Automotive

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sunday’s rain-delayed, rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway ended with the unlikeliest of winners — 20-year-old Justin Haley, an Xfinity Series driver making just his third start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and driving for a No. 77 Spire Motorsports team that operates on a shoestring budget compared to the top teams in the circuit.

Haley inherited the lead late in the 400, which was scheduled to be run Saturday night but was pushed to Sunday because of rain, just after an 18-car crash on Lap 120 that eliminated many of the top teams and drivers.

As the drivers still in the race circled the track under caution, NASCAR officials informed teams that the green flag would be displayed one lap later.
Race leader Kurt Busch led a parade of drivers down pit road for fresh tires and fuel, but Haley stayed on the track, taking the lead and hoping that for some reason the race would not be restarted.

Haley got his wish in the form of a lightning strike seven miles from the track, which led to a 30-minute delay as per NASCAR’s weather procedures.
After two hours of delays due to lightning, rain, more lightning and more rain, NASCAR ended the race at that point with Haley, who was running 27th prior to the multi-car crash, scoring one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history.

Haley, who led only the 127th and final lap, is the 20th driver to get his first Cup win at Daytona, and the 10th to do so in the July race. He’s also the track’s second-youngest Cup winner at 20 years, 2 months and 9 days.

Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 when he was 20 years and 1 day old.
Completing the top five on Sunday were William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Ty Dillon and Ryan Newman.
Haley, from Winamac, Indiana, was running the 400 mostly to gain experience and wound up seeing a racing dream come true.

“It’s absolutely a blessing,” said Haley, who finished second in Friday’s Xfinity Series race at Daytona and crossed the finish line first in Xfinity a year ago, but was penalized for going below the double yellow line. “It’s pretty incredible that I have so many great people around me that have given me this opportunity to come to this level and the stage that we’re performing on. …
“I never even saw myself running a Cup race until I got a call a few months ago to do Talladega, and it’s just unreal. I don’t know how to feel.”
Haley’s crew chief, the veteran Peter Sospenzo, said his strategy of staying on the track during the final caution period wasn’t much of a gamble because his team didn’t have a chance to win otherwise.

“My thought process was even if we had four flat tires we weren’t going to pit,” said Sospenzo, who hadn’t won a Cup race since 2003 in a rain-shortened race at Richmond with Joe Nemechek as his driver. “We were going to ride out the weather. It was our only option to steal a win, if you want to call it that. We were not going to come in, and I was actually a little surprised a couple guys in front of us did.

“We just wanted to have a decent finish, not get caught up in any wrecks, and it just worked out.”
The multi-car crash that put into play the series of events that led to Haley’s win began when Austin Dillon and Clint Bowyer wrecked at the head of the lead pack.
Bowyer blamed Dillon for a failed attempt to block him.

“I guess he didn’t want me to pass him,” Bowyer said. “I got under him and he blocked, and we got together. I got off of him — moved down and got off of him — and here he comes back down even more and just finally wrecked us all.”

Dillon explained his aggressive driving by saying he knew the race wouldn’t run to the advertised distance.

“We lost the lead, and I really felt it was kind of urgent to get back into the lead because of the lightning and rain coming,” he said. “I got turned a little bit left and then it shot me down left. It’s just part of this kind of racing.”

Among the more interesting comments on social media about Haley’s win was one from fellow driver Daniel Hemric, who visited with Haley and his family in Hemric’s motorcoach at Daytona the night before the race.

“[Haley] told me he felt like the world of racing is stacked against him,” Hemric wrote on Twitter. “I wonder how he feels about that now??”

PHOTO CAPTION: This 18-car crash on Lap 120 of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 was triggered when Austin Dillon, in the No. 3 Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, in the No. 14 Ford, collided while racing for the lead. Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sunday’s Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway showcased the story of a onetime journeyman driver, Alex Bowman, who persevered through some tough times in his career to finally end up in Victory Lane following a Monster Energy Cup Series race.
Bowman, 26, spent the early part of his 134-race Cup career driving for underfunded teams and eventually found himself without a job. He got his big break in 2016 when he was hired by Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports for a limited Xfinity Series schedule.

Through that team’s affiliation with Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman was hired to run several Cup races in the No. 88 Chevy when Earnhardt suffered a concussion. He nearly won at Phoenix that year, starting from the pole and leading 194 laps before falling to sixth place at the finish.

He remained in the employ of Hendrick in 2017 as Earnhardt returned to the No. 88, although that meant Bowman wouldn’t be racing in Cup. He did win one of his two Xfinity starts for JR Motorsports and was later announced as the full-time driver of the No. 88 beginning last year.
Since then, he and his Hendrick Motorsports team have struggled to match the team’s performances of seasons past, but this year Bowman has emerged as a contender to win races.

He finished second three straight times — at Talladega, Dover and Kansas — before scoring the win on Sunday at Chicago.
Bowman, who led a total of 88 laps in Sunday’s race, which was interrupted for more than three hours because of rain, held the top spot as the laps wound down. But another driver who has finished second a frustratingly large number of times, Kyle Larson, ran him down and took the lead with eight of 267 laps remaining.
Just as it looked as if Larson would finally get a Chicago win after several disappointments there, Bowman summoned some speed that few suspected he had and retook the lead for good from Larson with six laps remaining.

