AJ Allmendinger honors 1975 Rookie of the Year with Darlington paint scheme

AJ Allmendinger‘s No. 47 Chevrolet will fly the colors of former Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Bruce Hill in this year’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

While keeping its traditional red, white and blue colors, Allmendinger’s car will look like the one driven by Hill from 1974- 1977. The Topeka, Kansas, native was Rookie of the Year in 1975.

“Being remembered for something is always an honor especially as big as the sport has gotten,” Hill said.

In the 1975 season, Hill recorded three top-five finishes, including a fifth-place result at Darlington.

“I thought it was kind of neat when they decided to do the throwback schemes at Darlington Raceway,” Hill said. “I had good memories of Darlington. It was a track that you either loved or hated and that probably hasn’t changed over the years. I loved the track because it was slick and I ran better on a slick racetrack because it was all about getting your car to handle. I always loved Darlington and you always love a track you have good luck at.”

Hill finished 16th in the points in 1975 and beat out a driver named Carl Adams for the rookie award.

“My overall best NASCAR memory is winning Rookie of the Year mainly because I came out of Kansas and that was unheard of back then because it was a Southeastern sport,” Hill said. “I think a lot of people thought I was crazy when I thought I’d take a jump and go down there and try it.”

Hill would stay in the sport for 100 races, his last start coming in the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway in 1981.

Hill still resides in Kansas and will be in attendance this weekend at Kansas Speedway, where he will meet Allmendinger for the first time.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting Bruce on Friday,” Allmendinger said in the press release. “I think what Darlington Raceway does to recognize former NASCAR drivers and the heritage of the sport is unprecedented. It’s a great way to celebrate our sport and the people who made it what it is today. It’s pretty neat to see all the sponsors and teams really get into it.”

The Southern 500 is scheduled for Sept. 4 on NBC.

Hendrick, Chevrolet most successful in first 15 years of racing at Kansas Speedway

The newest track on the Sprint Cup circuit is Kentucky Speedway, which has hosted five Cup races since 2011.

But 10 years before that, the new kid on the block was Kansas Speedway, the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City, Kansas, the series returns to for its 16th season this weekend for the GoBowling.com 400.

Saturday’s race marks the 21st race for the Cup series on the track. The very first one, held on Sept. 30, 2001, was won by Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon in his No. 24 Chevrolet.

Over the following 14 seasons, that would be the scene that played out the most – a Chevrolet owned by Hendrick going to victory lane.

Six times in 20 races, a Hendrick car has won at Kansas Speedway. Gordon won the first two races and then claimed another in 2014 before retiring at the end of 2015.

Jimmie Johnson is the defending winner of Saturday’s race and has Hendrick’s other three wins, in 2008, 2011 and 2015.

“I really like the surface of the Kansas track and looking forward to a great race,” Johnson said in a press release. “Last year (Crew chief) Chad (Knaus) made a great call and we had a fast Lowe’s Chevy and the gamble paid off.”

Looking to bounce back from a dismal outing at Talladega is Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose best Kansas finish is second in 2011. He wound up third in last year’s spring race.

“That place has widened out pretty good and you can run against the fence there, which is a line that I like to run,” Earnhardt said in a press release. “It’s a very fast racetrack and very smooth – a lot of fun, so we should have a good time. We ran good there on the last several trips, so I anticipate us being very competitive.”

Chevrolet has won 10 of the 20 Kansas races, with Tony Stewart earning two (2006, 2009) with Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. The remaining two victories were claimed by Joe Nemechek and Kevin Harvick while he was with Richard Childress Racing.

Ford has six wins and Toyota has two, but none since 2013.

The next most successful teams at Kansas are Roush Fenway Racing and Team Penske with four wins each. Penske has the most recent success, winning with Joey Logano in two of the last three races, both in the fall race held in the day.

Penske’s first Kansas win came with Ryan Newman in 2003 driving a Dodge. Now Newman is in a Chevrolet at RCR.

