Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/10/2024

History was made in the NASCAR Cup Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway as a two-time champion managed to win his second title in three years and join an elite fraternity of NASCAR Champions.  Joey Logano behind the wheel of his Ford dominated much of the third stage and held off Penske teammate, and 2023 Cup Champion Ryan Blaney for his third Cup Championship joining nine other drivers all time.  Logano had a nondescript regular season finishing well outside of tenth place in the points but found the winning touch in the Playoffs winning three times (only Kyle Larson won more than once besides him) including the first race of the round of 8, then, of course, the Championship 4 race on Sunday to win him the Cup.  This is also Logano's third Sportsman of the Week title, but first in 6 years when he won his first championship in 2018.  His first was a Daytona 500 victory three years earlier   This puts Logano tied for the most Sportsman of the Week ever with a lot of career in front of him.  We'll look forward to next year, but for now Joey Logano is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/19/2023

The Spring Sports season rounds into form now that the Super Bowl is behind us and the first major benchmark is the Daytona 500.  After a winter of quiet, the engines roar on the beach in the Great American Race.  And with the restrictor plate racing, surprise winners are becoming a regular thing.  2023 did not disappoint.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survived several crashes and restarts in what became the longest Daytona 500 in history (thanks to new overtime rules).  On the second overtime, as the field wrecked in carnage behind him, he surged ahead of 2022 Cup Champion Joey Logano to secure his first Daytona 500 victory in 12 tries.  The day was categorized by setbacks and Stenhouse Jr. had his share, including a pit violation during the third stage.  But lurking around the front and crafty driving put him in front when it counted.  He's known for his aggressive style of driving and that paid off for JTG Daugherty Racing as he secures the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/14/2021

An annual rite of Spring (or at least late winter) is the restart of the NASCAR season in warm and sunny Florida for the Daytona 500.  Well at least it was warm and later, the rain that precluded the sun abated.  As unpredictable as the weather was the result of the race.  With former Cup champions Denny Hamlin leading the most laps, and Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski leading the final lap, it seemed certain a winner would be from the Final Four of 2020.  Au Contraire.  After Brad took out Joey, it was underdog Michael McDowell who took the checker after a fiery final lap and a yellow flag just before he was passed by 2020 Cup winner Chase Elliott.  It was McDowell's 358th Cup Series career start.  And first Cup Series race victory.  He was listed somewhere between 66-1 and 100-1 at the start.  But he's number one so far in 2021 and now punched his ticket to the NASCAR playoffs.  Michael McDowell is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/17/2019

It was a redeeming end to a tough month for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).  Having lost the former Super Bowl champion coach's son J.D. Gibbs to a neurological disorder just over a month prior to the season opening race, JGR managed a nearly unprecedented sweep the podium at the Daytona 500, led by prior champion Denny Hamlin.  With three major crashes in the final 20 laps, Hamlin skillfully stayed out front and let the chasers knock each other out, while holding off JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones along with defending Cup Series Champion Joey Logano over the final Green-White-Checkered overtime finish.  Masterful use of pit stops along with execution throughout the afternoon, Hamlin's car was clean and fast.  But it was the 21-car-pileup with 10 laps to go that broke the field wide open and left a handful of other decorated veterans like Busch, Kevin Harvick and Logano as major threats to Hamlin's victory.  But Hamlin held them off and took home the trophy for his team.  And most importantly, JGR and J.D. Gibbs.  Hamlin is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week.

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/18/2018

The 2018 NASCAR season would down with an exciting finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway among four drivers who had earned the finalist berth.  Or as Joey Logano called it, "The Big 3, and me".  Well "me" showed the Big 3 that he was bigger.  Or faster.  At or near the front during most of the race, Logano feasted on "short runs" (e.g. small periods of green flags between cautions) to run away from the field in the final 20 laps.  Logano's #22 Penske Pennzoil car continually raced ahead of the others in the first few dozen laps of a run, and that was all it took after the final caution came with under 30 laps to go.  He pegged each of the drivers in front of him and then opened a several second gap not only beating the others, but winning the race.  It was Logano's first Monster Energy Cup Series title for his strong career.  There might be many more, but he is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Daytona 500: Q+A with Bulldog Babe

Unlike the Super Bowl as the biggest NFL event at the end of the season, NASCAR holds its biggest race to lead off the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series (formerly known as the Sprint Cup Series).  One answer as to why is that in the initial race, everyone is at 100%.  As the season goes on, the car carnage persists.  Regardless, the Daytona 500 remains the "circled in sharpie" racing event of the Spring.  The 2017 Daytona 500 commences on Sunday, February 26 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

To breakdown the current state of NASCAR, we are honored to have Twitter celebrity and blog friend Bulldog Babe (a.k.a "burnin'rubberbulldog" or @bulldogbabexoxo) can drive circles around me (pun intended) in analysis.  So we asked her a few questions on the race, the season, and NASCAR in general.  As with her NFL analysis, she pulls no punches and tells it like it is.  Which is why we love her as a blog contributor!  As you can see, she's looking forward to the action!