Larson held on to finish second, with Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski completing the top five.
Bowman’s victory, coupled with the strong finishes by Larson and Johnson, were a big boost for Chevrolet, which has been overshadowed this year by the Toyotas from Joe Gibbs Racing and the Fords of Team Penske. Chevy’s only other victory this year came at Talladega Superspeedway, where Chase Elliott won in his No. 9 Camaro.
Bowman said in his frontstretch interview — held in the grass after he got stuck in the rain-soaked trioval — that he willed his way past Larson at the end.

“I was just tired of running second,” he said. “I don’t want to do that anymore. I feel like this is the last box, aside from going and chasing a championship, that I needed personally, for myself, to validate my career.
“I feel like, obviously, there’s a lot more left to accomplish, but this is always what I hear is, ‘You haven’t won a race.’”
In Victory Lane, Bowman was interviewed by Parker Kligerman, another talented young driver who has spent most of his career driving for underfunded teams and now divides his time between driving and TV work.

If anyone could fully appreciate what the win meant to Bowman, it was Kligerman.
“You know how it is,” Bowman said to Kligerman in comments carried on NBCSN. “We were both in the same boat and had a different set of circumstances. I can’t believe it. …
“I didn’t change anything from running 35th every week. I might work out a little harder and study a little harder, but I didn’t change much, and to go from doing that to doing this is pretty incredible.”

Earlier this season, it was announced that one of the No. 88 team’s main sponsors, Nationwide, is not returning next year. Bowman said the Chicago win should make the sponsor search a little easier.

“Finding a partner is really important to us, and I’m glad we have a really good team of people upstairs at Hendrick Motorsports to work on that,” he said. “I’m confident that we’ll make it happen.”
He said he’s been told his job is secure going forward. “I’m going to be driving the car next year,” he said. “I’m not worried about that. [Team owner Rick Hendrick] has told me I’m good there, so that’s all I need to hear.
“We just need to go win some more races and maybe go chase a championship, and I’m confident the rest will take care of itself.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Alex Bowman holds the hardware that came with his breakthrough Cup Series victory, in the Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.Andrew Coppley/HHP for Chevy Racing

Ever since it came out in 2003, the Mazda 3 has always been on my favorite list. Sporty-looking, practical, fun-to-drive and inexpensive, the Mazda 3 hits all the high notes for what is needed to be a great car. For 2019, Mazda has totally redesigned the 3 – and recently I was given the opportunity to use one for a week to see if this new 3 will continue to be a favorite of mine.

As it has always been, the Mazda 3 is available in both hatchback and sedan body styles, the latter being what I was assigned. While I have always preferred the hatchback, with the new 3, I must admit, the sedan now looks just as good, if not better than the hatchback. The one advantage the hatchback holds is that it is the only body style that gets either a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic; sedans are limited to the automatic only. While even though most hatchback buyers will opt for the automatic transmission, I applaud Mazda for still allowing buyers the option of manual on the 3.

The transmission is hooked up to Mazda’s 2.5liter Skyactiv four-cylinder – which is a carryover from last year. Power is rated at 186 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque. The smaller 2.0 liter four-cylinder is no-more. The EPA rates the 3 at 25 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway.

One of the things that always made the 3 such a great car is its interior – and this new one continues that trend. An intuitive, driver-oriented dashboard and console not only makes the 3 feel very sporty, but places all the controls within easy reach and are simple to use. And it’s all done in a clean, uncluttered fashion, which adds a sense of elegance to the cabin. In traditional Mazda fashion, the volume knob and all other radio controls continue to be mounted on the center console area between the seats – where your hand naturally falls on them without having to reach. My tester was equipped with Mazda’s Commander dial-button control interface. While at first it may look like a version of BMW’s iDrive, it’s far easier to use – and reminds me a lot like Audi’s MMI interface. Included in the Premium Package, which the tester also had, was an impressive heads-up display. Not only does it show you how fast you’re traveling, but when a vehicle is in your blind spot, it will show up in the heads up display as well. Impressive stuff that you rarely see in other cars, regardless of their price range.

When it comes to comfort, the 3 provides plenty of space both upfront and in the back seat – and with some of the nicest seats in the business, the cabin of the Mazda 3 a very pleasant place to be. Compared to the old 3, the new 3 has an additional inch in wheelbase, providing better rear-seat room than the outgoing model.

But my favorite feature of the Mazda 3 has always been how enjoyable it is to drive. The engine is responsive, smooth and fairly quiet. And the 3 handles extremely well with precise steering and a firm – but not jarring – suspension, making it a real joy to take into turns. While 186hp may not sound like much power to play with, it’s plenty for the 3, as it feels quick on its feet.

Being a compact car, the 3 has always faced some stiff competition especially with the likes of the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus. All of them make for great commuter cars, but with the 3 there is something that just makes it more fun than the others. Maybe it’s that zoom-zoom factor that Mazda injects into their vehicles.

Whatever it is, the new Mazda 3 still has it – meaning it’s still one of my favorites.

— Christopher A. Randazzo

By The Numbers:

2019 Mazda 3 with Premium Package

Base Price: $27,900.00
Price as Tested:$30,930.00
Layout: front-engine / front-wheel drive
Engine: Skyactiv 2.5 liter 4-cylinder
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Horsepower: 184 hp
Torque: 185 ft/lb
EPA Fuel Economy: 25 city / 33 highway mpg

[Visit me at www.carsbycar.blogspot.com or email me at autocran@gmail.com]

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Sonoma Raceway will be joining the throwback weekend movement with the return of the track’s original layout.
By adding “The Carousel” back to the track layout, the race now will have 12 turns over a 2.52-mile course, upping the lap distance from the 1.99 miles of recent races. The race laps will be reduced from 110 to 85, keeping the overall race distance of 350 kilometers.

