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The Top Five: Breaking down the Phoenix race

Five thoughts after Sunday’s Round 3 elimination race at Phoenix Raceway…

1. That’s why we follow NASCAR

There are times throughout these long NASCAR seasons where we might question our passion for this crazy sport. There can be infuriating decisions, ho-hum races or feelings of discouragement when politics or economic realities creep into what should be an escape from reality.

But days like Sunday? Those are the races that keep us all coming back.

The final stage at Phoenix had so many emotions and so much drama that it almost didn’t even seem real at times.

You had Chase Elliott tapping Martinsville foe Denny Hamlin and eventually putting him in the wall, which led to a cut tire that ended Hamlin’s championship race hopes (which had seemed near-certain just moments earlier).

Then there was Elliott making a bold move to the front, putting himself in position for what appeared to be both a stirring first career victory and a championship berth.

And then, after all of that, there was Matt Kenseth — in likely the second-to-last race of his career — somehow tracking Elliott down despite not having clean air and making a pass for what was probably his final career win.

At the same time, that sequence of events improbably put Brad Keselowski into the championship race despite not having the kind of weekend that normally would advance a driver out of Round 3.

So no matter which side you were on (Elliott fan? Kenseth fan? Ford fan? Somewere in between?), you likely felt some level of both elation and disappointment as waves of excitement rolled through the final laps.

That’s the kind of emotional payoff that makes spending three hours of your Sunday in front of the TV all worth it.  It’s a wacky sport at times, and there can be intense frustrations that come with it.

But when NASCAR is good, it’s really good.

2. A popular win

Obviously, an Elliott victory would have been absolutely massive for NASCAR. The stands might have about fallen down with cheers had the young driver ended up winning the race and moving to Homestead. The marketing department would have had to work overtime all week to hype up a young star going for his first title in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last race.

But to see Kenseth win? For the sold-out Phoenix crowd, that might have been the next best thing out of the available options (Earnhardt wasn’t in contention, though he did finish 10th).

The image of Kenseth standing on top of his car, looking to the heavens and then pumping his fist like he won the championship is an image that will stay with everyone long after Kenseth’s career ends. It’s a great final shot for his Hall of Fame highlight reel someday.

It was also somewhat of a cathartic moment — not just for Kenseth fans, but longtime followers of the sport. Like Kenseth himself, many fans have felt pushed out of NASCAR as the sport completely cycles. There’s a different racing format, a different championship format, different rules and now different drivers.

So the idea of Kenseth not being able to exit with what seemed like a proper sendoff? Well, that just wasn’t very satisfying to longtime fans who have continued to stick around.

At least Earnhardt has had a full year to say goodbye and soak up the appreciation — or #Appreci88ion — from the tracks and his supporters.

Kenseth hasn’t. And though it can be argued he wouldn’t have wanted the fanfare anyway, he deserved some sort of ending that would help cushion the blow.

Sunday was it.

Those new guys who have come along and pushed drivers like Kenseth out of the sport? Well, Kenseth tracked one of them down — despite being more than double his age — and made a winning pass late in a crucial race. Some of the young drivers did end up in victory lane at Phoenix, but it was just to shake Kenseth’s hand.

So let the record show the oldest full-time Cup driver could still get it done as his career came to a close. Beating the next generation in the process had to be a pretty satisfying moment for the old guard.

3. What’s next for NASCAR

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing over what will happen after Earnhardt retires next week. Whose sport will this be?

The focus has been so much on the Young Guns that everyone seems to have overlooked the likely reality: The upcoming years will be dominated by drivers who are already regular winners in the Cup Series.

It’s not Elliott or Blaney or Kyle Larson or Erik Jones who are going to fill the shoes of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart and Earnhardt in the immediate future; they’re not winning enough races to pull that off yet.

The torch has already been passed, and all you have to do is look to three-quarters of the championship field to see where it went.

Drivers in their 30s are ready to feast. Martin Truex Jr. is 37 and could easily race for five to eight more years. Brad Keselowski (33) and Kyle Busch (32) are in the prime of their careers with perhaps a dozen years left. Denny Hamlin is still only 36.

The younger drivers will get there eventually, and certainly the glimpses of speed this season are promising.

But until they figure out how to beat the older drivers in crunch time situations, they aren’t going to be able to truly take over the sport.

4. Championship preview

If you asked me to name the three grittiest, most cutthroat racers in NASCAR, I’d say Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Three former champions and drivers who can capitalize on any sniff of an opportunity to win.

