Following Sunday’s race at Atlanta, ten of the twelve Chase drivers are set, with Greg Biffle needing to finish only 42nd or better at Richmond to be in, and Clint Bowyer needing a 28th or better to be in. So with the field all but set, who’s your pick to win the 2010 Cup Series Championship?
Just in case you need a little reminder, here are the twelve drivers that will battle for the title over the final ten races (barring any last minute heroics by Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, or Mark Martin):
After Richmond, the points will be reset among the twelve, with the number of wins being the determining factor for who starts where in the standings and with how many points. Right now, Johnson and Hamlin have the most wins, each with five, so they will be atop the standings heading to New Hampshire.
Now, with everything we’ve seen this season, and what we know of each of these drivers and how they race, who’s your champion? Does Jimmie win a fifth straight? Will a Childress driver finally break through? Will Ford emerge over the last ten races? Let’s hear it!
Also, both Journo and myself wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Is the Chase not good enough for the Nationwide and Truck Series, or are the Nationwide and Truck Series not good enough for the Chase?
As NASCAR tries to fix what probably doesn’t need to be fixed, I’ve got wonder how long it’s going to take them to start applying the points changes (that is the six year old changes) to their two other series.
I know, for many of you, the Chase is a sore subject – and you would just as soon see them get rid of it than see it expanded. No matter your feelings though, doesn’t having two different systems to determine champions throughout the sport undermine the legitimacy of the most contested points system?
I won’t get into NASCAR making changes to the Chase (for the record I think it’s a bad idea – and feel free to discuss it), but I do believe there needs to be uniformity across the series in how a champion is crowned.
In one breath NASCAR is saying the Chase is a great way to determine a champion (though apparently not great enough), and then in the other (though not directly) acknowledging the strength of the old system by allowing it to continue in two of its three national series. Hence the undermining.
I get we’re supposed to have three distinct and unique series. Despite those differences though, and the individual strengths of each of the series, I firmly believe NASCAR needs to administer all three as similarly as possible. If one has a Chase, they should all have a Chase.
On top of that, I think it serves its purpose well enough. We get better fights at the end of the season – and more often than not the best driver does win. So why can’t this work in the Truck and Nationwide Series?
I know it’s not a big thing, but I want a sport that functions like a cohesive unit – not like three stand alone bodies. It may, or may not bother you that NASCAR doesn’t use a uniform system across all three of its series, but it kind of bothers me.
What do you think? Is uniformity in the points necessary across all three series? Would you like to see the Chase be the points system across the sport?
Look around and you’ll see a common headline: ‘Jimmie Johnson is back.’ For weeks many questioned whether the #48 team had lost its Midas touch. After all Johnson went (gasp!) 10 races in between wins. In that time he had two DNFs, and three finishes worse than 30th. Jimmie had hit rock bottom. Or had he?
I wrote here a little more than a month ago that the team was struggling, not because of the spoiler as many had suggested, but because of bad luck and mistakes. The truth is the team has run quite well despite a few hiccups here and there.
Since the implementation of the spoiler – and before his latest two wins – Johnson had six top-10s, three top-fives, one pole, and he led a total of 422 laps (in spite of those two DNFs, and three bad finishes). Since Charlotte, where Johnson finished 37th after a series of maladies, he has finished 5th, 6th, 1st, and 1st.
As we move forward through the season there are certainly still questions about Johnson and team #48. Can they shake the bad luck and mistakes for the remainder of the season? Will the new addition to the Johnson family make any difference? And could Jimmie be peaking too early?
Still this season is shaping up a lot like Johnson’s 2007 championship season. Some bad luck, and DNF’s through the mid-point of the season gave way to ten wins, and one of Johnson’s best seasons to date. Six of Johnson’s wins came after Daytona, and four of those wins came during the Chase (four in a row to be exact).
My point with all this is to say Jimmie may have had some bad luck, and certainly made a few mistakes during the first half of this season, but he has never faded from competitiveness. Perhaps an argument could be made that the field is catching up to Johnson – he’s not necessarily having the dominating performances he has had in past years. Competition is strong from a number of teams. Johnson and Denny Hamlin, for instance, will, at this moment, enter the Chase tied for first with their win totals. Certainly, I think this year he’ll face some stiffer competition going into and through the Chase, but don’t count out team #48.