The Carousel, which was used from 1968 through 1997, begins at Turn 4 and passes through three more corners [Turns 5, 6 and 6a] before rejoining the most recent layout at Turn 7.

The Carousel was the site of many significant passes back in the day, including one by the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1995, when he drove by Mark Martin en route to his first road-course victory.
Clint Bowyer, who won at Sonoma in 2012 and has eight top-five finishes in 13 starts on the 1.99-mile layout, said he expects it will take drivers some time to adapt to the Carousel.

“It is going to be a game changer, no question,” he said in a recent media session. “I don’t know what to think about it. For the last several years, I have looked at that track to be the go-to track. The Car of Tomorrow really woke up certain tracks, and Sonoma and these road courses have been some of our best products of racing.”

Kevin Harvick, who won the Cup race at Sonoma in 2017 and finished second there last year, said in a recent media session that the change in layout is significant.

“I was in the simulator [recently] and got lost a couple times; forgot where to turn,” said Harvick, who ran the old course before he joined the Cup circuit in 2001. “It is a lot different than I remember it from 1995.”
Harvick said he suggested adding back the Carousel in discussions with Marcus Smith, the president of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns multiple tracks, including Sonoma.

“An hour later he told me he talked to his guys and they were looking into it,” he said. “Next thing you know, we are running the Carousel. I love the fact they are changing it up. I think Watkins Glen could do the same thing.”
Harvick said the changing of the road course is another sign that Speedway Motorsports is willing to try new things with its track to gin up interest in the sport. SMI recently added the Roval, a road course, to Charlotte Motor Speedway, and has been leading the way in adding traction compounds to racing surfaces.

“It seems like SMI is more aggressive in these types of situations with changing things up and trying new things and doing things more on the edge of not knowing what the outcome is going to be,” Harvick said, adding that NASCAR’s other major track owner, International Speedway Corp. has not appeared to be as willing to take risks with its tracks.

PHOTO CAPTION: Multiple tight turns are a hallmark of road courses like Sonoma. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Imageds for NASCAR

By Rick Minter/ Andrews McMeel Syndication

Joey Logano and his No. 22 crew from Team Penske had one of those days at Michigan International Speedway on Monday that racers and race teams dream of.

They started from the pole and led 163 of the 203 laps of the rain-delayed FireKeepers Casino 400. His spotter, T.J. Majors, was spot-on in his guidance to Logano in a race that, due to the current higher downforce/lower horsepower handling package, bore a significant resemblance to those at Daytona and Talladega, where drivers generally have to work together to make passes.

As the laps wound down and the green flag continued to fly, crew chiefs were forced to make strategy calls for their final pit stops. Some took four tires, some opted for fuel only, while others like Logano’s crew chief, Todd Gordon, took two tires and fuel.
That decision led to Logano retaking the lead once the pit stops cycled through, while others languished in mid-pack. Among those was Kevin Harvick, who had come back from being a lap down and was running second to Logano when the pit stops started. The time lost on his four-tire stop dropped him out of contention for the win and he finished seventh.

Logano saved his best move for last. A spin by Erik Jones set up an overtime run to the checkered flag. Logano led the pack to the green flag, with Martin Truex Jr. alongside and the second row occupied by the Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt.

While many expected Logano to be vulnerable to others working together behind him, he blasted out to an early lead and cruised the final two circuits to take his second win of the season and the 23rd of his career. Kurt Busch finished second ahead of Truex, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Busch.

“A day like that, you don’t get those days all the time,” Logano said. “The best car, the best team. We executed perfectly all the way through. … We’ve been so close this year getting into Victory Lane multiple times and coming up short, mainly because of execution.

“[Monday] everything was cleaned up perfectly and we did a great job. This is what we get. Hopefully, we can start stacking up some more.”
Kurt Busch said it would have taken a big break to overtake Logano.

“Logano’s car was tough,” he said. “I really wanted it to go green at the end with Truex. I was going to push him straight through the 22 (Logano). My best shot at it.”
But Busch said he enjoyed the late-race battle.

“I had a blast,” he said. “Tightest I ever put my belts at the end of a race. … It gives us reason to smile and be happy.”
Truex said he thought Logano started before he reached the restart box on the final restart.
“The 22 went like a whole car length before the restart zone,” he said. “I don’t know how you get away with that. Aside from that, great day.”

There were only two drivers who did not finish Monday’s race. One was Kyle Weatherman, making his first start of the season and the 10th of his career. The other, ironically, was the race’s defending winner, Clint Bowyer.
Bowyer wrecked on Lap 130 after some three-wide racing with the No. 20 of Erik Jones and the No. 3 of Austin Dillon.
“The 20 got loose, and I tried to basically make an evasive move to get under him,” Bowyer explained in a TV interview. “The 3 was there and got loose under him, and then I got into him and ran out of real estate. It was a pretty frustrating day.”

