Live Blog: NASCAR Awards Banquet

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Hosts: Charlie Turner, Steve Wronkowicz

December 5, 2008 8:00 pm CST

NASCAR Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Car Makers

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

November 15, 2008 12:59 pm CST No Comments

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Let’s hear your best Brian France impersonation. We think Mindy’s is pretty damn good.

The newest Monday Morning Crew Chief gets into the King of France’s latest brilliance and Jimmy Johnson’s mortal lock of the 2009 Sprint Cup.

You can watch Monday Morning Crew Chief right here and see Mindy’s take on how NASCAR could save dough for the teams and how fond she is of numbers.

She even sings in this one. But watch it anyway!

NASCAR Trash Talkin’ Video

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

October 25, 2008 9:24 am CDT 2 Comments

Mindy can trash talk with the best. So too, can NASCAR legend, Cale Yarborough. That’s just one of the topics this week on Bench Racing TV.

We have tire problems, secret merger talks and rampant cheating. Sounds like an episode of Desperate Housewives, but it’s not. It’s the newest Monday Morning Crew Chief and you can watch it right here.

Quick Hits: Martinsville Speedway

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by Chris Leone, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

If OnPitRow.com was a NASCAR team, I’d be the development driver of the bunch. In the same way that young hotshots like Joey Logano have been driving since they were in grade school, I’ve been following and writing about all forms of motorsports since I was barely old enough to talk.

October 15, 2008 12:20 pm CDT No Comments

The Sprint Cup Series enters the second half of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup this week, making its second visit of the year to the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Virginia is the home of many current and former Sprint Cup drivers, and currently boasts two drivers in the Chase, the second most of any state. Those drivers, Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin, currently sit 2nd and 12th in points, respectively.

Interestingly enough, until his win last week at Charlotte, nobody in the Sprint Cup garage considered Burton a title threat. Ever since the Chase started, it’s been considered a three horse race, and Burton only found his way into that triumvirate by his stellar drive last weekend.

Originally, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch composed the top three contenders. After Loudon, Busch was replaced by Greg Biffle as the third horse, in most pundits’ eyes. Now, after Edwards’ second consecutive bad race, Burton finds himself in the top three, 69 points behind Johnson.

The question is, why did it take so long for pundits to recognize Burton as a legitimate title threat? His worst finish in the Chase so far is 9th, the same as Johnson’s. Each driver has one win in the Chase. Neither driver has sunk below their original seed in the standings since the Chase started (Johnson’s been above 3rd since Loudon, Burton started in 7th and hasn’t been there since Loudon either).

Of course, this week, everybody’s all over Burton’s chances to win his first career title. NASCAR.com’s headlines today say that Burton and Johnson have the same momentum going into the second half of the Chase. For the record, please note that Burton started the Chase 11th in NASCAR.com‘s power rankings, and didn’t rank higher than 6th until the Charlotte edition.

It’s as if he hasn’t been under the radar the entire Chase - although, if you check out the archives, it’s pretty obvious he has been.

But wait a second. Maybe it’s not the fault of racing pundits for missing Burton. Maybe it’s just the system.

Every time a driver has won a race, except for Biffle’s win at Dover, he’s improved his position in the points greatly. Biffle went from 9th to 3rd after winning Loudon. Johnson went from 2nd to 1st after winning at Kansas. Tony Stewart went from 11th to 7th after winning Talladega. And now, Burton went from 4th to 2nd after winning last week at Charlotte.

If this pattern continues, then it’s only going to matter who wins at Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead. Even though the standings are far more spread out than they were before Loudon, the Chase standings always reward the guy who won most recently.

If that’s the case, why bother trying to win the first seven races? As long as a driver survives all seven of them, he can go into the last three and go for wins and pull off an “upset.” Hey, Clint Bowyer sounds like he could fit that category - he hasn’t won in the Chase yet, but his worst finish is 12th, and he’s 5th in points.

It could happen. And if it does, we’ll know that the pundits aren’t the problem.