Is Jimmie back? As far as I can tell he never left.
…and consistency too – consistency is always good.
If you ask some around the sport, the spoiler has had a big impact. The Gibbs cars are surging, RCR has finally gotten their competitive edge back and the Hendrick cars aren’t, well…winning. As great as this story line is and as simple as this is to explain why HMS hasn’t been great (and by ‘hasn’t been great’ I mean why they haven’t won a race) since NASCAR implemented the change, it doesn’t really tell the whole story.
Take Jimmie Johnson, everyone’s favorite target. What makes/made the #48 team so strong is their consistency and their ability to put together absolutely flawless performances (hence the four championships). In the last two seasons Johnson and team 48 only had two DNFs. That is remarkable. In the first 12 races of this season though, Jimmie has had three.
Even still the team’s performance has been pretty good. Since the spoiler was implemented he’s led 386 laps and finished in the top-10 in four of seven races. Of the other three races, Johnson was wrecked in two of them, and finished 16th on Sunday after a speeding penalty late in the race likely cost him the win.
Even without a trophy this past weekend, Johnson still has three wins to his credit and will be set up very nicely when the Chase rolls around. Still, what I see is a team not affected by the spoiler, but a team that has been affected by unfortunate incidents and flawed performances.
To my larger point, the #48 team has been a victim of bad luck and mistakes. What were the odds that AJ Allmendinger would go shooting up the track at Darlington, and of 42 other guys, it was Jimmie Johnson who happened to be perfectly positioned to have his car destroyed? And since when does Jimmie Johnson get caught speeding on pit road? It’s these little things, some within their control and some not, that are costing this team wins (not the spoiler).
Johnson isn’t alone this season either. We’ve seen small mistakes and bad luck cost Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton wins. Even Kyle Busch has lost out this season.
The moral of this story is, sometimes luck is not on your side. And bad luck coupled with mistakes can make you and your team look really bad. This is exactly where Jimmie Johnson is right now. From here on out their championship hopes and the hopes of their fellow competitors will rest on just how flawlessly they can run.
Having luck, and having consistency are keys to success in this sport, perhaps more than any other. Seldom though is the team and the driver that can put these things together. But when everything clicks, magic happens, and winners are born and championships made.
As they say, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
After a short hiatus, “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” returns for the 51st version. We’ve got a big batch of questions, so lets get right to it. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Maytag:
Hey I got to thinking this morning while air-jump starting a ramcar off of a nitrogen bottle , pit crews use compressed gas in a bottle to power the air guns. How many bottles do you go through on any given weekend,race only? I know the guns are hopped up. Do you use special regulators/fittings for flow? Or may I dare ask what PSI and flow rate you use? How about just a range?
It really depends on how many stops a crew does during the race, but the Cup teams and Nationwide teams will usually change their bottles out after each race. Truck teams can get a couple races out of two nitrogen bottles. And I don’t believe the regulators are anything special. In terms of PSI and flow rate, I couldn’t tell you the flow rate, but changers will run PSI anywhere from 90 up to 150. Each changer has their own preference about what PSI to run. – T.C.
2. From Bob:
I just wondering what happened to Yates Racing? I know that they are supposed to “merge” with RPM next year. Is this just a case of changing manufacturers(Dodge to Ford) and picking up a sponsor (Menards)? Will all vestiges of Yates disappear? Seems like Doug Yates just didn’t have his heart in being an owner. Such a shame as Robert Yates Racing was one of the great teams.
Yates pretty much disappeared as an organization after Robert Yates stepped away from the team and Max Jones came in as a co-owner. The last bits of Yates for all intents and purposes became Roush. From what I understand RPM will function much in the way Yates did; as a satellite of Roush. Doug has always been far more involved with Roush-Yates Racing Engines. – Journo
3. From Steve:
What’s the pecking order in the garage? Obviously, the driver is the prima donna, I figure the crew chief comes next, who comes after that and so on? And while I’m asking, how about the pecking order on the pit crew? Where does a poor tire changer fit?
I’m not 100% clear about what you are asking, but the hierarchy for the team is the driver, then the crew chief, followed by the car chief. Everyone after that is pretty much equal. Each team will have their own hierarchies based on seniority, but after those three, it’s wide open. The same is true for pit crews. Outside of seniority, there really isn’t a pecking order. Nobody is more important then anyone else. – T.C.