Anywho, I'll be without sports for the next three weeks. Then, @NASCAR comes on & I start my 15th year of being a fan 😍🏁 #DaytonaDay pic.twitter.com/JUR7ZO3Bhf

— burnin'rubberbulldog (@bulldogbabexo) February 6, 2017

Longhorndave (LHD): When did you become a NASCAR fan and why did you like it so much?
Bulldog Babe (BDB): I became a NASCAR fan in 2002, when I was 6 years old. It was the first sport I got into and I thought it was really cool to see the race cars.

LHD: Who are your favorite drivers and why?
BDB: My favorite drivers are Dale Earnhardt Jr., because he was the first driver I set my eyes on & I think he's just such a down to earth person and so respectable. Denny Hamlin, because while he has his moments like all of the drivers, he knows how to drive and he's such a class act. May I even mention that he's a great father to his four year old daughter Taylor? :).  Also, Kyle Busch, because since meeting his wife Samantha, he's become a better person & driver & he's even a great father to his almost two year old son Brexton. I think that's very admirable.

Editors note: Denny Hamlin was our Sportsman of the Week for winning Daytona last year.  Kyle Busch was our Sportsman of the Week for his Sprint cup Series win in 2015.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win the Sportsman of the Week.

LHD: Who are your least favorite drivers and why?
BDB: My least favorite drivers are Jimmie Johnson, because I think he's too cocky & he acts like he's better than everyone when he's actually not, and Joey Logano because he acts like he's 12 when he doesn't get his way & he intentionally wrecks other guys because they block him to keep him from passing & that's annoying.

Editors note: Jimmie Johnson has won the Sportsman of the Week twice, once for winning the Daytona 500 in 2013 and again for the Sprint Cup Series in 2016.  Joey Logano won the Sportsman of the Week for his Daytona 500 win in 2015.

LHD: What is your best NASCAR memory in your life?
BDB: My best NASCAR memory was going to my first race, which was the 2006 Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While it was such a long race, it was so much fun!

LHD: What underrated or young drivers on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series do you think will break through?
BDB: Overall, I think Chase Elliott will get his first win at Michigan International Speedway because I feel like that was a track where he did so well, but I also think Pocono could be the track to get his first win as he also did well there. For 2017, I think while Daniel Suarez lives up to his Monster Energy Cup debut and has a successful season in the 19 Toyota Camry, Erik Jones will be the one to watch. While Daniel has a title under his belt in the XFinity Series, Erik also has a title under his belt and I believe he is probably the most talented out of the 2017 rookie class.

LHD: What's the fastest you've ever driven (or ridden) in a car (and did you or someone get a ticket)?
BDB: The fastest I've ever been in a car was 85 mph, that was on Charlotte Motor Speedway when they had a drive your car on the track event going on so we did not get a ticket.  I was riding. My dad was driving.

LHD: If you could pick the exact Top 3 finish at the Daytona 500 that you would like, what would it be?
BDB: If I could pick the top 3 finishes for this year's Daytona 500, it would be Denny Hamlin-Kyle Busch-Matt Kenseth. Not because they drive for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), but because they are all very good at Daytona and have wins across the entire Daytona Speedweeks. While Kyle doesn't have a Daytona 500 trophy, I believe he will get it soon.

LHD: What driver (or drivers) would you least like to see win the Daytona 500?
BDB: The drivers I would least like to see win the Daytona 500 would be Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

LHD: In all honesty, what is your prediction for the Top 3 finishers at the Daytona 500?
BDB: My predictions for the 2017 Daytona 500 are that while it might possibly be another close one for the second straight year, I personally believe Denny Hamlin will win his second straight Daytona 500, with his teammate Kyle Busch finishing 2nd and Chase Elliott finishing 3rd.

Great discussion and breakdown by a true fan!  If you love racing, be sure to follow her on race day (any Sunday, but especially Daytona Day.  Her lap-by-lap analysis and reaction is awesome.  Thanks to Bulldog Babe once again!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 2/22/2015

Spring sports always bring a mixed bag of stars and this week continues that Blog tradition.  In the Great American Race, a new face emerged as the winner.  With eyes on Jeff Gordon in his final Daytona 500, and other eyes on Dale Earnhardt Jr. to see if he could repeat last year's success.  It was Joey Logano who made the leap from promising talent to immortality with a razor thin win at the Speedway.  He controlled the race for the late laps, then a wreck with around 10 laps to go put him in control for the green, white, checkered finish.  It went green/white, but then another wreck, with Jeff Gordon in the middle of it, ended the joust.  And Logano emerged.  Others should have maybe considered getting in front on the late laps just in case.  That is, if they could have!  Congrats to Joey Logano, our Sportsman of the Week!