google images.

The first caution came out early in stage 1 at lap 6 when Joey Gase hit the wall off turn 2. He was out of the race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Kyle Larson swept the first 2 stages. The championship 4 followed him at the end of both stages. Jimmie Johnson had to pit towards the end of stage 1 after contact with the wall and a cut tire. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The day didn't end the way Danica Patrick would've hoped. She cut a tire in turn 2 and broke loose into the wall in front of Kasey Kahne. Both were out of the race. Not a good ending for Kasey Kahne's run at Hendrick either. The incident occurred in stage 2 with 19 to go in the stage. Photos courtesy of Google images.

David Starr took over the #66 car for Carl Long at Homestead. His day would also come to an end when he cut a left front tire going into turn 3. The incident occurred in the final stage with 86 to go in the race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The race seemed to have a long green flag run to end the race. Truex Jr and 2 of the other Championship 4 drivers pitted, leaving Kyle Busch on the track. Busch was going for a one stop strategy to the end if it stayed green, as the others would of had to pit again. But, the caution came out with 39 to go in the final stage when Daniel Suarez blew a tire into turn 3 that left debris on the track. Also, Kurt Busch went for a spin in turn 4. Photos courtesy of Google images.

So, the championship came down to the final pit stop under the Kurt Busch/Daniel Suarez caution. Martin Truex Jr's pit crew got him out in front and he was able to hold off a hard charging Kyle Busch to win the 2017 Monster Energy Cup Series Championship. Busch had the faster car, but Truex Jr found a line that was good enough to hold him off. Congrats to Truex and his entire team. Busch finished 2nd, Harvick 4th, and Keselowski 5th. Photos courtesy of Google images.

Before I go, I want to take the opportunity to thank those who have read my blog all year. I had lost my interest in it due to some personal struggles and other things. I hope people enjoyed my blogs and I hope you all enjoyed the 2017 NASCAR season. I have so much passion for racing and I tried to show it in every blog I posted. I will do my best to post some content during the off-season. Formula One will host their final race of the season this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Lewis Hamilton has already clinched the 2017 World Championship. I wish all of you Happy Holidays and I will be back to recap Speedweeks and the 60th annual Daytona 500. See you in Daytona.
-Josh

Phoenix Recap

Welcome back to Captain Josh's Pit Stop. Today I recap the action from Phoenix. Johnny Sauter won the truck race Friday night for the second week in a row. The championship 4 for the truck series are, Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, and Austin Cindric. Their finale is at Homestead this weekend. Also the Xfinity Series will have their finale this weekend as well. William Byron won at Phoenix on Saturday afternoon to advance. Joining him in the championship 4 are; Justin Allgiaer, Elliott Sadler, and Daniel Hemric. Sebastian Vettel won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday for Ferrari. Now onto the Cup race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The Can-Am 500 ran on Sunday afternoon with Ryan Blaney edging out Denny Hamlin for the pole. The first and second stages consisted of 75 laps. The final stage made up the final 162 laps. The race was 312 laps. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Kyle Larson took home a fairly calm stage 1. Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin continued their rivalry from Martinsville and raced each other hard early in the stage. Photo courtesy of Google images and NBC Sports.

Stage 2 ended with a bang. Literally, Jimmie Johnson ended his hopes for an 8th title when his tire went "bang" and Johnson hit the wall hard off turn 4. Did ya get the joke? Never mind that, and also Denny Hamlin won stage 2. Photos courtesy of Google images.

The day ended for Trevor Bayne in the final stage at lap 229. Bayne cut a tire off turn 4 after the race had a long green flag run. What causes the cut tires is the back of the field and the top cars that are ill handling have to use more brake. Using more brake causes heat to eventually cut the tire. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Another driver with a hard hit was Chris Buescher. Buescher had a brake failure going into turn 3 and couldn't get his car stopped. He spun into the wall and was out of the race. The incident occurred in the final stage with 61 to go. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The race was getting down to the wire. Cole Whitt had a cut tire off turn 4 and hit the wall also. Apologize for not having a photo. Google images doesn't have the back marker teams for some reason. The incident occurred in the final stage with 52 to go.

After racing each other hard all day, Chase Elliott finally retaliated Denny Hamlin for the contact from Martinsville a couple weeks ago. If you missed that race, check out my Martinsville recap as I covered what happened between the two drivers. Elliott put Hamlin into the turn 4 wall with 42 to go. Hamlin then cut a tire as a result of the wall contact with 38 to go going into turn 3. Hamlin was out of the playoffs. Photo courtesy of Google images.

At the end of the day, Matt Kenseth passed Chase Elliott in the final laps to win the race. Kenseth was emotional in victory lane after his announcement that he won't be back in NASCAR next year. I do want to thank Matt Kenseth for the last 17 years of memories. Photos courtesy of Google images.

Here are your championship 4 going into Homestead this weekend. From the left; Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, and Brad Keselowski. Who's your pick to win it all? Mine is Martin Truex Jr all the way. Good luck to all of the championship 4 this weekend. And that is it! Next recap will be the final race of the season. Hard to believe that for sure. See ya then. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Texas Recap

Hello and welcome back to Captain Josh's Pit Stop. Tonight I recap the weekends action from Texas. A couple things to note, Matt Kenseth announced that he has no plans of racing for 2018. Kenseth was quoted as saying "I am taking a hiatus. It may be two months up to year, or forever." Erik Jones is set to take Kenseth's place in the Joe Gibbs #20 car. Speaking of Erik Jones, he won the Xfinity race on Saturday night. Johnny Sauter won the Truck Series race on Friday night and advanced to the championship 4 for the Truck Series playoffs. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The AAA Texas 500 ran on Sunday afternoon with Kurt Busch picking up the pole with Denny Hamlin alongside on the front row. The first and second stages consisted of 85 laps. The final stage made up the final 164 laps. The race was 334 laps, 500 miles long. Photo courtesy of Google images.