4. From Ric:
Since there is some talk about going to Fuel Injection in 2011, what does the garage think? Will the production of Black Helicopters ramp up?
I personally haven’t heard a ton of talk about fuel injection. I believe it is being considered, but I don’t think there will be any more black helicopters then normal. There are quite a few other racing series that successfully use and police fuel injection, and I don’t think NASCAR will be any different. – T.C.
5. From Steve:
Perhaps the subject that no one dares talks about out loud… What options does NASCAR have if a championship contender or the leader in a race is deemed to have been intentionally taken out by a friend or teammate of the 2nd place driver? I know NASCAR can penalize the offending driver and I know it would likely end their career, but is there any chance NASCAR wouldn’t allow the beneficiary of such an incident from benefiting? Football has a provision where if a runner is interfered with by someone on the sidelines, they can be awarded the touchdown. Anything similar in NASCAR?
This has actually happened in recent history. In 2003 the truck series went into Homestead with Brendan Gaughan leading Ted Musgrave by 26 points. Jim Smith, Musgrave’s team owner, entered a third truck for Marty Houston, the brother of Jim Smith’s other driver Andy Houston. With 34 laps left Marty ‘got loose’ and wrecked Brendan. Depending on who you talk to, Marty was ordered to end Brendan’s day. Here’s the video. Brendan famously said “Jim Smith can kiss my ass” on live TV. Ultimately it didn’t matter because Kvapil won the championship. While NASCAR can do just about whatever they want, they aren’t going to give anyone a position they didn’t earn (there’s not presently any precedent for it). Potentially a driver could be fined or penalized, but it would be difficult to prove. – Journo
6. From Ric:
When the crew chiefs give info to the driver about who took how many tires (and other things), where do they get the info? NASCAR? Individual organizations? What info / stats do they have in front of them? Can us viewers get this info?
Information regarding pit stops for other drivers often comes from the spotter. They are the ones with the best view of pit road. Crew chiefs can see the teams directly around them, but not those up and down pit road. The only information about the race that NASCAR provides is timing and scoring. Crew chiefs will usually have notes from previous races in front of them, to go along with timing and scoring data. And there is no special system that viewers can plug into to get extra information. – T.C.
7. From Larry:
Given all of the vacillating, that Kyle Busch has done over the past two weeks, pertaining to his 2010 truck team, the picture is as clear as mud. Do you have any idea, as to what is fact and what is rumor? How many trucks and who might be driving them?
Despite the reluctance Kyle has expressed publicly we keep hearing it’s moving forward. We heard early on in the process Tayler Malsam was a candidate, but we’ve heard he’s likely done with NASCAR (by choice). Johnny Benson was another rumor, as was Brian Ickler. Nothing new though. As far as we know though it’s still moving forward. – Journo
8. From Ric:
When a car needs to change it’s paint scheme what is the process? Paint is removed / decal ( not sure what it’s called when the whole car is one big decal) peeled off or is the metal replaced and new metal / paint scheme is put on?
Unless the car’s body is damaged, the metal is not replaced. Most paint schemes are a combination of paint and vinyl wrap (decals). If there is a color change, the wrap is removed and the old paint is sanded off. Then the body guys can repaint and redecal the car. – T.C.
9. From Tim:
Have there been any surprise cuts from Hatchet Day? After wasting most of the year on a bad manufacturing decision, has Roush got it right or will they over-correct in the off-season? (It looks like RCR is on the upswing, it’s great to see The Mayor back up front.) When will someone rip off Jimmie Johnson’s face and expose him for the robot that he really is? I’m so tired of seeing him dominate, in the same way that the haters feel watching Kyle win NWS, but those two boys have some mad skills.
Other than normal spring (or winter?) cleaning that gets done, we haven’t heard of anything big. Most (if not all) of the Wyler and HT Harris shops have been laid off and we’ve heard about some layoffs at Roush. At other big teams though (other than RPM) we haven’t heard anything. The off-season is still very young though. – Journo
10. From Ric:
Crew chiefs get all the blame when something is wrong with the car. How much work does a crew chief actually do on a car? Does the crew chief or the car chief make the decisions on various aspects of things being done to the car? What are the job duties of both?