Well, guess what? They’re racing each other for the title and going up against a driver in Truex who has had the most speed all year long.

This is an incredible championship field, to be honest. I’m really excited and anxious to see what happens and how this plays out.

Obviously, the two Fords are going to be at a speed disadvantage to the Toyotas. It’s been a Toyota season — and particularly a Truex season on the 1.5-mile tracks.

But crazy things happen in these races (remember when the fourth-best car of the title contenders won last year?), so it’s really anybody’s race.

That said, I’m going with Busch. The primary reason is I picked him before the start of the playoffs and it would be dumb to switch picks now, but I also think his combination of speed and otherwordly talent could come in handy on a late-race restart that might decide the title.

Between the championship race itself and the final races for Earnhardt, Kenseth and perhaps Danica Patrick, Homestead is going to be a truly memorable day.

I can’t wait.

5. What about Hendrick?

Before we go, let’s put a cap on Hendrick Motorsports’ season.

First of all, Elliott is going to be just fine.

Don’t worry that he’s not closing out races yet. He will figure it out in time, and then the wins and championships will come.

These playoffs have been an incredible stretch for Elliott, and he established himself as a fan favorite during that time. He’s finished second in almost half of the playoff races, emerged as the Good Guy in the Martinsville situation (even though he moved Keselowski), was labeled the People’s Champ at Texas and got his revenge at Phoenix.

Elliott will be the Most Popular Driver after Earnhardt leaves. And really, he was the best Hendrick car all season.

And that’s why I’m not as sure about Jimmie Johnson.

There’s no question Johnson is still an elite driver. But the 48 team looked off for most of the year — Johnson has the worst average finish of his career — despite winning three times early in the season.

And when you think about it, last year wasn’t very good for the 48 team, either — until he came out of nowhere to win the title, which masked many issues.

Johnson never finished a season with fewer than 20 top-10 finishes until last year, when he had 16. This year? He has 11.

The 48 team is headed the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, Johnson is 42 years old and will be the oldest full-time driver once Kenseth and Earnhardt retire.

So if the 48 is going to get back to its winning ways, how much time does it really have before Johnson, Chad Knaus — or both — move on to the rest of their lives.

In some ways, that sets up 2018 as a defining season for the 48 team’s future.

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DraftKings Fantasy NASCAR picks: Phoenix playoff race

I’m playing DraftKings this season and will be posting my picks here each week. Disclosure: If you want to play and sign up using this link, DraftKings will give my website a commission.

Last race’s results: Did not play in Texas due to it being blocked at the track.

Season results: $102 wagered, $104.50 won in 26 contests.

This week’s contest: Cannot play due to Arizona state law.

Phoenix picks: 

— Kyle Busch ($11,100): You need a hammer to rack up the laps led, and whoever you pick is likely going to make or break your day. I’m betting on Busch because he had the second-fastest 10-lap average in final practice — as well as the second-fastest single lap — which makes him perhaps the best of the Toyotas.

— Clint Bowyer ($8,700): He’s awfully expensive for the value, but he starts far back (20th) and seems to have a decently fast car (11th-fastest in 10-lap average for final practice).

— Jamie McMurray ($8,500): McMurray was fifth-fastest in 10-lap average for final practice, and he could move up from his 13th starting position to get a couple position differential points in the process.

— Ryan Blaney ($8,200): He doesn’t have the fastest car, but whoever wins the pole has often gotten enough laps led to make it worth picking them this season. Plus, Blaney comes at a lower price than other polesitters. If he can lead a bunch of laps early in the race, it could be an easy pick for you.

— Kasey Kahne ($7,400): He had the eighth-fastest 10-lap average in final practice and has shown decent speed throughout the weekend. He should contend for a top-10 finish, so you could pick up a few points after he starts 17th.

— Michael McDowell ($5,800): This is a pure money/position differential play. He’s cheap and might be able to improve from his 28th starting position, plus he has extra motivation racing in front of friends and family in his hometown. That’s about it, although Chris Buescher ($6,600, starts 31st) is another good candidate for that strategy.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrated Phoenix ’15 win like it was his last — and it might be

With only two races remaining in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Cup Series career, the odds are increasing that a rain-shortened race two years ago at Phoenix International Raceway might stand as the final win of his career.

