Paul Menard (21) and Martin Truex, Jr. (19) practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
It was one of those incidents that unfolds almost in slow motion.
During Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice for Saturday night’s Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway, the rear of Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet stepped out as Larson ran near the outside wall through turns 1 and 2.
The car slid sideways and angled back down toward the infield. Martin Truex, Jr., winner of Monday’s rain-delayed race at Dover, was the third car in line behind Larson, and he could see it coming.
“That was one of those ‘oh-you-know-what’ moments,” Truex said. “I saw him out of the corner of my eye as we were almost-but-not-quite side by side. I could see him get loose up at the top, and I’m staying wide open, and I could see he’s coming down the track pointing at me.
“He’s coming down the track, and I’m staying wide open, wide open, wide open. And he keeps coming down, coming down, coming down. And I’m like, ‘Oh, man, make a decision here — hold it wide open or try to slow it down.’
“At the last second, I just tried to step on the brakes, because he was obviously coming down on my right front. Luckily, he got it straight — kind of — just in time, and I kind of got backed out of there just in time. And I think we actually touched — barely. About that hard (Truex tapped the dais in the media center lightly). So we got pretty lucky there, for sure.”
Truex needed some luck. He and his Joe Gibbs Racing team struggled during practice to find the right balance on the No. 19 Toyota.
“We had a bit of a rough day today,” said Truex, who was 21st fastest in Happy Hour. “But we’re excited about racing here in Kansas. It’s been good to us. So hopefully we can get it dialed in, get a few things figured out this afternoon and tonight and have a good run (Saturday) evening.”
“Ambassador” Program Takes Jennifer Jo Cobb To Russia
It started with an e-mail.
At first, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb thought the note was one of those scam-artist come-ons promising millions from a long-lost foreign bank account.
But she did some checking, and the invitation to serve as a United States “ambassador” to another country turned out to be real.
Cobb has already been to Georgia — not the state known for its peaches, but the country south of Russia. This year, she’ll take her gift of gab on three separate trips to Russia itself, first to Moscow and surrounding cities after the Truck race at Charlotte, then later to St. Petersburg in July and finally back to Moscow in September — all during breaks in her racing schedule.
“They want me to come talk about my racing career,” Cobb said on Friday at Kansas Speedway. “They want me to come talk about overcoming obstacles. They want me to come talk about science, technology, engineering, math, and how it relates to what I do.
“I’m not a natural STEM person. In school I did not excel in those areas. I excelled in talking and writing and socializing. But I’ve had to learn to figure out things like that, because I work on my own race cars, and I want them to go faster.”
Cobb will use a translator when she gives her talks in Russia, but she has been preparing for the trip by learning a few basic Russian phrases and reading spy novels.
“I’m a little scared,” she acknowledged. “I’m reading stupid Russian spy books right now to try to just get a feel for culture, and I need to stop. It’s scaring me.”
In reality, Cobb expects her trips to Russia to be as fascinating and rewarding as her trip to Georgia was.
“It’s amazing as an American to go to other countries and get that perspective,” she said. “I just think everyone who — I’m just going to say it — bitches and moans and complains, needs to go to another country that struggles and see how lucky we are to be American, to be born here.”
Are Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman The Class Of The Chevy Camp?
Without tremendous fanfare, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman have risen to the top of the Chevrolet pecking order in recent weeks.
Elliott won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season on April 28 at Talladega Superspeedway. Bowman finished second. Elliott won the pole for Monday’s rain-delayed race at Dover and ran fifth. Bowman finished second.
And in final practice on Friday at Kansas Speedway, Bowman was second and Elliott sixth behind Kurt Busch, who has been solid all season long in his Hendrick-powered No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
In fact, Elliott has accounted for the last four Chevrolet victories in NASCAR’s premier series — three last year to go with the Talladega win. But Elliott doesn’t feel as if he’s carrying the load for the car maker.
“It’s nice to have wins, obviously,” Elliott said. “I think, as a manufacturer, the more that we all run better, we’re all going to help each other, much like Alex’s good runs the past couple weeks. They’re good for the company as well.
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“Just like I think Chevrolet having good runs is good for the manufacturer. I don’t necessarily think we’re carrying it. Any of the Chevrolets could have won Talladega, and that wouldn’t even be a relevant question. It’s nice to have won some races but, no, I think that narrative could have changed pretty easily a couple of weeks ago to somebody else.”
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS
Digital Ally 400 – May 11, 2019
Saturday’s Starting Lineup
1. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 179.217 mph.
2. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 178.725 mph.
3. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 178.324 mph.
4. (41) Daniel Suarez, Ford, 178.247 mph.
5. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 177.954 mph.
6. (19) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 177.357 mph.
7. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 177.148 mph.
8. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 176.875 mph.
9. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 176.817 mph.
10. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 176.806 mph.
11. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 176.603 mph.
12. (43) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Chevrolet, 176.592 mph.
13. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 176.551 mph.
14. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 176.551 mph.
15. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 176.442 mph.
16. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 176.217 mph.
17. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 176.177 mph.
18. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 176.051 mph.
19. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 176.033 mph.
20. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 175.730 mph.
21. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 175.713 mph.
22. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 175.604 mph.
23. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 175.222 mph.
24. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 175.211 mph.
25. (00) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 175.194 mph.
26. (8) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 175.182 mph.
27. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 174.820 mph.
28. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford, 174.797 mph.
29. (95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 174.661 mph.
30. (31) Tyler Reddick(i), Chevrolet, 174.576 mph.
31. (47) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 174.543 mph.
32. (52) Bayley Currey(i), Ford, 174.441 mph.
33. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 174.239 mph.
34. (77) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 173.505 mph.
35. (36) Matt Tifft #, Ford, 173.121 mph.
36. (15) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 172.844 mph.
37. (51) Cody Ware(i), Chevrolet, 170.940 mph.
38. (46) Joey Gase(i), Toyota, 168.608 mph.
39. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 156.590 mph.
40. (27) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
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