PHOTO CAPTION:Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford was battling eventual winner Joey Logano at Michigan on Monday before a four-tire pit stop dropped him out of the top five. Logan Riely/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

Fourteen races into the 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series season a familiar pattern is emerging.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch scored a dominating win in Sunday’s Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway for his league-leading fourth victory of the season and the ninth for the Gibbs team, equaling the team’s win total for all of 2018.
Team Penske is next with four victories, three by Brad Keselowski and one by Joey Logano. Chase Elliott, who won at Talladega in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, is the only driver not from Gibbs or Penske to win this season.
Kyle Larson won the non-points All-Star race in his Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, but his best finish in points-paying Cup races is a third-place a Dover International Speedway four races ago. Larson finished 26th at Pocono after bouncing off the wall late in the race as he competed aggressively while running in the top 10. He was fast early on and won the first two stages.
The four-driver Stewart-Haas contingent has not performed up to expectations so far. The team’s top driver, Kevin Harvick, won eight races last year, but so far hasn’t finished better than fourth. He was 22nd at Pocono after suffering a broken steering box on his No. 4 Ford. Clint Bowyer led the SHR group at Pocono with a fifth-place finish, his fifth top-five this season. Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez are 12th and 13th, respectively, in the points standings, with one top-five finish apiece.
At Gibbs, three of the four Cup drivers have multiple wins, with Martin Truex Jr. taking three and Denny Hamlin two in addition to Busch’s four. Only Erik Jones is winless, but he has three third-place finishes, including his latest on Sunday at Pocono.
Jones said his Toyota Camry was fast, but not fast enough to overtake Busch.
“It would have really had to be a perfect scenario for us to win, but we had a good car,”
Jones said, adding that his car was fast all weekend. “We’ve been doing it every week — we’ve just got to have things go our way and have a little luck on our side.
“We had some good luck [at Pocono] and some things play out the way we needed them, so hopefully that trend keeps rolling here the next couple of months.”
Busch, who now has 55 career Cup wins and is tied with the retired Rusty Wallace for ninth place on the all-time list, said his win on Sunday was due to a combination of all the strengths of his Joe Gibbs team.
“Certainly thanks to [crew chief] Adam Stevens and all my guys … everybody that does such a good job working on my stuff,” he said. “It’s fun to be able to come down pit road and know you’re going to pick up spots and then to also have good race cars on the racetrack.”
Then there were Busch’s usual daring moves on the track, like an outside maneuver on Clint Bowyer for the lead midway through a race in which Busch led a race-high 79 circuits, including the final 21.
“I felt like once I got alongside of [Bowyer], then he and I could race it out on exit [of Turn Two],” Busch said. “That was what got us to lead. That’s what got us the track position. That’s what got us out front to be able to control the rest of the race.”
Bowyer wound up fifth behind runner-up Brad Keselowski, Jones and Chase Elliott.

PHOTO CAPTION:Kyle Larson, on pit road at Pocono, won two stages but once again came up short of victory, bouncing off the wall and finishing 26th. Credit Alan Marlar/HHP for Chevy Racing

By Rick Minter/ Andrews McMeel Syndication

After a relatively slow start to the 2019 season, his first in the No. 19 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing, Martin Truex Jr. has come on strong in recent weeks. His win in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was his third in the past five points-paying Monster Energy Cup Series races and the second of his career in NASCAR’s longest race.

Truex, who also has wins this year at Dover and Richmond, didn’t have an easy night. On Lap 73, while leading the race, he blew a right-front tire and hit the wall, then had another dented fender from an incident with Chase Elliott later in the race.

The damage turned out to be repairable and Truex’s team, led by wily crew chief Cole Pearn, adjusted his car and he was back out front again at Lap 131. He wound up leading a race-high 116 laps and was cruising toward the checkered flag as the laps wound down when Brad Keselowski spun, bringing out the race’s 16th caution flag.
That set up a five-lap dash to the finish line. David Ragan, who was having a great run, stayed on the track and took the lead, forgoing a pit stop because his team had already used the 12 sets of tires each team was allotted.
Ryan Newman took over second place by just taking two tires and Truex lined up third.
Just after the green flag flew, Truex went four-wide to the inside to begin his march forward and quickly sped into the top spot, followed by Joey Logano. Truex then motored away to his 22nd career win, with Logano taking the runner-up spot over Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“I just basically knew that whoever got out front first with four tires was probably going to win with a [five]-lap shootout,” Truex said in his winner’s interview. “You don’t have enough time to get around somebody if it gets single file at all.”
He said his first move was to push his pal Newman.

“I was just pushing Ryan, pushing Ryan, pushing Ryan, trying to get him going, and we came off of [Turn] Two and somehow they got three wide on that front row, and at that point, those three guys just kind of stalled out, and I had just enough momentum,” he said. “I just yanked it left and said, ‘Here’s my chance.’
“There was a hole to go there, and I had just enough of a run to clear a few of them getting into [Turn] Three and then off of Four I was just able to sneak up in front of [Logano], I mean, by like a quarter of an inch. … .Barely, barely fit there, but it just worked out.”
Truex said the before the blown tire, he felt like he had as good a car as he had in the 2016 Coca-Cola 600, when he led all but eight laps en route to a win.
The blown tire, one of several that occurred in the early going, forced crew chief Cole Pearn to raise air pressures on the right-front tire, which meant other changes were needed to adapt to the higher tire pressures.

“Obviously, when you’re in those scenarios when they’re all popping, it’s probably too much camber and too low air,” Pearn said. “It’s not real rocket science when it comes to that, so we had to react and then rebalance the car around being higher on air.”
Pearn said the team’s recent string of success comes after he and the team worked with Truex to help him adjust to the new lower horsepower/higher downforce handling package that debuted this year.

