PixelatedRESULTS: Bandit Big Rig Series Puts on a Big Show in Mobile

Defending Bandit Big Rig Series Champion Ricky Rude is off to a great start in 2019 with wins in his heat race, Challenge race, the Bandit Shootout and a second place in the A-Main. That puts him atop the points leaving Mobile Speedway. - March 23, 2019 (Daniel Vining/PixelatedSPEED)

By: Daniel Vining, Twitter: @danielvining

IRVINGTON, Alabama (March 24, 2019) -- The Big Rig Bandit Series rolled into Mobile International Speedway on Saturday March 23rd for their season opening event of 2019. There was no other divisions or series on the agenda, but the Bandits put on a full plate of racing excitement for the sellout crowd over the course of the night. Group qualifying, Heat Races, Challenge Races and the Bandit Shootout all served as preliminaries leading up to the night’s 30 lap A-Main feature race.

Here are the complete results from all the racing action across the night. Results are not official.

Bandit A-Main (30 laps):

16 - Bendeguz Molnar
14 - Ricky Rude
41 - Marshall Davis
55 - Craig Krukeberg
5 - Tim Ashley
13 - Bob Mitchell
3 - Allen Boles
8 - Doug Hilson
69 - Johnathan Langham
66 - Austin Hoppe
46 - Brian Cash
88 - Mike Morgan
74 - Mark Noble
7 - Jon Lisenbee
4 - Scott Treadway
27 - Darren Proffitt

Bandit Challenge Race #1 (15 laps):

5 - Tim Ashley
69 - Johnathan Langham
3 - Allen Boles
46 - Brian Cash
88 - Mike Morgan
66 - Austin Hoppe
8 - Doug Hilson

Bandit Challenge Race #2 (15 laps):

14 - Ricky Rude
16 - Bendeguz Molnar
74 - Mark Noble
7 - Jon Lisenbee
55 - Craig Kruckeberg
27 - Darren Proffitt
4 - Scott Treadway
41 - Marshall Davis
13 - Bob Mitchell

Bandit Shootout Results:

This is listed in order of how the rounds went. It starts with the two slowest trucks from qualifying going head to head for a single green flag lap. The winner moves on to face the next slowest. This is repeated all the way through the field of trucks.

41 - Marshall Davis defeats 27 - Darren Proffitt
41 - Marshall Davis defeats 46 - Brian Cash
41 - Marshall Davis defeats 66 - Austin Hoppe
41 - Marshall Davis defeats 8 - Doug Hilson
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 41 - Marshall Davis
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 13 - Bob Mitchell
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 4 - Scott Treadway
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 3 - Allen Boles
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 69 - Johnathan Langham
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 7 - Jon Lisenbee
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 88 - Mike Morgan
55 - Craig Kruckeberg defeats 74 - Mark Noble
14 - Ricky Rude defeats 55 - Craig Kruckeberg
14 - Ricky Rude defeats 16 - Bendeguz Molnar
14 - Ricky Rude defeats 5 - Tim Ashley

Bandit Heat Race #1:

Data was unavailable at the time of initial posting. PixelatedSPEED will update this info when/if the data becomes available. Scoring officials were having some difficulties early on.

That being said, I did jot down the top three…

27 - Darren Proffitt
55 - Craig Kruckeberg
41 - Marshall Davis

Bandit Heat Race #2:

7 - Jon Lisenbee
4 - Scott Treadway
13 - Bob Mitchell
69 - Johnathan Langham
3 - Allen Boles
51 - Luke Whitmire

Bandit Heat Race # 3:

14 - Ricky Rude
16 - Bendeguz Molnar
74 - Mark Noble
5 - Tim Ashley
88 - Mike Morgan

Bandit Group Qualifying:

5 - Tim Ashley
16 - Bendeguz Molnar
14 - Ricky Rude
74 - Mark Noble
88 - Mike Morgan
7 - Jon Lisenbee
51 - Luke Whitmire
69 - Johnathan Langham
3 - Allen Boles
4 - Scott Treadway
13 - Bob Mitchell
55 - Craig Kruckeberg
 8 - Doug Hilson
66 - Austin Hoppe
46 - Brian Cash
41 - Marshall Davis
27 - Darren Proffitt

Bandit Practice:

14 - Ricky Rude
74 - Mark Noble
69 - Johnathan Langham
4 - Scott Treadway
5 - Tim Ashley
55 - Craig Krukeberg
7 - Jon Lisenbee
27 - Darren Proffitt
13 - Bob Mitchell
8 - Doug Hilson
46 - Brian Cash
66 - Austin Hoppe
13 - Marshall Davis

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedRESULTS: Kyle Busch Scores Win 199 at Phoenix in Dominant Fashion

Kyle Busch leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 with 98 laps to go. (Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)

By: Daniel Vining, Twitter: @danielvining

AVONDALE, Arizona (March 10, 2019) -- Kyle Busch gave fans another episode of the “Kyle Busch Show”, dominating the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visit to ISM Raceway in Phoenix. Busch made the pass late on Ryan Blaney, then cruised to the win, beating Martin Truex Jr.

With 16 laps to go, Kyle Busch got to the inside of Blaney in Turns three and four. The pair battled side-by-side for the race lead for a full lap before Busch cleared Blaney with 15 to go.

As Busch sped off to his victory, Blaney was forced to heavily saved gas, ultimately having to give away second place to Martin Truex Jr. in the process.

For Busch, this marked his 52nd career Cup Series victory. With the 93 in Xfinity and 51 in Trucks, that brings his total NASCAR wins to 199.

Busch racked up another sweep after winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, his 198th win… but was even more bummed not to have achieved the three-peat last week in Las Vegas.

"You've got to go race hard first and worry about fuel afterwards,” siad Busch “God this makes last week feel so much stupider, I wish we could've swept last week, too, we could've started the year with two weekend sweeps."

When asked about the hype in the race to 200 wins, he said that it wasn’t for him to decide, saying instead that’s it something for everyone else to debate and argue over.

"It doesn't matter what kind of noise they're making ... as long as they're making noise,” he said.

Now that he is within one win of 200, Jeff Gordon asked him what his goal for the Cup Series would be.

To that, Busch responded that 100 seemed like a good number that would put him up there with the other greats of the sport. He added that doing so would be a tall challenge because winning ten, a dozen or 13 races a year is hard to come by in today’s NASCAR. Busch won eight times in 2018.

Pole Sitter Ryan Blaney led the field to green, leading the race’s first 36 laps before giving way to Busch. Blaney reemerged as a contender after the final yellow flag period, one of nine on the day, setup a 74 lap run to the finish. That meant the race would come down to saving fuel, and staying ahead of Busch after only changing two tires on their final stop.

"Honestly, we hung on better there on two tires than I thought we would,” said Blaney. “I was riding, trying to save tires and gas, we were really close. I think he was riding back there, I think he knew the situation I was in there.”

"When we lost the lead we were just in fuel-save mode,” he added.

PixelatedPICK: Harvick finished ninth, but never led a lap.

Kevin Harvick was attempting to score his tenth win at Phoenix, and ran solidly in the top ten for the majority of the race.

Following a restart on lap 232, Harvick made slight contact with Jimmie Johnson. Harvick fell out the top ten and then he pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 236. He restarted in 21st, and simply ran out of time, yet still managed to salvage a ninth place finish.

STICKIN’ WITH: Jimmie Johnson

After a solid qualifying effort, Jimmie Johnson showed signs of being competitive, running in the top ten throughout the day, finishing a respectable eighth place.

Johnson to Bob Pockrass on difficulty of passing today: "It's been really hard for me to pass anyone for the last year and a half, two years. I know other guys that are standing here are complaining more but ... that is the best I've run in a while."

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

Pixelated RESULTS: Logano Wins and Busch Misses Out on Triple Sweep in First look at the New Aero Package in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 03: Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, leads Paul Menard, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil Oil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)

By: Daniel Vining, Twitter: @danielvining

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (March 3, 2019) -- This race debuted the full 2019 aero package for the NASCAR Cup Series, featuring front grille air ducts, a taller spoiler and tapered spacers in the motor. The result is lowered horsepower and a greater dependence on the draft.

Joey Logano used that draft, and an overall strong performing racecar, to capture the Pennzoil 400, his first win at Las Vegas in his 12th try… securing a spot in the playoffs and a run at defending his NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

"We've been so close to winning this race in Vegas for so long... we're proud to be able to deliver,” said Logano.

Logano led the final 20 laps, but had to fend off teammate Brad Keslowski, as he made a last lap charge, coming within a car length of Logano.