In most cases with big teams, you won’t see crew chiefs actually working on the race cars at the track. Back in the day they would, but now crew chiefs have become more like team managers. They work with the driver on the setup and then relay changes to the car chief and mechanics in the garage. Crew chiefs work on overall setup and race strategy. The car chief has now become the lead mechanic. Once a base setup is ready, the car chief and an assistant will set the car up in the shop. For many teams I’ve worked for, the crew chief doesn’t even come down off the hauler during practice. Any changes will be radioed back to the car chief, who will lead the other mechanics in making those adjustments. – T.C.
11. From Emanuel:
I apologize if this has been covered, but I was wondering what’s up with the black stripe on Kyle Petty’s #45 hat? Is this in protest of his Dad basically selling the company? P.S. it was great getting to know you guys through your page this season. You guys are awesome.
He wears that in remembrance of his son Adam. Adam was killed during a Busch Series practice at New Hampshire in 2000. Kyle also took over Adam’s #45 number after his death. – Journo
12. From Mr. Ed:
What did you all do for turkey day?
I relaxed at home with my family, watched a little football, and ate some great food! – T.C.
My thanksgiving looked about the same as TC’s. – Journo
13. From BJ:
I’ve read that Steve Addington, former crew chief for Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, has had several calls from interested organizations, but have you heard anything about where he may be in 2010?
This is speculation on my part, but I’ve got to believe he is the lead candidate to replace Pat Tryson as Kurt Busch’s crew chief at Penske. Addington is a proven winner, and he has experience in dealing with a cranky Busch brother. Plus, Penske has the money to throw at Addington. Do not expect him to take over as Dale Jr.’s crew chief at Hendrick. I’ve seen some fans float this idea, but Hendrick won’t go back on his decision to keep Lance McGrew, unless something really drastic happens. – T.C.
14. From Michael:
With Nascar mandating that the 26 Team be shut down (since Roush was unable to move the team anywhere), where do the owner points for the 26 stand? Can Roush sell them off? Do they just disappear into the vapor? Scott Speed fans want to know. Thanks.
I believe they will just go away. Since Roush cannot have five teams, I don’t believe NASCAR would allow a fifth car next year to have Roush as the listed owner (which is what happens when points are sold). This is similar to the DEI/Ginn situation a few years back. DEI was not able to sell the points from the remaining Ginn teams because that would have put them over the team limit. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
Since its inception in 2004 the Chase has been one of the more contentious issues among fans. I know many of you don’t like it. So I think it’s interesting every year to look at the standings as if we were still under the old points system.
This is something I did last year (here and here) and honestly we weren’t too surprised by the results. Jimmie ended the season just behind Carl Edwards (16 points behind). I know what you’re saying, Jimmie’s a false champion, but remember the #48 team sandbagged at Homestead (I would have stayed out of the fight too). Anyway, thankfully this season I don’t have to figure out the points (I know I’m lazy), because NASCAR has already done it for me. Here they are…
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson, 4996 2. #14 Tony Stewart, 4983, -13 3. #24 Jeff Gordon, 4940, -56 4. #5 Mark Martin, 4635, -361 5. #11 Denny Hamlin, 4611, -385 6. #2 Kurt Busch, 4593, -403 7. #42 Juan Pablo Montoya, 4454, -542 8. #16 Greg Biffle, 4420, -576 9. #39 Ryan Newman, 4353, -643 10. #18 Kyle Busch, 4310, -686 11. #9 Kasey Kahne, 4276, -720 12. #17 Matt Kenseth, 4265, -731 13. #99 Carl Edwards, 4252, -744 14. #33 Clint Bowyer, 4224, -772 15. #00 David Reutimann, 4103, -893 16. #83 Brian Vickers, 4024, -972
I can’t personally say I’m surprised Jimmie is leading, however small that lead is. I suppose what surprises me the most is how close the champion race would have been between Johnson, Stewart and Gordon. This would have made for quite a showdown at Homestead. And so much for Mark Martin, he’s not even a factor without the Chase.
Obviously Stewart (currently 5th) and Gordon (currently 3rd) are hurt by the Chase. Interestingly though, so is Denny Hamlin (he’s currently 8th) and Kyle Busch, who missed the cut-off for the Chase and is sitting in 13th.