“We just kind of refocused coming here with kind of a different game plan, and really took a positive attitude to it and try and figure out what Martin needed,” he said. “We worked on him a lot to embrace the package and drive in a different way, and he did perfect tonight, and we did better for him. When you can complement each other and both do better, it shows a sign of how good a team we have.”
Logano overcame a slow start to contend for the win at the end. “We just got thrown for a loop there the first few laps of this race, first two, three stages, just, boy, we were junk,” he said. “The guys did a good job adjusting on it and got it to where we were competitive at least. We weren’t fast enough to win, but circumstances could have played in the right way and maybe we could have done it.”
The 600 also saw several underdog drivers have strong runs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth, a career first top-five on an intermediate track. Chris Buescher finished sixth, while Corey LaJoie, who races for the small GoFas Racing team, finished 12th.

Buescher, who blew a tire, hit the wall and lost a lap midway through the race, said the crew of his No. 37 Chevy did a great job repairing the damage.
“We were able to come out there at the end and get an awesome finish,” he said. “We have to keep improving a little bit, but it was a pretty awesome night.”

PHOTO CAPTION: The Coca-Cola 600 featured 46 green-flag passes for the lead — exactly twice the number from last year’s race — and 30 official lead changes among 11 drivers. Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Christopher A. Randazzo

Eight years ago, Ford pulled the Ranger from the North American market – but kept building and selling them in other parts of the world. During the absence of the Ranger here at home, the midsize pickup truck market changed dramatically. Midsize pickups have grown in size, have seen an increase in technological features, and are much more capable than ever before. Today, the Ranger is back, bigger and better than ever. Recently I had an opportunity to spend some time with one and to see how this new Ranger stacks up in a market it once dominated.

Although this Ranger is all-new, the styling is not so much. The 2019 Ranger looks very similar to the one developed by Ford Australia back in 2015 for foreign markets. It’s available as either an extended cab (SuperCab) or the larger crew cab (SuperCrew). Smaller cabs get a 6-foot bed while the larger crew cab gets a 5-foot bed. In typical Ford fashion the Ranger is available in base XL, mid-level XLT and top-of-the-line Lariat trim levels.

Powering every new Ranger is a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 270 hp and 310 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Two-wheel drive is standard with four-wheel drive being available as an option. On top of that there is an FX4 Off-Road Package (available on all three trim levels) that includes off-road tires, upgraded shocks and suspension, an electronically locking rear axle, front tow hooks, underbody skid plates, a terrain management system, and Trail Control – a low-speed crawl control system.

The Ranger that I was in was Lightning Blue with the Lariat trim level as well as the FX4 Off-Road Package.

Entering and exiting the Ranger is easily done thanks to nearly perfect ride height. It’s not too big where you have to climb into it, yet it’s not small where you fall into it. The front seats are supportive and there is plenty of leg and headroom. The backseat also has plenty of headroom and legroom, and most adults will find the Ranger quite spacious.

The rest of the cabin is a mixed bag. All the controls are easy to find and use but all of the trim and dash is decked out in cheap plastic, making the Ranger look dull and uninspired. The 8-inch touchscreen is easy to use and uses Ford’s Sync 4 and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

Take the Ranger for a spin and you’ll see that Ford got the powertrain right. The Ranger’s four feels plenty powerful, with the 10-speed swapping through ratios quickly and smoothly. Ford states the Ranger can hit 60 mph in under 7 seconds – and that feels about right. Steering, handling and braking all feel more than adequate in the Ranger. The ride does feel a little busy and choppy, but hey this is a truck, right?

When it comes to technology, the Ranger doesn’t fall short. The XLT, what Ford claims will be its volume-seller and the Lariat come with the latest driver-assistance features including lane-departure warning and assist, blind-spot monitors with trailer coverage, and automated emergency braking. Adaptive cruise control is optional on these two trim levels.

For those that are looking to the Ranger as a work truck, you’ll be happy to know that it’s capable of towing up to 7,500 pounds when fitted with the optional trailer tow package – quite an increase from previous Rangers we have had.

Pricing for the new Ranger starts at $24,300, with my fully loaded Lariat FX4 topping out at just under $45,000.

Since Ford left the midsize market, Toyota and GM filled the void left by the Ranger. Toyota with its Tacoma has been the sales leader with the Colorado/Canyon GM twins right on the Tacoma’s heels. Will Ford change that? Most likely, but by how much is the real question.

By The Numbers:

2019 Ford Ranger Supercrew 4×4 Lariat

Base Price: $38,395.00
Price as Tested: $44,960.00
Layout: front-engine / four-wheel drive
Engine: 2.3 liter turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost
Transmission: 10 – speed automatic
Horsepower: 270 hp
Torque: 310 lb-ft
EPA Fuel Economy: 20 city / 24 highway mpg

[Visit me at www.carsbycar.blogspot.com or email me at autocran@gmail.com]

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

Brad Keselowski’s 30th career victory, which came in Saturday night’s Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway, was much like many of his earlier wins in that he initially didn’t appear to be a contender, but he and crew chief Paul Wolfe spent most of the race tuning his car and turning it into a winner.
Keselowski started fourth but quickly faded out of the top 10. He ran between 10th and 15th for most of the race while others, like Kevin Harvick, who led a race-high 104 laps, and Alex Bowman, who led 63, dominated at the front.
But Keselowski came on strong at the end, taking advantage of fresher tires, and drove by Bowman with 11 laps remaining to take the lead. He held onto the top spot through an overtime shootout that extended the race by four laps to get his third victory of the season.
Bowman finished second for the third race in a row, while Erik Jones took third over Chase Elliott and Clint Bowyer. Harvick, who won the pole and the first 80-lap stage, finished 15th after being set back by an unscheduled green-flag pit stop with 88 laps remaining.
“What a great day,” Keselowski said. “On the (final) restart, I just got a great launch, and Alex Bowman — he’s going to win a race — he did a great job. We had a little bit of fresher tires than he did (to facilitate the lead change before overtime), and we were able to make the move on the outside there and caught everything perfect.