That might seem sort of weird —  Jeff Gordon’s last win was a stirring victory at Martinsville and Tony Stewart’s final victory came after he bumped Denny Hamlin out of the way at Sonoma — and doesn’t really fit into any kind of storybook ending.

But don’t worry, Junior Nation: If that was it, your driver celebrated the victory like it was his last.

“After our dry spell (three winless seasons from 2009-11), every win after that I celebrated it and thought about it being my last win,” he said Friday. “The Talladega win (in 2015), the Daytona 500 (in 2014), the July Daytona race (in 2015), Martinsville (in 2014), here — every one of them I was thinking it might be the last.”

There have been only two rain-shortened races in Phoenix history: Earnhardt’s win two years ago and Rusty Wallace’s October 1998 victory here. So Earnhardt isn’t bummed about the circumstances of what may be his last win — he’s happy about it.

“I felt lucky we were running good enough to win the race,” he said. “Greg (Ives) had done some pit strategy that cycled us into the lead at the particular point when the rain came. And I was thinking, ‘Man, that is how it’s supposed to work.’ You know, your crew chief is supposed to have that vision and, man, he had it that day.

“I was so proud of Greg and I felt lucky. It’s great to back into (a win) every once in awhile, or luck into them every once in a while. I have been on the other end of that where you felt like you should have won the race and don’t for some odd reason. So I was feeling like, ‘Heck yeah.'”

Fortunately for Earnhardt, the Phoenix win came the week before Homestead — which he typically would spend at his house in Key West. So that meant Earnhardt “partied hard” after the victory, he said.

“We had a good time that night down at Captain Tony’s (saloon in Key West),” he said with a laugh. “That is where we went.”

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Social Spotlight with Regan Smith

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Each week, I ask a member of the racing community to shed some light on their social media usage. Up this week: Regan Smith, who is running a partial schedule in the Camping World Truck Series this season.

You’ve been on Twitter for a long time. But did you ever have a MySpace page before that?

Admittedly, I did not have a MySpace page. I do still have an AOL email account, though, and I feel that thing’s gonna be valuable at some point as (AOL Instant) Messenger just went away. They’re actually going to come to me and that thing is gonna be the modern-day antique. If somebody wants that email, we can trade that as an antique.

Wait, is it not just an email address that you have but one you actually use? Do you give that out to people?

I’m slowly trying to use my me.com account more, but I can say that within the past week, I have given that address out, yes.

Oh my God. I don’t think you should have admitted that. That’s embarrassing.

I don’t hold nothing back, man! Come on, I’m not scared.

That is something I want to talk about, because I feel like earlier in your driving career, there were times where you felt like, “I can’t be this outspoken.” And I see you on social media now, you’re one of the first people to put your opinions out there. Like the Martinsville situation, you’re live-tweeting and analyzing the race, saying “This is what should happen, this is what they should do, this is what this means.” When did you start to feel more comfortable with being so opinionated in a public manner?

I don’t know when that really changed. It started changing a little bit during the (JR Motorsports) days for me. But it took until then to even remotely feel comfortable with that. And then even then, I didn’t fully understand how to be opinionated.

The one thing I couldn’t handle was the backlash when people didn’t agree with you or they got mad at you. I used the block button a lot — and I still use it a lot now — but I couldn’t absorb that very well. And I started to learn how to sort of absorb that.

Last year, after my JRM time, I started doing a lot more of the TV stuff and doing a lot more on (FS1’s) Race Hub and different shows like that. And you have to give an opinion there, and a lot of that is off the cusp. We might talk about what we’re going to say on the show before we do it, but then when you do it live on the show, it’s completely unrehearsed and basically, “This is what I’m thinking,” in the (spur) of the moment and you’re basing it off what someone else is saying and how you’re going to make your point based on that.

I like the sport, I love this sport and I care about it. It’s almost to the point where we’ve been so PC for so long — drivers, anybody down the list — that we’ve forgotten how to not be PC. It’s kind of been refreshing to not have to be PC after a long time and be able to say what I want to say and say what I’m thinking. And if I’m wrong, I’ll tell you I’m wrong. I’ll admit to it and say, “Hey, I was wrong about this.” And if I’m right, then I will make sure I tell you I was right and stuff that in your face, too. (Smiles)

So how do people in the NASCAR world get drivers to not be PC? Because you can see some of these younger guys coming up, they don’t want to say anything controversial.