Here are this week’s Quick Hits:

5. Burney Lamar and former sponsor Dollar General will reunite at Braun Racing for 2009. Lamar will drive the No. 32 Toyota in the Nationwide Series for 18 races next year. Brian Vickers will drive the car for the other 17 races. This will be Dollar General’s first full-time sponsorship deal in Nationwide since 2007 at Kevin Harvick Inc.

4. Ray Evernham is currently considering leaving Gillett Evernham Motorsports for a full-time gig with ESPN. Evernham has emphasized his role as a minority partner in the team, no longer acting as a decision-maker, according to Dustin Long at the Roanoke Times. Evernham also says that he was not involved in the decision to release Patrick Carpentier from the No. 10 Dodge.

3. Michael McDowell is now a free agent, after Michael Waltrip Racing failed to exercise its contract option on him for 2009. McDowell’s car has no sponsorship for next season, and the owners’ points from his car will likely go to Marcos Ambrose’s No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota next season.

2. Add J.J. Yeley’s name to the mix for the No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge next year. “Chip hasn’t said no,” Yeley told Tim Tuttle of Sports Illustrated. “My name is still on the list. It would be a great opportunity.” A.J. Allmendinger is the other rumored candidate for the ride, which will be vacated by Reed Sorenson after this season.

1. Just as I reported before the Kansas race, Unilever has left Gillett Evernham Motorsports to partner with Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Nationwide Series team. The car will feature Hellmann’s sponsorship for the Daytona race. Although I originally reported that Klondike would be the dominant brand, they will be featured on the car for later events. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, and Landon Cassill will share the car.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners at Charlotte: Kyle Busch in Nationwide, and Burton in Sprint Cup.

Speedo the Clown?

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

September 22, 2008 10:02 am CDT 2 Comments

Scott Speed is good.  But his stay in the ARCA RE/MAX Series has taken on a different tint from the glowing comments of early this season.  Speed leads the series points but has been vocal about how relatively unimportant the ARCA RE/Max Series championship is to him. He has told national media how the ARCA equipment is crude, compared to even the Truck Series and how  he “would rate himself an “A” and his team a “C” even though his Eddie Sharp Racing Camry was clearly one of the two best cars in the series, at the half-way point.  He has become known among some as “Speedo the Clown”.  And others think less of him than that, due to the above attitude and, lately, actions on the track.

I don’t know what any of  this means for a Cup career.  Maybe nothing.  And Scott will have a Cup career regardless.  There is speculation that  Speedo will replace A J Allmendiger at Team Red Bull  for the 2009 Sprint Cup season.  Allmendinger  has taken some well publicized shots to his ego, and for the good of the Red Bull No. 84 team (and admittedly, his own survival in the team) swallowed his pride and toed the company line.  Not sure Speed would do that.  And at the very peak of Cup competition - on the teams that contend for wins and championships - team chemistry is often the final piece of the puzzle.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Brian Vickers Leads Half Wacky Qualifying at MIS

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

August 16, 2008 11:03 am CDT 1 Comment

Was there something strange going on at MIS on Friday?

Mystery Hill is one of those old road-side tourist attractions, that used to be much more common when I was a kid.  It is still in operation not far from Michigan International Speedway, in the cottage country that surrounds the track.

I remember going there as a kid a few times.  I’ll bet that Marc did too. The place is one big optical illusion.  It’s wacky.  Qualifying at Michigan was kind of goofy yesterday too.  Mystery Hill effect, perhaps?

Brian Vickers sits on the pole.  I watched his progress during his qualifying lap, on Speed TV’s graphic, which monitors the current qualifing effort as compared to the previous attempts.  Vicker’s speed was pegged at #1 the entire run.  The Red Bull Toyota  was the fastest car of the day, at every point in his run.  He dominated.

Vickers has been on the verge of this kind of thing.  In fact Bram from Backstretch Motorsports called for this a few weeks back.  The No. 83 being fast wasn’t so weird.  But how about these other top ten qualifying runs?

Elliott Sadler -  E Sad third quick.  It’s been awhile.

Patrick Carpentier- Sixth fastest, so maybe Gillette-Evernham has something figured out.  Or maybe it’s an illusion.

David Reutiman- Seventh on the grid. Probably used Mikey’s set-up from 2008. But what happen to Mikey hissownself?  He disappeared.