“I’m just so thankful.”
Bowman was blaming himself afterward, saying he picked the wrong lane when he came up on a group of slower cars, which gave Keselowski an opportunity to pass him.
“We had a really good car, I just made bad decisions going through lapped traffic on lane choice,” he said. “[The lapped drivers] stayed where I needed to run. I should have gone high, and I shouldn’t have picked the middle like I did. I just had to lift and let [Keselowski and Jones] drive right around me.

“I’m pretty frustrated with myself. There was no way around that, that was a bad mistake on my part. We’ll go home and get them next week.”
Bowyer, seeking the first win for a home-state driver at Kansas, also was frustrated at the end, but his ire was directed at Jones, who made a bold move in driving in front of Bowyer on the overtime run to the finish.
“That wasn’t very smart,” Bowyer said of Jones’ tactic. “If it had been another scenario where I would have had some room, I would have just turned him in front of the whole field, and he would be back there wishing he wouldn’t have done that.”
Jones said he did what he had to do, given the current aero package. “We’re racing hard, and this package kind of leads into a lot of blocking and a lot of protecting your position,” he said. “When I take the white flag, I’m not going to give up a lane to give up two, three or four spots if [Bowyer] would have gotten to the inside.”

Kyle Busch will remain tied with Morgan Shepherd with 11 top-10 finishes to start a Cup season. In his 12th start, Busch ran competitively, even overcoming a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes on one of his stops. But a late pit stop to replace a tire cut from contact with Bowyer left him three laps down in 30th place at the finish.

Saturday’s race was the first night race with the new higher-downforce, lower-horsepower competition package NASCAR implemented this year, and Keselowski said the new package puts on its best show at night.

“It used to be we wanted daytime races because it fit the rules,” Keselowski said. “Now it’s the opposite. Nighttime is the new daytime for NASCAR as far as the racing being better.”
The next two races — the non-points All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 — both will end under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

PHOTO CAPTION: Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford for Team Penske had the goods when it counted, bolting to the front late in the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway.Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Christopher A.Randazzo

There was once a time when shoppers of compact sedans had to settle for boring, generic and plain styling. Thankfully, those day are just about gone. Case in point – the Hyundai Elantra. To give you an example – google 2009 Hyundai Elantra – then look at the 2019 Elantra shown here. See what I mean?

For 2019, the Hyundai Elantra gets a face lift. The front end is more angular and bolder with triangular headlights. The Elantra Sport, which is what I was assigned for this review, is set apart even more with its own unique grill, special wheels and a body kit.

Changes can be found inside as well, with a restyled center console and slightly different buttons.

Underneath the body, though the Elantra remains the same, which is nothing to be ashamed of. The base engine, and the only choice for all trim levels except the Sport and the Eco, is a 2.0 liter four-cylinder that makes 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It’s hooked up to either a six- speed manual transmission or an optional six-speed automatic transmission, depending on trim level.

If you haven’t been in a current Elantra, you owe it to yourself to check it out – you’ll be impressed. The upscale look and feel makes the Elantra’s cabin appear more expensive than its sub price tag would have you believe. The infortainment center is nicely integrated into the dash, looking far better than the “iPad attached to the dash” look that others are doing. Seating for five is easily accomplished and when the back seats are not occupied, they can be folded to give you extra cargo room. Trunk space is of good size and can hold 14.4 cubic feet worth of goods.

If fuel-efficiency is your main objective, the Eco is the Elantra you should have your sights on. It uses a 1.4 liter turbocharged four-cylinder mated to a seven-speed automatic. This combination makes the Elantra achieve 32 mpg city and 40 mpg highway vs 28/37 that the other Elantras get.

Opposite the Eco is the Elantra Sport. Fitted with a 1.6 liter turbocharged four-cylinder, it makes 201 horses and 195 lb-ft of torque. It’s available with either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission with paddle shifters. Along with more power, the Sport gets a sport tuned suspension and larger brakes. As you can see, the Sport really does add some sport to the Elantra .

The Intense Blue Elantra Sport test car was fitted with the optional dual clutch automatic transmission.

Behind the wheel, the Elantra Sport surprisingly delivers an impressive ride. Wearing 18-inch meaty tires, the Elantra sticks to the road quite well. And it’s fairly quick too, able to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in about 7 seconds and hit the quarter mile in the mid 15-second range. Shifts are eye-blinking quick thanks to the dual clutch transmission. The larger brakes slows things down when needed.

Pricing for the 2019 Hyundai Elantra starts at $17,2000 – making it look very attractive. The Sport starts at $23,700. A $2,250 Premium package adds in a navigation system with 8-inch touchscreen and an Infinity Sound. Throw in the floor mats and destinations charges, and the MSRP on my tester comes in at $27,005. And don’t forget all Hyundais come with a 10-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty.

Years ago, for those in the market for a compact sedan, being boring was part of the package. Thanks to cars like the Elantra – that is no longer the case.