You bring up a good point. So the younger guys coming up right now, they don’t want to say anything controversial, they don’t want to do anything that’s gonna shake the apple cart and cause them any trouble. We lost an entire generation already, in my eyes, because of that.

We all watched those guys (like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon) — myself included — and we saw how to they act with sponsors and we saw how important that was and the sponsors were really driving the sport back then. And they still are right now — don’t get me wrong — but naturally we’re seeing some declining numbers. That’s an obvious thing to point out at the moment, is teams are really scrambling on how to figure out new ways to market and have more partners.

As that happened, we lost an era of drivers who said, “This is how we have to act.” Do you know how hard it is? If you’re brought up through a sport, through a business industry and this is how you’re taught to act, and then (try to) flip a switch overnight and act a different way and say, “Hey, show your personality. Hey, be yourself. Go out there and let people know how you act when the cameras are off and the mic’s not in your face and when you’re sitting with buddies from high school, just hanging out around the campfire.” Like that’s almost impossible.

So kind of tying in to this new generation, these guys have an opportunity. I think you kind of see a mix of Ryan Blaney at times, he shows his personality — and he has an absolutely incredible personality — but there are also times where he doesn’t show it and to where he’s kind of muted up a little bit and kind of just tries to be a little bit polished. Chase Elliott feels like he’s very polished in terms of a driver. And I can keep on going down the list. Bubba Wallace, he’s got a lot of personality. He shows that through social media, but even Bubba, they still have to answer to their partners and to their sponsors.

I don’t think we’re ever going to get away from drivers having to be polished to a certain extent because of the fact we have to have partners to get race cars to go around the racetrack. That’s just the fact of what we do. But what I would love to see happen, and I think Monster in my opinion has really helped us out, is kind of letting these guys open back up just a little bit. Kurt Busch, I mean he says what he’s thinking. Dale Jr. — given he’s retiring this year, and that might be the best thing that’s ever happened, because he’s just letting it go. That’s what we need, and he’s in a different situation, he can get away with that more than other guys.

But I’m concerned that we need to get those guys to show off their personalities so we can learn the personalities. In order to do that, we can’t be handcuffed by the partners that are on the race cars. The partners on the race cars have to buy into it and have to allow it to happen.

Obviously that’s probably one of the biggest reasons why these guys don’t speak out, is because of the sponsor element — they’re afraid to piss off their sponsors, lose their sponsors. But you touched on something else that I think: They don’t like the backlash, when fans get mad at them, fans boo them or disagree with them, yell at them on social media. You mentioned earlier that you’ve learned how to absorb some of that criticism better. So how do you do that? What’s your secret aside from just blocking people?

I think I probably blocked most of them that say anything bad so I don’t see it anymore. (Laughs) All the ones that are left just agree with me.

In all seriousness, since I’m not driving anymore — well, I shouldn’t say not driving, but I’m not driving full time in anything currently — it’s easier to accept (the Twitter arguments). Some of the stuff’s nasty. It’s just pure nastiness out there. You’ve gotta understand that on social media.

The ones I like are the ones that give an opinion, they’re not nasty about it, and they can put me in my place. I’m fine with that, or I can fire back. Those are the ones that I enjoy, so I’ve kind of learned to read those ones and give those ones credit. And if I’m gonna say something back to somebody, say something back to somebody that’s doing it in a way that I would do it, and that’s respectfully.

Outside of that, I think it just comes with time and maybe understanding the social media side of things. I mean, everybody within this business for the most part wants to be liked by not only their peers, but other people on the outside, the people watching, the fans, the folks that are buying the tickets to come see us do what we do. So you’ve got to be conscious of that and I guess everybody just at certain stages in their career finds different ways to handle it. My tolerance has gone up for it, and who knows? I might go unblock some people after this and really see what happens.

So it sounds like Twitter and Instagram are you main forms of social media. Do you use any other forms?

Well I’ve got my Twitter linked to my Facebook, as is my Instagram. I’m liking Instagram right now. I’m really into that, but the problem for me is that I don’t have as many people on Instagram. Instagram is more putting pictures out there and videos, and I haven’t quite figured out the videos aspect of it yet, how to make them look good. I always feel like I look cheesy and corny when I do them. That’s just human instinct, where you’re like, “That’s just cheesy and corny” and then I’ll watch somebody that’s really good at it. Like Lewis Hamilton — I think is one of the best of it, like, “Wow, he just looks cool at everything he’s doing.” Which he probably is just cool at everything he’s doing. That’s just his personality.