“It’s super-fast and it has a little bit of a goofy transition into Turn 1,” Newman said in a press release. “It just seems like it is a combination of downforce and horsepower to go fast. It’s super smooth so it doesn’t really matter so much how your car rides as much as how you have the tires loaded up in each corner and the overall grip you can get out of the car with the downforce.”

Roush’s last Kansas win came in 2012 with Matt Kenseth. The three-car team is looking for its first win since 2014 and has performed well on intermediate tracks so far in 2016, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has the only top-10 finish, placing 10th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But he and teammate Trevor Bayne ran in the top 10 for much of the Texas race.

Stenhouse will be back with crew chief Nick Sandler this week after Sandler was suspended for the Talladega race for an unapproved steering wheel coupler.

“The tires usually don’t wear (at Kansas) so pit strategy becomes a factor because you want to minimize the amount of time you are on pit road,” Sandler said in a press release.

NASCAR warns teams of Jimmie Johnson, Brian Scott, Cole Whitt for inspection failures

The Sprint Cup teams of Jimmie Johnson, Brian Scott and Cole Whitt received warnings Wednesday for prerace inspection failures Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet also was docked 15 minutes of practice this weekend at Kansas Speedway for failing template inspection three times.

Whitt’s No. 98 Toyota failed template inspection twice, and Scott’s No. 44 Ford failed the laser inspection system twice.

It’s the second warning for each of the teams. A fourth cumulative warning results in loss of pit stall for the next race.

Radioactive: TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

This week's addition of 'Scan All' comes from Talladega Superspeedway, where radio transmissions between teams, drivers, and spotters aren't always fun during restrictor plate races.

Austin Dillon’s career-best finish comes in car that reflects Talladega carnage

You may have been confused watching the final three laps of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Confused as to why a car that looked like Austin Dillon‘s had any business being near the leaders who were jockeying for the win.

After starting second, Dillon was part of three wrecks during the race, including the 21-car blunder on the frontstretch with 27 laps remaining. Covered in tape and scrapes, the No. 3 Chevrolet looked like it would barely survive 500 laps at Martinsville Speedway, let alone be competing at the end of 188 laps on a superspeedway.

“I had guys climbing on the hood, beating the hood down,” Dillon said. “I had guys putting screws everywhere in the car to keep it together. It worked out for us.”

The third-year driver for Richard Childress Racing was not laps down and just trying to get out of the way. After 16 visits to pit road during the race and the ability to stay on the lead lap, Dillon was one or two good pushes on the frontstretch from celebrating his first Sprint Cup win.

“I actually think with it being so draggy and beat up, the 1 car (Jamie McMurray) hooked to us at the end and he just pushed me all the way through three and four, gave me a heck of a run,” Dillon said.

“Once I left that air, though, there wasn’t much I was going to be able to do once that happened. It was my one shot off of Turn 4, I tried it,” Dillon said.

“Halfway through this race, you’re not thinking it’s your day. All of a sudden when it comes down to it, we kept our minds in it, kept working on the car, came home with a third‑place finish.”

It’s Dillon’s best Sprint Cup finish in three years on the circuit and his third top-five of the season after earning just one in each of the previous two seasons. He heads to Kansas Speedway 10th in the point standings.

“I’m just proud of my guys,” Dillon said. “They had (16 pit) stops. They fixed the damage, never panicked.

“That’s something we struggled with this year, kind of panicking when something goes wrong. We’ve been meeting about it the last couple weeks. We can’t lose our minds because sometimes it’s just not your day.”

Brad Keselowski holds on to win wreck-filled Geico 500 at Talladega

In a day of numerous multi-car wrecks and other strange happenings, Brad Keselowski stayed out of trouble to win Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Keselowski won on the final lap under caution, as yet another wreck occurred behind him just before he reached the start-finish line, bringing out the yellow flag.

It was Keselowski’s fourth career Sprint Cup victory at the 2.66-mile tri-oval. He led 46 of the 188 laps, including the final 17, taking over the lead for good from teammate Joey Logano on Lap 172.

“I never thought I’d ever win here four times,” Keselowski told Fox Sports. “I’m super-pumped. This is awesome.”