By The Numbers:

2019 Hyundai Elantra Sport

Base Price: $23,700.00
Price as Tested: $27,005.00
Layout: front-engine / front-wheel drive
Engine: 1.6 liter turbocharged inline 4-cylinder
Transmission: 7 – speed dual-clutch automatic
Horsepower: 201 hp
Torque: 195 ft-lbs
EPA Fuel Economy: 26 city / 33 highway mpg

[Visit me at www.carsbycar.blogspot.com or email me at autocran@gmail.com]

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

The Elliott name has been a big one at Talladega Superspeedway since the 1980s, when Bill Elliott and his No. 9 Fords put on some impressive displays of speed on NASCAR’s fastest track, including an all-time fast qualifying speed of 212.809 miles per hour back in 1987, and making up two laps under the green flag to win the 1985 Winston 500.

On Sunday, Elliott’s son, Chase, took up his father’s mantle and drove the No. 9, now on the side of a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, back to Victory Lane after winning the GEICO 500. Appropriately, while young Elliott was getting his first Talladega victory, dad was collecting another winner’s trophy aboard an old No. 9 Dodge at a Walter Mitty race at Road Atlanta.
Chase Elliott’s victory, the fourth of his Cup career, was the first of the season for Chevrolet, and broke a string of wins by the Fords from Team Penske and the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing. Elliott led four times for 44 laps, including the final four in a race that saw 39 official lead changes. (There were other lead swaps in the race that don’t show up in the official count, which only focuses on who leads at the end of each lap.)

Elliott, who grew in Dawsonville, Georgia, was a winner for the first time in his native Southeast, with his 2018 victories coming at Watkins Glen, Dover and Kansas.
He seemed moved by the reception he received from an enthusiastic Alabama audience that cheered him to victory over the final four laps and celebrated with him afterward.
“I was blown away by the people, how fired up everybody was,” Elliott said. “The post-race [celebration] was unbelievable. I’ve never had a crowd … just felt like in the palm of your hands is how it felt.

“You get excited, they get excited. You walk, they don’t say anything. You pump your arms up, they get pumped up. That’s just something that I’ve never really experienced. That’s one of the coolest moments I feel like of my racing career.”

Elliott, who is poised to become the face of NASCAR if he can continue his winning ways, said he won’t take the fan support for granted.
“You don’t know if that will always be that way,” he said. “People might not like you in a couple years.”
There were several aspects of Sunday’s race that kept fans entertained besides Elliott’s victory.

For instance, drivers from each manufacturer worked together throughout the race, and in the end, Elliott used drafting help from his Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman to take the win, while two young Chevrolet drivers, rookies Ryan Preece and Daniel Hemric, finished third and fifth, respectively. Those were career bests for Bowman, Preece and Hemric. Ford’s Joey Logano dominated much of the latter portions of the race, leading 37 laps, but wound up fourth at the finish.
The race was the first run at Talladega under a new package that featured tapered spacers on the engines instead of restrictor plates, which upped horsepower from around 450 to 550. It also saw the use of a 9-inch rear spoiler, up from the 8 inches used elsewhere this season.

The changes left many wondering how the race would play out, but the main change seemed to be that trailing drivers who got a boost of speed could close quickly on the drivers ahead of them.
There were several accidents, the most frightening occurring on the final lap when David Ragan lost control of his No. 38 Ford, triggering a crash that saw Kyle Larson sail into the air and into the inside wall before launching into a series of barrel rolls.

Larson, who emerged apparently unharmed, said the crash scared him.
“Initially, I thought I was going to hit the inside wall pretty hard,” he said. “And then right before I got to it, I felt the car starting to lift and was just hoping it would just set down.

“Then it started tumbling. It was the longest flip I’ve ever had. I didn’t know if it would ever stop … I was just hoping it wasn’t going to get any closer to the catch fence. It was a little scary, but thankfully I’m OK.”

Bowman said that even though Elliott was poised to deliver the team a victory as the laps wound down, his main goal was to put his own No. 88 Chevy in Victory Lane.
“I’m not just going to let him win,” Bowman said. “I’ve got to try.”

But with the last-lap caution flag, actually thrown for an earlier wreck by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the frontstretch, no one will ever know how that battle among teammates would have worked out.

Logano said he didn’t believe the outcome would have been any different, even if the race ended under the green flag.
“There were no runs building and no momentum going,” he said, adding that his own bid for the win went awry when he moved to block Kurt Busch. That allowed Elliott to slip by them both.
“At the end [Busch] had a big run, and I felt like I had to block that,” he said. “I can’t block both, and [Elliott] got underneath me.”

PHOTO: Kyle Larson posted about his late wreck on Instagram. Courtesy of Chase Elliott Motorsports

A few weeks ago I was driving around town in a car that was all about being cheap and frugal – the 2019 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 4-door sub-compact sedan. This is the perfect car for the kind of driver that could totally care less about how a car looks and drives, as long as it gets from point A to point B – and does so in the cheapest way possible. That’s the purpose of the Mirage – nothing more and nothing less.

The Mirage returned to the North American marketplace back in 2014, but only as a 5-door hatchback. A few years later, the 4-door sedan appeared, carrying a “G4” badge with it. Since then, both the hatchback Mirage and the Mirage G4 have carried on basically unchanged and have clinged on to the idea of being cheap, basic, fuel-efficient transportation.

With an EPA rating of 35 mpg city and 41 mpg highway for a combined 37 mpg, the Mirage G4 does appear to be near the top of the fuel-sipper list of cars that are not hybrids or diesels. And with a starting price of just $14,472, the Mirage is also one of the most inexpensive new cars around.

On paper, the Mirage looks pretty compelling. The base ES model comes standard with keyless entry, cruise control and a 7-inch touchscreen display with a rearview camera. Move up to the SE, like the tester, and features like foglights, keyless ignition and heated front seats are included. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on the SE, optional on the ES.