But I really enjoy Instagram. And Twitter’s always gonna be there — well, five years from now it might not be there. But Twitter for me is the quickest one to just pop off something and say it, just get it out there right away. Those are really the only ones I mess with. I don’t even look at the Facebook. I don’t have a personal Facebook account, believe it or not. I literally don’t have one other than the one that’s linked to my racing thing.

So Snapchat’s not a thing for you?

I’ve tried it and I know that the kids now, they keep saying, “Oh you’re on Twitter? Nobody gets on Twitter anymore. Everybody uses Instagram and Snapchat.” Well, I just don’t get Snapchat. I have tried, I have used it some, and I know everybody says how great it is. I don’t get it.

What don’t you get about it?

I just don’t get what’s so good about something that’s there and then it’s gone. It’s hard enough for me to look at my phone and remember to video something that I think is really cool. And it’s even harder if I’m going to video one quick snip and send it to one person or two people or pick and choose who I’m gonna send it to or send it out to everybody. Like it’s a lot of work almost, and I guess to Instagram’s credit, the one thing I like about that is, it’s just a little more natural for me.

You have two young kids and eventually they’re going to grow up in a social media age. Have you thought at all about how you’re going to handle your kids being on social media eventually?

I’m gonna build lead walls in my house that block everything out and therefore if they get on the Internet, I’m gonna dictate it. I’m gonna be the dictator of my house, and that’s how it’s just gonna have to be. (Laughs)

I mean, I joke about that. You’re not gonna avoid that. Kids are going grow up and watch computers. My wife’s brothers are younger than me — like 10, 12 years younger than me — and they grew up more in that computer era moreso than me. They spend a lot of time on their computers, they both work in the computer industry, and the things that they’re saying, the conversations that I have with them, I can’t even being to understand. And I’m afraid that it’s going to be the same with my kids, that the things they’re gonna see and know and understand, I’m not going to have a way to fully comprehend that and it’s not going to make sense to me necessarily.

With that said, I’ll pay attention to what they’re doing and pay attention to the places and the things they’re doing online without being too much of an invasive parent, if you want to call it that. And I think as a parent, it’s important to teach them right from wrong, and if I do my job teaching them right from wrong, they’re going to do the right things on social media and try to not let them make a fool out of themselves when they’re on there at some point or another. Don’t do something that you’re gonna regret five years from now. And I try.

This also a challenge for parents right now: When you post a picture of your kid on social media, it’s still gonna be there in 10 or 15 years from now. Someone’s going to be able to find that. So you want to be a little cautious about that. It’s not like a family photo album,  like “Oh little Timmy’s in the bathtub, it’s so cute, haha, it’s funny.” Well if little Timmy’s in the bathtub and 100,000 people can see him and they can have access to that same picture you just popped up there, what’s going to happen when little Timmy is 18 years old and he realizes that picture is still floating around there? So you’ve gotta be a little conscious of that stuff. I try to be conscious of it, but at the same time, I’m gonna brag a little bit and say I have two damn cute kids, so I like showing them off.

Thursday races don’t suck at all ????????

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Some day, if I have kids, they’re going to look at my accounts and tweets. I’m thinking some of the tweets I have now, I don’t want my kids to see that. I get mad about something on social media and if they’re a teenager, they’re going be like, “Dad, why did you say this about this race?” You can search tweets and things like that. Do you ever worry about your kids coming across something you’ve said online some day?

I try not to say anything that I’m gonna regret later. Sometimes you’ll pop off of your mouth and just put something out there quick, and there’s that rare occasion where I’ll go back and delete something and then I’m gonna have to delete it on this account and that account and then that account and then I know it’s still out there.

Other times, I’ll sit there and type something and I’ll read it and then I’ll delete it, then I’ll type something else. Like if I put everything that I typed out there, then I would have a problem with that. I don’t think I put too much out there that I’m not willing to answer for later or down the road, but I’m sure there’s going be questions. And to your point, it’s something I think about every day: How do I answer to them? What do I say to them if they ask me this question about this or about that?

I guess the other way I handle it is I’ll hand my phone to somebody sitting next to me. I do this more than anything if I’m using my phone for whatever social media it is — whether it’s my wife or a friend or whoever’s close by — I’ll say, “Hey, read this. Does this make sense?” or “Hey, read this. Is this funny?” So I’ll try and screen them before I put them out there. Is this offensive? I think sometimes when you’re worried about, “Is this going piss this guy off or make this guy mad?” you also gotta take into account that this is somebody who’s my friend, so they’re going to understand that I’m giving them a hard time. They’re going to understand this is what I’m doing here. And I think that goes for most situations.