It didn't take long for the action to start. Literally in turn 1 on lap 1, Kyle Busch broke loose underneath Brad Keselowski, causing both playoff drivers to pit with damage and cut tires on lap 2. Both continued on. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Kevin Harvick took home the first stage win. Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin followed in 2nd and 3rd. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Turn 2 seemed to be the hotspot of the day. Multiple drivers spun off that turn, probably due to the reconfigured banking of turns 1 and 2 from 24 to 20 degrees. The first incident like this occurred in stage 2 at lap 93. Daniel Suarez broke loose underneath Kasey Kahne, sending them both spinning off the turn. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Not much happened after the Daniel Suarez/Kasey Kahne spin. Kyle Larson took home the stage 2 win. Stage 1 winner Kevin Harvick followed in 2nd with Ryan Blaney in 3rd. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The day for Landon Cassil came to a halt when he went for a spin in turn 1 in the final stage at lap 180. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Michael McDowell was also one of the drivers that spun off of turn 2 during the day. McDowell spun in the final stage at lap 234. Sorry for the photo, but just try to picture that exact car spinning. I was unable to find a good enough photo on Google images. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The day didn't go well at all for Xfinity and Truck Series regular Ray Black Jr. Black Jr spun twice in turn 2. The first time with 93 to go, and the second time with 65 to go along with Jeffrey Earnhardt. I seem to have trouble finding photos of the back of the pack drivers. I apologize for that.

Former playoff driver Kyle Larson continued his struggles over the past few weeks, as he had a tire going down that caused him to hit the wall off turn 4. Then Larson hit the wall in turn 1 hard enough to end his day. The car caught fire and Larson was out of the race. The incident occurred in the final stage with 52 to go. Photo courtesy of Google images.

At the end of it all, Kevin Harvick passed Truex Jr in the final laps to win the race and advance to the championship 4 at Homestead. Truex did advance on points however. So only one spot remains in the championship 4. That will be determined at Phoenix this weekend. Photos courtesy of Google images.

Here are the playoff standings after Texas. Only one race remains in the round of 8. The 9th through 16th place drivers have already been eliminated, but can still finish as high as 5th in the final standings. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr have advanced to the championship 4. Who will clinch the final spot? Find out this Sunday afternoon at Phoenix. See ya then. Photo courtesy of NASCAR on Fox.

Martinsville Recap

Good evening everyone and welcome back to Captain Josh's Pit Stop. Tonight I recap the weekends action from Martinsville. There was certainly a lot of action, and controversy for sure. Also to note, the Xfinity Series had an off weekend. They are back at Texas this weekend. And in Formula One news, Lewis Hamilton claimed his 4th Drivers World Championship at Mexico. Max Verstappen took home the win for Red Bull at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. And Noah Gragson won the Truck Series race at Martinsville on Saturday. Gragson drives for Kyle Busch's truck team. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The First Data 500 ran on Sunday afternoon and went into the night for the first time ever at the historic track. Joey Logano won the pole with Martin Truex Jr alongside. The first and second stages consisted of 130 laps. The final stage made up the final 240 laps. The race was 500 laps long. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The first caution of the day came out in stage 1 with 95 to go in the stage. Ty Dillon went for a spin along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr in turn 2 after contact from Michael McDowell. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The day ended early for AJ Allmendinger as he went for a spin off turn 2 after contact from behind by Danica Patrick. Allmendinger was out of the race. The incident occurred in stage 1 with 43 to go. Photo courtesy of Google images and NASCAR.

The spring winner at Martinsville Brad Keselowski swept the stages winning both stage 1 and 2. Could he hold on for the win? Photo courtesy of Google images.

The action heated up in the final stage. Erik Jones went for a spin off turn 4 after being hit by Cole Whitt. The incident occurred at lap 217 in the race. Photo courtesy of me. Well a screenshot from YouTube. Credit goes to the YouTuber in the photo.

The day also don't go well for Front Row Motorsports teammates David Ragan and Landon Cassil. Both drivers made contact off turn 2 which sent Ragan spinning off turn 2. Turn 2 was the action corner all day. Photo courtesy of the YouTuber I mentioned earlier.

Another driver who runs in the back that had a rough evening was Carl Long. Long went for a spin off, you guessed it, turn 2. Long hit the wall also and was out of the race. The incident occurred with 43 to go in the race. Photo courtesy of the YouTuber.

Here is the incident that started the wild end to the race. Kyle Busch made contact with the left rear tire of Joey Logano, after getting squeezed by Ryan Blaney going into turn 1 with 14 to go. Logano would cut the tire a few laps later off turn 2 with 9 to go in the race. Photo courtesy of Google images and NASCAR.

The controversial move of the night occurred with 3 to go in the race. Denny Hamlin made contact with leader Chase Elliott going into turn 3. Hamlin pushed Elliott's car into the corner and put him in the wall. What's your take of the move? Did Hamlin do it on purpose? Leave your comment below. Photos courtesy of Google images.

At the end of the night, the race ended at night in a wild finish. Kyle Busch passed Denny Hamlin on the overtime restart and held off a hard charging Martin Truex Jr to win the race and punch his ticket to the championship 4 at Homestead Miami. Photos courtesy of Google images.

Here are the Playoff Standings after Martinsville. As I mentioned, with his win, Kyle Busch advanced to the championship race at Homestead Miami. Now three spots are up for grabs for the championship 4. Who will be next to punch their ticket to have a chance at the title at Texas this weekend. Martin Truex Jr is the favorite and is going for his 5th straight win on a 1.5 mile track. We will see. Photo courtesy of NASCAR on NBC.