Inside the Mirage, it’s clear to see why the price for admission is so low. The cabin looks like it was designed about a decade ago – and on a very tight budget. Most surfaces are hard plastic and not particularly high in quality. On a positive note, all the essential controls are there and are simple to use. The cloth bucket seats are fully adjustable and comfortable. And the Mirage is actually quite spacious and even tall drivers and passengers will find adequate head and leg room.

Driving the Mirage, the motor sounds like its working extra hard just to move the car. And it is. Feeling like a dog missing a leg, the three-cylinder 1.2 liter engine struggles to make the 78 hp that it is rated at. I found myself flooring the gas pedal many times just to keep up with traffic. And that was just with me in the car. Add three passengers in the car and what little acceleration the Mirage has evaporates. The Mirage G4 SE comes with a CVT automatic transmission, which is optional on the base ES model. Standard on the ES is a 5-speed manual, which may add some much needed spunk to the car’s fun factor.

But one area where the Mirage does shine is in the value department. With such a low price and delivering excellent fuel economy, along with a five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage, for those watching every penny and each drop of fuel, the Mirage just may be what they are looking for. As long as they don’t want anything more.

-Christopher A. Randazzo
By The Numbers:

2019 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 SE

Base Price: $17,495.00
Price as Tested: $18,525.00
Layout: front-engine / front-wheel drive
Engine: 1.2 liter 3-cylinder
Transmission: CVT automatic
Horsepower: 78 hp
Torque: 74 ft/lbs
Fuel Economy: 35 mpg city / 41 mpg highway

[Visit me at www.carsbycar.blogspot.com or email me at autocran@gmail.com]

By Rick Minter / Andrews McMeel Syndication

With a win in Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Martin Truex Jr. fixed one of the few weak spots on his resume. He won a Cup race on a short track after going winless in his first 80 starts on tracks under one mile in length.

The fact that Truex took so long to win a Cup race on a short track was strange, given that he grew up racing short tracks and won short-track races at Bristol, Indianapolis Raceway Park and Memphis Motorsports Park during his march to two titles in the series now known as Xfinity.
It wasn’t surprising that Truex’s breakthrough short-track win came at Richmond. In the five races there leading up to Saturday night, Truex had led 675 laps but never made it to Victory Lane. On Saturday, he led 186 circuits and held on over a race-ending 148-lap, green-flag run to the finish despite fighting poor handling on his No. 19 Toyota.

He took the lead from Brad Keselowski for good with 79 circuits remaining, then held off late charges from Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano to get his 20th career Cup win and his first since joining Joe Gibbs Racing at the start of the season. Logano finished second, ahead of Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.
Truex’s win means that after nine races no team other than Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske has won in Cup in 2019.

Gibbs has six wins, including three with Kyle Busch and two with Denny Hamlin, while Penske has three, two with Keselowski and one with Logano.
Truex said in his winner’s interview that he was relieved to get his first short-track win and glad to get it at Richmond.

“We’ve been so strong the last couple seasons and led so many laps and had some real, real heartbreakers, some that were really tough, some really tough losses,” he said. “Sometimes those things are hard to get through, but they make you stronger and make you appreciate the good days.”

He said his pit crew, which struggled the week before at Bristol, had a good night at Richmond and helped him stay up front when it counted.
“We didn’t have the best car, and it worked out the way we needed it to, thanks to a great team and a pit crew,” he said. “They stepped up [at Richmond], and they did a great job. They got us to the lead and put us in control of the race and were really the difference.”

Truex admitted he had some anxious moments when Bowyer and Logano were hounding him in the late stages of the race.
“I knew I was in trouble with 35 to go,” he said. “I mean, my car got really tight. I couldn’t get it to turn. … I knew what lap times they were running, and I knew what I could run, and I knew once they started closing the gap, I was having to over-drive my car, and I was just making it worse.
“I just tried to save a tiny little bit, if I could, until they got to me. And from there it was just try not to screw up and try not to give them a free shot at you.”

Truex said the new aero rules made it a close race at the end even without the benefit of late caution flags to tighten the field.
“The real reason that race was so good at the end and so exciting was because none of us had any air on our cars,” he said. “The guys on the tail end of the lead lap right in front of me, I was faster than them, but I couldn’t get any closer. I had no air, just as [Bowyer] and [Logano] didn’t, and we all were just searching for something and sliding, and we had no grip at all.
“So that’s what made it a cool race. I was honestly glad we were able to hold them off. It wasn’t going to be much longer. I was struggling, so it feels good to get it.”
A frustrated Bowyer said he could track down Truex but couldn’t pass him.
“I ran him down,” Bowyer said. “I was faster on a long run than him, but by the time you get to him, your stuff is pretty worn out. And with this aero package, you are so aero-dependent behind those cars that you get terribly tight. …
“I lost. It sucks.”
Logano also lamented the fact that he got behind late and couldn’t catch Truex in time to pass him.

“We had a car that was capable of winning for the third week straight and we didn’t win,” he said. “That part is frustrating. We need to clean up some mistakes on our end. We lost the lead there on a pit stop. We’ve got to get faster there. That is when we lost control of the race and fell back to third.
“We had a decent green-flag cycle that got us up and then we reeled in [Truex and Bowyer] from pretty far back. … Ran out of time. Needed a few more laps.”

Photo caption: Martin Truex Jr.’s victory at Richmond snapped an 80-race Cup losing streak at tracks less than a mile long. Matt Sullivan/Getty Images for NASCAR