What is something NASCAR can do better on social media to have an impact with today’s audience that they desperately need to attract?

I think to answer that correctly, you have to think about where social media’s going to be five years from now and how invasive it’s going be. We’ve got to be less reactionary and be a little more ahead of the curve on a lot of things. I feel like a lot of the times we do something as a reaction of something else that’s happened — and we’ve gotten better about that stuff — but originality (is important).

And I’m guilty of this. I have a hard time being original on there, but there are some things that are very original. Some of the stuff Bubba’s been doing lately, I think, is very original and I’ll give him credit where credit’s due on that stuff. So finding new ways to be original.

Social media is evolving so quickly. I don’t wanna call it an organism, but it’s almost what it feels like as it’s evolving and changing by the day, and it’s tough to keep up with. You’ve got people, companies with hundreds of thousands of people working for them trying to keep up with it and even they can’t. So I wouldn’t necessarily expect us as an industry to keep up with it every day.

But just continuing to be fresh and new. What those fresh and new ideas are? I don’t know — how far do we want to take it? Do we want to be social media-ing while we’re in the race cars? I mean, maybe we need to. I think as a general guideline, I think the more we can get fans (engaged), the better it’s going to be. Whether that’s heart rate monitors in the race car, whether that’s letting them see tire pressures real time and letting them feel like they’re making the same decisions as a crew chief. There’s a section of the fanbase that would love that stuff. Then there’s a section of the fanbase that doesn’t care about that stuff, that just wants to be here for the event and it just so happens that there’s a race going on in the background, then that’s cool. If we can find ways through social media to kind of tailor to each of those individual groups, I think that would be good.

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Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers Power Rankings: Week 7

Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Ali was voted off after being ranked No. 5 of the 13 remaining players.

Week 7 Power Rankings: 

1. Chrissy (Last week: 3): Ryan got the blood on his hands with the Ali mess while Chrissy stayed out of it. Meanwhile, she goes into the merge with three loyal allies — Ryan, Ben and now JP — and won’t be viewed as a physical threat. Watch out, everyone!

2. Ryan (Last week: 2): Ryan did not handle the Ali situation well, and I question his moves the last couple weeks. That said, the self-described “friggin’ weasel” won’t be a target early in the merge and now has time to work some magic.

3. Ben (Last week: 1): Now that the merge is here, I’m worried he could be viewed as a physical threat and get booted. I don’t think that’s the case because of his social relationships, but it’s concerning enough to drop him a couple spots.

4. Mike (Last week: 4): Mike is pushing himself (he caught a small fish!) and also playing a smart game. He has an idol and a couple strong allies, and he also won’t be targeted as a physical threat in the post-merge game.

5. Joe (Last week: 10): I’ve been hot and cold on Joe all year, but he is dangerous and can play hard in the merged tribe now — especially since he has an idol. At the same time, he could also get voted off any week.

6. Devon (Last week: 6): How will Devon fare in the post-merge tribe. He’s got Ashley and Ryan, to be sure. Can he end up in the majority?

7. Ashley (Last week: 8): I’m not sure how strong of a position she’ll be in on the merged tribe. If Devon can bring her into a Chrissy/Ryan/JP alliance, though, she could last for awhile.

8. Lauren (Last week: 9): She’s not playing a bad game, but where will she fall in the post-merge alliances? That’s my biggest worry for her at the moment.

9. Jessica (Last week: 7): It feels like she’s ultimately going to get dragged down by Cole somehow. I wish she’d just forget him and play the game for herself.

10. Desi (Last week: 11): A couple people have mentioned I’m underestimating her, but I just don’t see her chances as being very strong. And in the post-merge tribe, will she have the numbers?

11. JP (Last week: 12): JP continues to play the “provider” game, but that’s all out the window now in the merged tribe. Now he’s just a physical threat who doesn’t know the game very well, although Chrissy and Ryan may carry him to the final three.

12. Cole (Last week: 13): He catches a fish and doesn’t share the fish. It just shows the type of player he is, although it’s getting to the point where the tribe might go after bigger targets (since they know he won’t win).

