A dark cloud in Watkin's Glen

Kevin Ward Jr., 20 years old, was killed in a racing accident last night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. He wrecked out of the race, got out of his car and walked down the track to shake his fist at Tony Stewart. Tony clipped him and Kevin was thrown. He was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Tony issued this statement:

“There aren’t words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It’s a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I’ve decided not to participate in today’s race at Watkins Glen. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy.”

The Ward family said only:

"We appreciate the prayers and support we are receiving from the community, but we need time to grieve and wrap our heads around all of this."

My heart goes out to all of them...

Regan Smith drove the 14 in today''s road course race, and it was a beautiful day.

Memorable moments include:

Cole Whitt fired into the tire wall on lap10 and commented that it worked out well for the last guy, who went on to win 6 championships- JJ did the same in a Nationwide race at the Glen.

Kyle Busch struggled, left the pits with his gas can, tore up a tire, and ended up 20 laps down.

Bad Brad developed brake issues and ended up off... And I so thought he would win today

After going so well, it was not Jeff Gordon's day- his car completely lost power after leading or being in second for two thirds of the race. He had to be pushed to pit road from the back end.

Lap 56 saw Ryan Newman deep in traffic get nudged by Biffle and go hard around into the safer barrier wall and into Michael McDowell sending him hard into the guardrail. Thank God both were able to walk away. Michael thanked the good Lord for his safety- thankful and feeling blessed. The race was red flagged for a good long while... Over an hour in fact... So long  that the drivers got out of the cars and hung out...

AJ leading and Ambrose in second after passing EVERYONE... with 22 to go.... And I was rooting for both of them.... They were trading spots back and forth... and then, just as AJ retook the lead...

Hamlin brought out the second red flag of the day...

AJ was able to hold off Ambrose after a green-white-checker... making him the 12th winner this season and giving him a spot in the chase.

Congratulations AJ!!