“His car kept getting bigger in the end,” he said “If it was a few more laps, he was going to get by me."

Brad Keselowski, “He pulled a slide job and I tried to pull it back and I was just a little too nice to him…  I'd like to have one more lap.”

The overwhelming opinion on social media immediately following the race was, “it sucks.” While it’s easy to come to that conclusion, I think that this race was a step in the right direction and I feel that there were areas to mention, both good and bad, to ponder on.

My early impressions were that cars would be able to get runs. The initial start, and subsequent restarts following stage breaks, showed a chaotic scene with racecars battling hard for the first few laps of the run. Slowly, however, the field would spread out and the familiar look of racing on intermediate race tracks surfaced… with one notable exception. The leader didn’t just drive away. Kevin Harvick amassed a four second lead briefly at the end of stage one, but aside from that, the leader remained within striking distance of second place throughout the entire event. This, in a race that saw zero “natural cautions”, with the yellow flag flying only for the stage breaks. That’s the first time that’s happened since October 2002.

Kyle Busch was the Pixelated PICK for this race, and looked to be in a position to capture his third triple sweep, after winning Friday’s Truck race, and Saturday’s Xfinity race. His hopes for that feat fell apart after a pit road speeding penalty put him a lap down, and it took the remainder of the race to work up to third by race’s end.

"If we didn't have the speeding penalty, we would have won this race,” said Busch.

"I was running 31-flats, but once I got within the vicinity of them (the leaders), I was running 31.4's.”

"The cars don't have any speed. You're just trying to draft off another car... They just don't maneuver…  I think we passed the most cars today but we don't have the trophy."

NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell gave straight shooter answers to the media following the race. He said that the race was decent, but NASCAR is not satisfied with the racing, which he said is a season-long work in progress. He did say that he was relieved that stages two and three were better racing than stage one.

During stages two and three, there was a clear uptick in how racy the leaders were able to be. Much like the start of the race, the restarts were rather chaotic. There was plenty of movement throughout the field. At the start of the second stage, Aric Almirola jumped from 12th to 6th in no time, for example.

As the stages wore on, there was plenty of dancing for position among the leaders. Kevin Harvick and Busch were all over the Penske cars of Keselowski and Logano for the lead.

Aggressive moves by Kyle Busch prior to his pit road penalty racing Joey Logano for the lead put on a great show. Busch used traffic to get to Logano in traffic, and the two swapped the lead several times during that span. It was a fun battle to watch.

In the end, however, the field always managed to spread out and without the aid of cautions to reset them, we were left watching a familiar, and unpopular train.

While there are still plenty of flaws in this areo package, I believe more than anything that no matter what you do to the racecars, this is the kind of racing you will get at these, 1.5 mile, intermediate race tracks.

For what is was, I thought it was a decent race. I’m not going to cry, “it sucked.” Instead, I will continue to encourage everyone to keep a more positive attitude and maintain patience. Next week in Phoenix we will see yet another example of this new package has to offer. In time, and as needed, NASCAR will make adjustments. It’s just going to take time. I’m very confident that the sanctioning body is moving in a forward direction, and look forward to the next race.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedSPEED is a part of the Gravel Network. Copyright - 2018, 2019

PixelatedRESULTS: In a Wild Race, Denny Hamlin Wins Second Daytona 500; Honors JD Gibbs

Denny celebrates after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

By: Daniel Vining, Twitter: @danielvining DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 17, 2019) -- Denny Hamlin has won the 61st Annual Daytona 500 in a 1-2-3 finish by Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch on the race’s final restart, during overtime. This was Hamlin’s second Daytona 500 victory, and the only the second time a team has achieved a 1-2-3 finish; the first in 1997 when Hendrick Motorsports pulled off the feat. While Hamlin was on his cool down lap, TV caught up with team owner Joe Gibbs, who’s emotion was very visible as this race proved to be the perfect tribute to his son J.D. whom died in January after complications stemming from a neurological disorder. "What happened right here. J.D.'s name is on that car, that' his No. 11 on the car,” said Gibbs. “He found Denny. What happened here is emotional for all of us. Denny racing like he did right there was unbelievable. I'm emotionally shot."