Regan Smith - Eighth.  It’s the hill, I’m tellin’ ya.

Scott Riggs -  Hey, Ryan Newman’s press conference was Friday morning. We have pictures of Tony Stewart’s announcement, in fact.  This tenth place run by Riggs, in Newman’s future car,  is obviously all because of Tony Stewart’s involvement (spread that sarcasm mustard around, please).

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Denny Hamlin: NASCAR Fantasy Racing Stud at Pocono Raceway

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

August 2, 2008 9:40 am CDT 1 Comment

 Denny Hamlin: NASCAR Fantasy Racing Stud at Pocono Raceway

Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin sports Jimmy Johnson-like Loop Data stats for this week’s Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Whether that means he’ll win again is debatable, but the numbers are compelling.  A NASCAR Loop Driver Rating of 100 or above is very strong.  Three guys have numbers above 100 for Pocono this week.  But Hamlin, with 130.4 is far and away the leader in that stat category.

In fact, Denny leads in seven of the Loop’s 16 Box Score stats.  The others are Ave Mid Race Position - 2.6, Ave Position - 5.6, Ave Finish - 2.8, 75.9 percent Quality Passes, 92.6 percent of Laps in the Top 15 and 33. percent of all Laps Led.

In five career races at the Long Pond, PA track Hamlin has two wins, four top fives, five top tens and two poles.  Spell Denny’s dominance with capital “D”s.

Can Kurt Busch or Tony Stewart Shake Off Early Struggles?

Second and third best in the Loop are Kurt Busch with 113.4 and Tony Stewart at 102.2 Driver Ratings.  Kurt is the top Ave Points per Race gainer at 1094 in seven races.  He also leads in Fastest Laps - 208, Laps in the Top 15 - 1074 and Laps Led with 343.  He’s a two time winner with seven top fives and eight top tens.

Tony Stewart has one win, five top fives and 13 top tens at Pocono Raceway.  He sports a series high 300 Quality Passes and a second best 1032 (78.8 percent) Laps in the Top 15.

Pocono could be the place for either of these guys to start a 2009 run.  But I’m not confident.  I think Stewart is too distracted.  Kurt’s team, though they have a 2009 win, has not looked good most weeks this year.

There are three drivers with DR’s of 97 or better.  Ryan Newman - 98.7, Brian Vickers - 97.9  and, who else,  Jimmie Johnson - 97.3.   Johnson, with two wins, four top fives and eight top tens looks strong again, especially coming off the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard win on the similar Indy track.

Newman has won at Pocono too and has five top fives and six top tens.  But the winless Vickers. with four top fives is the Cup driver most likely to get his first ever win soon.  Pocono Raceway is the perfect track for him and his Red Bull Toyota.

Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards all have 90 plus Loop Driver Ratings.  Gordon is a four time Pocono winner.  Martin has 19 top fives and 30 top tens.  Edwards is a past winner and Kasey Kahne won here in June.

If this were an IQ test, you might flunk it if you didn’t pick Hamlin.  My pick is Vickers.  And my dark-horse is his Red Bull Racing Teammate, A J Allmendinger.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Scott Speed Will Be Sprint Cup Racing Soon

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 30, 2008 7:18 pm CDT 6 Comments

Scott Speed Will Be Sprint Cup Racing SoonRed Bull Racing development driver Scott Speed was our featured guest INSIDE ARCA Tuesday night. Scott is heading to Pocono Raceway this Saturday in his Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota Camry, with a two race ARCA RE/MAX Series win streak and a real shot to make it three in a row.

Speed is the first ARCA driver to win three races in 2008, having won early in the season at Kansas Speedway in addition to the last two at Kentucky Speedway and Berlin Raceway. The Red Bull driver is part of a very strong 2008 rookie contingent in ARCA’s top touring series. That group includes series point leader and Roush-Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

We’ve talked with Scott several times now. I really like the guy. He’s brash, confident and always seems to be enjoying himself. He does not embody the corporate NASCAR image. Very refreshing.  But it’s obvious, in discussion, that he takes his racing career very seriously.

Steve asked him about his 2009 plans which, Scott said, look to include a full Craftsman Truck Series campaign and several Sprint Cup races. So I asked about the balance of this 2008 racing season.