Eliminated: 

Week 1: Katrina (ranked No. 6 of 18 remaining players)

Week 2: Simone (ranked No. 17 of 17 remaining players)

Week 3: Patrick (ranked No. 16 of 16 remaining players)

Week 4: Alan (ranked No. 13 of 15 remaining players)

Week 5: Roark (ranked No. 10 of 14 remaining players)

Week 6: Ali (ranked No. 5 of 13 remaining players)

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12 Questions with Austin Dillon

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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing. Dillon got his first career win earlier this season and is 13th in the point standings with two races to go.

1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it?

I would say 60/40 working at it compared to natural ability. I really feel like you’ve got to work almost double what you do as far as natural ability, because it only carries you so far. And if you keep working at it, you kind of get the muscle memory right and you start making the right decisions under pressure more than you do just naturally. It’s more of a luck thing when it comes naturally.

2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and now Dale Earnhardt Jr. have all either retired in the last couple years or will retire soon. What’s your pitch for fans of theirs to become fans of yours?

Well, I’ve got all the new guys covered as far as coolness goes. I’m a pretty cool guy — just ask me. (Smiles)

I like being real, having fun with my boys, I just like to have a good time. I feel like I’m a pretty honest guy to say it how it is and I want to make NASCAR better when I leave it. That’s another big part of it: I want to give something back to this sport when I’m done with it.

3. What is the hardest part of your job away from the racetrack?

Definitely just traveling to sponsor appearances. Usually there’s probably one or two every week, just keeping up with those.

And then staying fresh for when you’re asked similar questions throughout the week and you’re just answering the same ones. You’re trying to not get frustrated if you have a week where the same questions are getting answered.

So somebody asks you a question one day about how your season’s going, and the next day it’s like, “How’s your season going” again? That kind of thing?

Yeah, for sure. And if an event happens — like making the playoffs — and you have to do like seven interviews in a row in an hour-and-a-half period or something like that, it’s literally just like I’m repeat. I wish I could get everybody to call in at once and just do one really good interview and that’s where it’s tough, because you’ve got to go through and say the same thing to everybody — because that’s truly the answer. But by the seventh one I’m just dead. I’m like, “I’m OK, the car’s driving good, hopefully we can have a good race.” The first one, I’m pretty witty and fun, but then it gets a little monotonous.

I actually always wonder how you guys do that, because I feel like I’d want to have a recorder I take out and be like, “Here’s what I just told this person,” and just play it, you know?

Exactly, and I think it would be cooler. The ones that I like is when everybody listens in on a conference call, that seems to go pretty well. But when you have to go to different radio stations across the state or a couple of states, it gets pretty bad.

4. Let’s say a fan spots you eating dinner in a nice restaurant. Should they come over for an autograph or no?

Yeah. I mean, I will sign for anyone. I think the best way to do it for a fan is don’t let me leave the table at the end. If I’m eating, just let me finish and then I’ll sign it. Usually that’s what happens. They’ll like, “Hey, big fan, Austin, can I get an autograph?” “Yes, as soon as I’m done, I’ll come sign.” So that works pretty good, where I’ll come to them if they ask.

5. What’s a story in NASCAR that doesn’t get enough coverage?

That’s a good question. I think the media could do a better job covering aero advantages you see on other cars, like getting more technical with our sport and finding the differences between cars. Like if you visually see something on a car, putting it out there earlier than what it usually (gets discovered) to help create an even more fair playground.

Then another story is the penalties. There’s no one that keeps tally, I feel like, of minutes of sitting out on pit road (during practice). I wonder who has the most minutes sitting out on pit road this year for being late through tech. And I bet it averages out where the top couple guys are some of the best guys in the sport. So the guys that are sitting on pit road the longest for missing practices or whatever it might be, for rolling around (through inspection) too many times, I bet if you look at that and tallied all those minutes up, it would come out with the pretty good guys at the top.

So it’s actually sort of a good thing because they’re pushing it?

Either that, or it’s telling you that they’re cheating the most to get the most. Is cheating rewarding the guys that are up front?

6. Who is the last driver you texted?

My brother (Ty) about 10 minutes ago. We were talking about fantasy football. We made a trade.

7. Do you consider race car drivers to be entertainers?

Entertainers on the track, yes. Away from the track, some of them aren’t entertainers. I feel like some are boring. Some are exciting and funny and have personalities, but some just don’t in my opinion. But all of them are entertainers when it comes to being on the track. Some of the most boring guys out of the race car are some of the most exciting in the race car.

