Friday Homestead Notebook

Friday Homestead Notebook

Notebook Items:

·         Larson not angry at Newman for last-lap move in Phoenix

·         Former Sprint Cup champion Jarrett impressed with Newman

·         Don’t overlook the non-Chasers

Nov. 14, 2014

Larson not angry at Newman for last-lap move in Phoenix

By Seth Livingstone

NASCAR Wire Service

      

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Kyle Larson says it took him about 10 minutes to get over his displeasure with Ryan Newman following last week’s final-lap incident at Phoenix International Raceway.

“No, I didn’t want to kick his butt,” said Larson, standing in front of his hauler and standing on the cusp of wrapping up his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year season.

“He called me on Tuesday and it was fine. I was upset for 10 minutes, then over it. I understood the situation and what was at stake for Ryan. I get over things pretty quickly.”

On the line was Newman’s ability to reach The Championship 4 and advance to Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on ESPN) with the chance to earn his first Sprint Cup title. By nudging Larson into the wall, Newman was able to move up one position and finish in 11th place, just enough to bump Jeff Gordon from the quest for the championship.

“I think there are a lot of people out here that would probably have done the same thing,” said Larson after Friday afternoon’s practice session.

Asked if he would have considered the same thing, Larson replied: “It’s hard to really say until you’re in that position. I got a ton of criticism a couple years ago – even probably worse – at a late model race.”

Larson said he hopes he’s not a driver to alter the course of Sunday’s championship by making contact with a contender.

“I don’t want to get into any of them,” he said. “I got into Ty (Dillon) a couple years ago when he was going for the Truck championship and I felt horrible after that, so I don’t want to go through that again. None of (the Championship 4) have won a championship. I know how much it means to them.”

Driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, Larson, with 17 top-10 finishes, has unofficially locked up Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors by virtue of being the top-finishing rookie in 25 of this season’s 35 Sprint Cup races. Austin Dillon has been the first rookie in the other 10.

“It feels awesome,” said Larson, just before claiming the Keystone Light Pole Award for Friday night’s Ford EcoBoost 200 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1). “I think everybody kind of picked Austin Dillon as the favorite going into the year and I don’t blame them. He’s accomplished so much in his NASCAR career and dirt car career before that. I’ve only been in stock cars for a couple years. It’s nice to prove some of the doubters wrong.

“It’s (also) nice to see how many people who’ve won Rookie of the Year who’ve gone on to win Sprint Cup championships. We’ve challenged for a handful of wins. I think my patience has gotten better as the season went on. I think this season has been pretty successful, other than missing the Chase. I think we’ll get into the Chase next year.”

JARRETT IMPRESSED

Dale Jarrett, NASCAR’s 1999 Sprint Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer was impressed with what Ryan Newman did on the final lap at Phoenix – and that was before the contact that put Kyle Larson into the wall.

“I was more impressed with how he kept himself in position to even be in that position,” Jarrett said, “because he was at a huge disadvantage with the tires he was on versus the people he was racing around. 

“I’ve (long) said that man is the best in a two-tire situation or some kind of strategy. The way he drives the wheels off the car is better than anybody else out there. In that situation, I’ll put him up against just about anybody.”

Rusty Wallace, the 1989 premier series champ and NASCAR Hall of Famer, said he’s not surprised that Newman and Richard Childress Racing are in position to win a title despite not winning a race this season.

“Richard Childress Racing (became) masters at winning championships (because) they knew how to adapt to whatever it took to get the job done,” Wallace said. “That’s one thing Childress, I think, has got up his sleeve coming into this weekend. Maybe they haven’t won, but they know how to figure it out.”

DON’T OVERLOOK THE NON-CHASERS

NASCAR’s eventual champion won’t necessarily need to win Sunday’s race, he simply must finish ahead of the other three contenders. And potential spoilers are abound at Homestead-Miami Speedway, including Joey Logano’s shop mate at Team Penske, Brad Keselowski, who posted the fastest lap in Friday’s practice session (179.004 mph).

Consider that Carl Edwards is the all-time leader of laps at the 1.5-mile track (560) and easily owns the best average finish at 6.6. He has seven top-10 finishes in 10 career starts, including triumphs in 2008 and 2011.

Only Edwards (6.6) and Kevin Harvick (8.1) have a better average finish than Martin Truex Jr. at 9.2, whose driver rating trails only Edwards in the last nine Sprint Cup races at Homestead.

Six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has had season-finale races in which he did not have to go all out for victory. Though Homestead is one of four current tracks at which Johnson has yet to win, he does have eight top-10 finishes in 13 starts. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon has 11 top-10 finishes in 15 starts, including a victory in 2012.

Greg Biffle dominated in Miami, winning three consecutive races from 2004-06 – before permitting then teammate Matt Kenseth to have a shot at Victory Lane in 2007. Kasey Kahne has the best average starting position at Homestead (8.3) although his average finish is a comparatively miserable 15.2.