Although he didn’t give any details, Scott did say that he is getting a lot of seat time in the Cup cars and that he was pretty sure he would get a few races in Sprint Cup before the 2008 season ends.

Don’t let the antics fool you. He’s going to be good at this. I can’t wait.

Photo credit: Bob Costanzo - ARCA

Could Juan Pablo Montoya Win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard?

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 27, 2008 11:34 am CDT 2 Comments

Could Juan Pablo Montoya Win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard?Get this. Juan Pablo Montoya has an average start, mid-race position and finish of second at the Brickyard. At least he does in his lone NASCAR race there. Of course he’s won the Indy 500, in a former, open-wheeled life. So maybe we should give his single season NASCAR stats more credit they would seem to deserve.

Indy should be a good track for Montoya. Besides his history of success there, the track is flat and fast, traits that play into JPM’s fantastic car control. He could win this race, if the car and the team are up to it. And that, I doubt.

Tony Stewart, 2007’s Indy winner has the best Loop Stats for Indy. The Loop Data cover the last three Allstate 400s, only. Smoke has the top Driver Rating at 121.4 and has led 109 laps and has a stat best 76 Fastest Laps. But going back, beyond the three Loop stat years, Tony has two wins and four top fives, six top tens and a pole. His average finish is 7.6. He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields, maybe the best cars in Cup this year. He looks like a favorite.

Friday at Indy, Stewart-Haas Racing showed off the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet that Stewart himself will drive in 2009. Tony was excited. He also talked about all the things that the team has yet to do in preparation for Daytona in February. As good as he is, I just think that the distractions of his new venture cancel many of his apparent pluses for any race this year. I can’t pick Stewart to win.

The list of drivers I like at Indy is short. There is, I think, a reason that all but two of the winners of this race have been NASCAR Cup Series champs at some point in their careers. It takes a special driver to win the Brickyard. You don’t get the big, three wide packs of the plate tracks - and no “big one” wrecks that thin the field of quality contenders. You sometimes get flukey seeming winners at Daytona and Talladega. Not at Indy. Long green flag runs also separate the quality.

Kevin Harvick is one of only two Brickyard winners to have never been a Cup champ. His Ave Finish is 7.7. He’s run 432 Loop laps in the top fifteen - 90% and a stat best. Three top fives and five top tens go with a second best Ave Running Position of 8.1. Happy is the third best Driver Rated at 108.7. Harvick could win again.

Matt Kenseth could win his first. The #17 team has been coming on of late. Matt has the fourth best DR of 102.9 He’s good at Indy, with four top fives and five top tens. He runs up front as his Ave Running Position of 8.5 and 404 Laps in the top fifteen show.

Mark Martin has been telling anyone with a pen or microphone that he WILL win this weekend at the Brickyard. And he has a history at the track that shows he could pull it off. He suffers from the same weakness as Montoya though. Can his team measure up? If it can, Mark’s five top fives, nine top tens and fifth best Driver Rating of 102.9 says he has the stuff.

Beyond the Loop top five, the Hendrick threesome of Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr are contenders. So are 2008’s strongmen, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and Brian Vickers could do it too.

But Matt Kenseth is my choice. He’s paid the dues and has the pedigree, to join the exclusive company of Brickyard 400 winners. If you have to go outside of the establishment, take Carl Edwards.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW 

Attack of the Two-Headed Loose in Turn 3

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 25, 2008 10:55 am CDT 3 Comments

Attack of the Two-Headed Loose in Turn 3It’s Brickyard 400 weekend so put your hype hats on. Be prepared to be blasted with the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Having been there a few times, I will say that Indy has a different feel than most race tracks. And no place looks quite like Indy.

But if you wrote an unbiased history of what the NASCAR racing has been like at the famous track, it would be more like the story of Millard Filmore than that of Abe Lincoln. Not real compelling.

But we’ll be watching. And someone is bound to get Loose in Turn 3, and slide up into the short shute wall.

This week, veteran Looser, Bruce of NASCAR Bits, is on assignment. TZ of Do You NASCAR? has recruited, or kidnapped, loyal reader Roc to fill in for Bruce. Here is my query.