It was also Keselowski’s 19th career Sprint Cup victory and his second of the season, having won previously this year at Las Vegas. The win ties Keselowski with the career-win total of the late Davey Allison, who like Keselowski, earned his first Sprint Cup win at Talladega in 1987.

“This Fusion was hauling and one of the tickets to staying out of wrecks at Talladega is if you can stay up front, you have a great shot at not getting wrecked,” Keselowski told Fox Sports. “To be back in Victory Lane and have two wins this year, we’re looking for more and are really growing as a team. This feels really good, really good.”

Kyle Busch was second, followed by Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray, pole-sitter Chase Elliott, Tony Stewart (Ty Dillon became relief driver for the final two-thirds of the race), Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney and Trevor Bayne.

There were 10 cautions for 41 laps, and a massive 37 lead changes among 17 drivers.

MORE: Results and stats for the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

MORE: Kevin Harvick regains points lead despite last-lap crash at Talladega

HOW KESELOWSKI WON: It was a matter of survival of the fittest, as the No. 2 stayed out of trouble almost the entire race, stayed in or near the top-10 and grabbed the lead for good with 17 laps remaining (Lap 172).

WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Kyle Busch ran a strong race, but was unhappy at some of the carnage throughout the event. “Second’s not bad. I think the quota of three cars on their lids is a little high, but that’s racing,” Busch told Fox Sports … Third-place finisher Austin Dillon: “To come home with a finish like this and so much work put into this car, it was a wrecked but we finished third, I’m so proud of these guys.” … Chase Elliott started as pole-sitter and finished fifth. “We tried there at the end but just didn’t have enough momentum to get to those guys.” … Fourth-place finisher Jamie McMurray: “When you get to the end of these things, it’s every man for himself.”

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hope for a seventh win at Talladega went away after wrecking on Lap 50. He got his repaired car back on track on Lap 99, only to be involved in another wreck on Lap 110 when something broke in Carl Edwards‘ car, sending him into Earnhardt and the wall. Earnhardt had nowhere to go and finished last in the 40-car field … Chris Buescher (37th) went for the wildest ride of his rookie Sprint Cup career when he was in a wreck on Lap 96, flipping three times before coming to a rest on his wheels … After his best season finish last week at Richmond, Kasey Kahne was involved in two wrecks Sunday and finished 39th … Yet another multi-car wreck occurred on Lap 160 when Danica Patrick (finished 25th) appeared to be pushed from behind, hit the inside retaining wall head-on, while Matt Kenseth (23rd) flipped over before landing on his wheels.

NOTABLE: Tony Stewart started the race and remained behind the wheel until Lap 53, when he exited his No. 14 Chevrolet and was replaced by Ty Dillon. The move had been planned going into the race … Michael Waltrip made his 60th career start at Talladega and, including today, has now led at least one lap for 34 of those races … Denny Hamlin had a costly pit stop on Lap 53. First, he overshot his pit, backed up, then after receiving service was leaving his pit stall and Greg Biffle was coming into his stall in front of Hamlin’s when both cars made contact. Hamlin’s car appeared okay, while Biffle had minor damage to his left rear. Hamlin then received a pit road penalty for having too many crew members over the wall. Hamlin again had issues on Lap 129, when he spun out coming into his stall and made contact with Landon Cassill.

QUOTE OF THE DAY, No. 1: “It come off, I didn’t have it on there. We were under caution so I just grabbed the shaft and steered the car that way. I ripped the skin off my hand but I wasn’t going to let it hit the wall. It was just a freak deal.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose steering wheel came off before he was able to reattach it shortly before his wreck with Carl Edwards.

QUOTE OF THE DAY, No. 2: “It didn’t end up as well as we liked to. Two days in a row, a couple big hits. I can’t wait to get out of this place.” — Joey Logano, who had hard hits at the end of Saturday’s Xfinity race and Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY, No. 3: “I’ve hit the inside wall of a superspeedway like four times now, and that was the worst. … I know I got drilled from behind, turned sideways and it was, ‘Hello, wall.'” — Danica Patrick.

WHAT’S NEXT: GoBowling 400, Saturday, May 7, 7:30 p.m. ET, at Kansas Speedway.