RELATED: Joe Gibbs Oldest Son, J.D. Gibbs Passes Away During his frontstretch interview, Hamlin was proud to have J.D. over his door, and ready to celebrate. "I'm just going to enjoy it more,” he said. “I think I was just so dumbfounded about everything that happened with the first one, but I think this one will let me soak it all in. I'll have a hell of a hangover tomorrow." "Just a great day overall for our race team. We have a rookie race team for me, a lot of these guys are brand new." "I don't want to tear this one [car] up, I want to put this in my house." Second place Kyle Busch led many laps late, along with Hamlin, but was understandably disappointed in coming up short. "First and foremost we were trying to get one of us to victory lane and second you try to race for the win,” he said. "It wasn't meant to be today. I was trying to work on a run on the 11, can't trust anyone behind us." He added, "Overall, certainly bittersweet. It's awesome to see a JGR car in victory for Joe and J.D. but it's very bittersweet for M&M's, Interstate Batteries, Skittles and everything that sponsors us." Pole sitter William Byron led the field to green, leading the first lap. On lap 11, the JGR teams held up banners emblazoned with a special J.D. Gibbs logo. Joe Gibbs was seen in the 11 team’s pit, eyes closed, taking a moment of reflection and prayer during the lap. It was very emotional. JGR alliance teammate Matt DiBenedetto led the lap. Speaking of DeBenedetto, the driver of the number 95 car for Levine Family Racing put on a show, leading the most laps in the race and remaining in contention until lap 191. PixelatedPICK Paul Menard hooked DeBenedetto while both were racing in the top five going down the backstretch. The crash, affectionately known as, the “Big One” took out 21 cars and brought the race to a 25 minute red flag. Menard on the radio, “I just bumped him a little too hard.”

SEE ALSO: PixelatedPICK: 61st Annual Daytona 500 After being released from the infield care center Menard added, "It was go time and I was pushing the 95 and I was trying to get to the outside and barely hooked him. Yeah, we wrecked a lot of cars. That's my bad. Feel bad about that." Matt DiBenedetto, “Just a racing deal. Just racing hard...he just barely got to my right rear...It's the most fun speedway event I've ever had in my life.” He added, “All these guys, LFR, we proved what we're here to do. Very, very heartbroken but appreciative to be here. Just the beginning." DiBenedetto led twice for a total of 49 laps. The end of the race marred what up to lap 191 was a fairly exciting, action-packed affair. The race up to that point featured a healthy mix of varying styles of draft racing. There was the traditional pack racing that fans have been clamoring for this week, and single file drafting in both the top AND bottom lanes. After lap 191, however, things went south. The aforementioned “Big One” needed 25 minutes to clean up. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin led the field on the restart with six laps remaining. On lap 194, Ricky Stenhouse dove for a hole that didn’t exist on the backstretch, turning Kyle Larson and collecting several others. With two laps remaining, Busch and Hamlin again led at the restart, and again chaos ensued on the backstretch. This time, Michael McDowell turned Clint Bowyer into William Byron and also again, collecting multiple other drivers. Bowyer had made a threewide move, but wasn’t quite clear when moving up in front of McDowell. “I was going for it,” Bowyer said on the radio. This caused another red flag, for 15 minutes and setup NASCAR overtime. Hamlin was able to hold off his teammate in Busch, and in the scrum behind them, Erik Jones… with damage from one of the earlier incidents, was able to sneak into a third place finish. Other notes: Jimmie Johnson, going for his third Daytona 500 win, fell victim to an accident coming onto pit road with 42 laps to go in Stage 2. Cody Ware and BJ Mcleod made contact, with Ware sliding hard into the back of Tyler Reddick, who then slammed into the back of Jimmie Johnson, destroying the back of both cars, while Mcleod slid through the frontstretch grass. Johnson was then served a two lap penalty for improper fueling procedures while repairing the damage. Johnson had just enough breaks fall his way and somehow managed to take his mangled machine to a ninth place finish.

REFERENCE: Stickn' With Jimmie Johnson as He Attempts to Win His 3rd Daytona 500 Other surprises in the top ten included Michael McDowell (5th), Ty Dillon (6th), Ryan Preece (8th) and Ross Chastain (10th). Jamie McMurray, in most likely his last race, ran solidly despite heavy damage incurred after a crash on lap 49, even making it back to the lead midway through Stage 2. McMurray ultimately finished 22nd, a victim of the “Big One.”