What do we have to do to get the boring guys off the track to be more exciting?

I think make them feel comfortable to where if they do mess up or say something wrong, they’re not just shut down instantly from a fan standpoint. You’ve got a lot of fans supporting one, two, three guys and then one guy steps out of his comfort zone that’s not supported by all the fans, (he shouldn’t have to) feel like he’s going to ruin his career due to a fan base booing him.

8. What is your middle finger policy on the racetrack?

Man, mine flies all the time. I’ve got to do a better job with that, actually. It’s just when I’m mad, that’s just what happens. I know one thing, if I see the middle finger, I really fly hot in the race car because I want to get to that guy, move him or do whatever I can. But I don’t know, I wish I would just wave more. That would be better.

If you wave, people are like, “That could mean something else.”

Yeah, it could mean something else. And sometimes, I’ll throw the peace sign out the window and I don’t know if that’s just worse than the middle finger, like “See ya, guy.”

9. Some drivers keep a payback list in their minds. Do you also have a list for drivers who have done you a favor on the track?

Oh, for sure. I think certain guys you put in your head that have given you a break at certain periods of time. Tony Stewart was one of the best at it. If he was having a bad day and you were coming forward and he knew you were there, he would get out of your way pretty quick. But I’ll tell you what, if you didn’t have that same way of driving style on the way back when he was coming through, he would let you know really quick. So I think I knew in the back of my mind, “OK, he let me go really quick, I need to let him go.”

10. Who is the most famous person you’ve had dinner with?

I don’t know if this counts, but Donald Trump Jr. sat behind me once. Gary Player, I sat with him at a dinner. I don’t know. I’ve eaten with Dale Jr. — he’s pretty famous.

Man, I’m trying to think of somebody outside the sport who would be really cool. Oh, Jimmy Carter — former President. I ate lunch with him. So that was pretty cool.

11. What’s something about yourself you’d like to improve?

My (fiancee, Whitney Ward) says compassion. I need to have more compassion, so I’m working on that.

Like just for other people in general or what?

Yeah, I’m kind of black and white on certain situations, so I should be a little better — just a little easier, I guess, on certain people.

12. Last week I interviewed Danica Patrick. She wanted me to ask you: If you could live on Earth forever and eat the steak that’s on Earth and have your current life that’s on Earth and be happy, would you rather do that or would you rather take a risk and go to another planet where it’s potentially way happier? You don’t know what it’s going be, but you’ll be way happier than where you are now. Would you stay in your current Earth situation or go to this other planet?

And I’m happy with the steak where I’m at right now though? But it could just be way better at the other one? The potential is way higher, but it could also be bad.

Correct, yes. That’s what I understood from the question.

Man. I’m not a huge food guy — like food does not make or break me because I can eat about anything. So I would have to know more details when it came to if my fiancee was with me, if my family was gonna be there, if it was just for me. If my family’s still (on Earth) and I’m leaving them, I would stay. I would be eating the same ol’ steak, chilling. But if I could take my whole crew with me, if there’s an opportunity, I’d probably push for the opportunity.

The next interview is going to be with Landon Cassill. Do you have a question I can ask Landon?

If he could bring three sponsors into this sport to make it better, what would they be and why?

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News Analysis: Aric Almirola to drive No. 10 car at Stewart-Haas Racing

What happened: Stewart-Haas Racing announced Aric Almirola will replace Danica Patrick in the No. 10 car next season with backing from longtime Almirola sponsor Smithfield.

What it means: Almirola will be in the best equipment of his Cup Series career after Smithfield and Richard Petty Motorsports resolved their legal issues. There had been a holdup in announcing this move after Smithfield’s CEO and Petty himself had a war of words during what seemed like a bitter breakup, and that apparently led to behind-the-scenes wrangling over whether Smithfield and Almirola could go to a different team as a package. That’s all behind them now, and Almirola will join Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and whoever drives the 41 car (probably Kurt Busch) at SHR next season.

News value (scale of 1-10): Four. The primary newsworthiness in this situation appears to be making it “official,” since everyone knew for awhile now that Almirola was heading to SHR. Still, it is more newsy than other non-surprises because it’s a major team with a high-profile team owner.

Three questions: Despite spending his career in lesser equipment than Patrick, Almirola is statistically an upgrade in every category — but can he win races in the 10? Will Almirola be a perennial playoff driver now that he’s with an elite team? What exactly will Smithfield’s involvement with RPM be?