Long: Thank God they walked away

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Thank God Dale Earnhardt Jr. walked away. Thank God Danica Patrick walked away. Thank God Chris Buescher walked away.

Now they and the NASCAR industry need to ask, “What the hell are we doing?”

Another Talladega Superspeedway demolition derby has ended, and more questions remain about restrictor-plate racing after seeing cars upside down, slamming into walls and careening out of control.

Now that there is a Sprint Cup Drivers Council, the Race Team Alliance and more collaboration in the sport than ever before, it’s time for action. Everybody has a voice and there no longer needs to be a sense of resignation that days like Sundays are acceptable. Races like Sunday are not entertaining so much as ridiculous.

How much money did car owners see destroyed? Think more than $5 million – a conservative estimate. That’s not good business.

Even more so, the clock is ticking on the human toll. The next restrictor-plate race is in two months at Daytona International Speedway. A year ago, Austin Dillon’s car sailed into the catch fence after the finish there. He was uninjured.

Credit NASCAR for the safety devices that allowed each driver to walk away Sunday and also from the incidents in Saturday’s Xfinity race. Let’s be honest, there also was some luck involved.

Also understand there aren’t any easy answers. If there were, NASCAR would have enacted them. Go ahead and call for the banking to be knocked down at Talladega, but that’s not going to happen. Taking the restrictor plates off the cars will reduce pack racing but increase the speeds and significantly raise the odds that cars get airborne.

Questions must be asked, and all areas examined. Yes, Buescher was clipped, and that sent his car tumbling down the backstretch, but Kenseth’s car was turned sideways and picked up by the air.

“I hate it,’’ reigning series champ Kyle Busch said. “I’d much rather sit at home. I got a win. I don’t need to be here.’’

But he has to be with a rule that states a driver must start each race. Sponsors also expect these drivers to compete each weekend, along with the fans who pay to see these drivers perform.

Thank God Michael Annett walked away. Thank God Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walked away. Thank God Matt Kenseth walked away.

That the description of Sunday’s carnage — 35 of the 40 cars were involved in accidents — is “typical Talladega’’ is sadly true and gut-wrenching.

Of course, that is how drivers have to look at it, or they never could get in the car.

When is enough enough with this type of racing?

“I’m a capitalist,’’ winner Brad Keselowski said. “There’s people still paying to sit in the stands, there’s sponsors still on the cars, drivers still willing to get in them. Kind of sounds like it’s self-policing, and there’s enough interest to keep going, so we’ll keep going.’’

They will.

Not everyone, understandably, was as enthused.

After his second crash of the day, Earnhardt said: “Hell, I’m going home. I’m done.’’

Buescher added his name Sunday to the list of those who have gone airborne in a Cup race at a restrictor-plate track.

“I am pretty sick and tired of speedway racing at this point,’’ he said.

Dillon knows that feeling too well. His Daytona crash last year wasn’t the only time he’s been airborne. His car got up in the air in 2013 at Talladega when he was subbing for Tony Stewart.

“It’s just not a fun thing to be a part of,’’ Dillon said. “I think as a group, all of us want it to be where we’re not leaving the ground. We’ll get some smart people on it. I have total faith in NASCAR that they’ll do their job and work on that. But, man, wild day.’’

How many times do we have to leave Talladega more grateful than enthused about a race that had 37 lead changes and saw both two sets of brothers in the top 10 (Austin Dillon was third, Ty Dillon was sixth in relief of Stewart, while Kyle Busch was second and Kurt Busch was eighth) and saw two rookies in the top 10 (Chase Elliott was fifth and Ryan Blaney was ninth)?

“Sitting in cars for a lot of years, the line is hard to describe,’’ six-time champion Jimmie Johnson said of this type of racing. “We have some races that seems pretty mellow and others that don’t. Plate racing is plate racing. The thing I don’t like to see is cars upside down and we saw a couple today.

“That’s the part that I really don’t like and hopefully we can try to keep them on the ground.’’

Sooner than later.

Thank God A.J. Allmendinger walked away. Thank God Joey Logano walked away. Thank God Kevin Harvick walked away.