Tony Stewart, currently tenth in Sprint Cup points, is 49 markers ahead of 13th place Clint Bowyer. Four drivers, icluding Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne, within 49 points of each other with only three spots up for grabs. Who doesn’t make it to the Chase?

Charlie: Everyone talks about this being Stewart’s time of the year. In the past, it has been. It didn’t happen for him at Chicagoland, but
betting against Smoke is tough. Kasey Kahne is the only two-time 2008 winner in the bunch, so I can’t take him out. Too many good Kahne tracks left on the schedule. Hamlin and Bowyer must be drawing confidence from their Nationwide Series years. The unsettledness of Stewart’s year is the deciding influence. I say that Tony will miss the Chase.

TZ: Great timing for this question, because I just talked about this on my site a few days ago, and without a race taking place between then and now, I can’t really backtrack on my answer. Charlie, you talk about how there’s plenty of Kahne tracks left on the schedule, but the funny thing is that Stewart’s actually won a Cup race at every track left except for Talladega, and there he has one of the top driver averages. With the weight of controversy off his shoulders, Stewart’s in by a long
shot and even competes for the championship. Kahne, on the other hand, has proven to me that he’s a very streaky driver, and he’s lost a lot of steam the past couple of weeks. I also haven’t been too impressed with Hamlin as of late, who to me still lacks a lot of discipline behind the wheel. I say Kahne and Hamlin are both out of the Chase, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers are in.

Roc: Well I sure wouldn’t bet against any of these drivers for the Chase but Tony will be in. Hamlin is not having the perfect year but his teammate is, so they have the cars to beat and he’ll be in there as well. My choice for the third spot is a little harder. I do like TZ dreaming of Vickers, but I think that Bowyer will also make the Chase. Kahne has had a good year but he always seems to find the bad
luck bug. Still think Stewart maybe one of the two or three drivers to beat for the championship. Tony has had a weight lifted off of his shoulders and with the Brickyard this weekend and the anouncement of his second driver maybe on friday I look for him to charge.

That’s what we think. What do you think?

And go over to TZ’s place tell us what you think about this…

NASCAR recently placed restrictions on the engines in the Nationwide Series, limiting the airflow, and therefore putting a restriction on the horesepower. Should we expect to see similar measures be implimented into the Sprint Cup Series, and if so, when?

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Who is NASCAR’s Monster of the Midway?

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by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 12, 2008 7:22 am CDT 1 Comment

Who is NASCAR’s Monster of the Midway?NASCAR’s Loop data for Chicagoland Speedway pulls stats from only the three most recent races run at the midwest cookie cutter, er, intermediate track. There have been seven races held at the facility.

Twelve drivers have Loop Driver Ratings above 90.00. Seven have ratings of 102.3 or higher. Those are big numbers.

Matt Kenseth leads with 126.2 and an average of 462 points gained per race. Matt has category leading stats of 146 Fastest Lap, an amazing 792 Laps in the Top Fifteen (98.5% of all laps in three races) an Ave Position of 3.9 and 289 Laps Led - 35.9% of the total. Kenseth is looking good to continue his recent resurgence.

Second best is Kevin Harvick at 114.6 DR. Kevin is a two time winner at Chicagoland Speedway but leads only in the Quality Passes Loop stat with 75.0.

Another two time winner, new Sprint Cup team owner, Tony Stewart, is next at 112.2. Can Smoke keep focused on the current year as he plans for 2009 and Stewart-Haas Racing’s debut? This is where Stewart started his 2007 summer hot streak. Why not again?

The next four in the Loop are Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Only Earnhardt has won at Chicagoland.. Brian Vickers has an Ave Start of 3.5 and Kyle Busch an Ave Mid Race Position of 3.0. Jimmy Johnson is, well, Jimmy Johnson.

This has not been a particularly good track for 2008 stallwarts of Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne or Clint Bowyer. But Jeff Gordon has a win on the track and a twelfth best Loop Rating.

I would pick Stewart if not for the all the distractions of the week. I’m looking at Kenseth to win for the first time in 2008. The upset special is, if you can ever call him an upset, Jeff Gordon.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.