Being helped most by the Chase are Brian Vickers (currently 12th), Kurt Busch (currently in 4th) and Mark Martin (currently 2nd).
Outside of those guys just about everyone else is within a position or two of where they stand with the Chase. After looking at the points over the last several years, that really isn’t too surprising.
Going into Homestead, Jimmie Johnson is looking like a pretty good bet. It’s possible if they have another Texas-sized problem he could lose the Championship (that’s assuming Mark can put together a solid finish), but let’s face it the #48 is consistently consistent (and good).
My point with this, as it was last year, is to show that even though the Chase has changed the system, the end result really isn’t that much different. The Chase has brought some interest and intrigue to the late season, but at the end of the day the cream will rise to the top. Call Jimmie Johnson a false champion if you like, but you and I both know that’s not true.
Oh and I’ll update you on the final results for Monday’s post.
As we near the end of the season, and what some are already predicting could be a fourth straight championship for Jimmie Johnson, it seems the negative feelings toward driver 48 are growing. Some have even hinted that Johnson’s dominance is to blame for the decline in ratings and attendance recently. The argument is that when one team dominates, it makes the races less interesting to watch. But instead of blaming Johnson and his team for being too good, why aren’t you blaming your favorite driver and team for not being good enough?
I agree that it can suck when one team seems to win everything. But when my favorite college football team isn’t doing well while another is, that doesn’t make me watch less football. The same can be said about my other favorite teams. I’m still going to tune in each week, go to games when I can, and support my team. I don’t understand why the same can’t be said about racing.
We’ve been asked before by fans what exactly the 48 team does differently then everyone else. I think we may even have at least one of those for tomorrow’s “Ask The Insiders Wednesday.” The answer is, that I have no idea. If I did, I’d probably be a rich man. Whatever it is though, it’s working, and you can’t blame Chad Knaus and his guys for doing it right. And instead of getting angry and calling Knaus a cheater, why can’t we take a step back and realize how amazing this run has been? What if Johnson really is that good?
And while we are on the subject of Chad Knaus, how come we hear so often that people want NASCAR to give the teams more freedom in being creative with the cars, yet you get angry when somebody like Knaus pushes the envelope? It is the responsiblity of these teams to push the tolerances to the limit, because that is what it’s going to take to be successful in this age of NASCAR. Like they saying goes, don’t hate the player, hate the game.
You are going to call me a NASCAR homer for saying this, but I don’t care, I’m going to say it anyway. NASCAR is not playing favorites with the 48. As many are starting to get turned off by it, it doesn’t suit NASCAR’s interests to give them some sort of advantage over everyone else. They would be better suited to give Mark Martin or Juan Pablo Montoya the edge, because those would be bigger stories. The black helicopters have been winterized and stored away for the season.
I will agree that some of the debris cautions can be very suspicious, but if NASCAR is really throwing them to affect the race, they are trying to close the fields up for better racing; not to benefit one driver or another. Even Johnson has been the victim of these cautions.
With the Cup Series headed to Martinsville this weekend (one of Johnson’s best tracks) it would appear that his hold on the points lead could grow even further. But as quickly as Johnson has moved to the top, he could just as easily fall. I would caution you in writing off guys like Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, and maybe even a resurgence from JPM. The season is far from over, and if a points lead after five races meant you’d win the championship, the year would be over. But it’s not. We’ve still got five more races to go. Anything can happen. Don’t forget that races are played out on the track, not in statistics or on paper. And ease up off the venom for Jimmie.
Now it’s your turn. Are you becoming turned off by Johnson’ dominance? How come? Do you think one team dominating hurts the sport? Would you feel the same way if it was your favorite driver who was kicking ass? What if it were somebody like Kyle Busch dominating? The floor belongs to you, don’t forget to play nice!
Following NASCAR’s warning of Brad Keselowski last weekend at Kansas to take it easy around the Chase drivers, some fans have expressed their displeasure to us this week with NASCAR’s call. I even heard some angry calls into radio shows regarding the subject. A few in the media have also reacted to the situation, including SceneDaily.com’s Bob Pockrass. I personally think it’s ridiculous for NASCAR to expect non-Chase drivers to tip-toe around the Chasers.
I understand that NASCAR wants a fair fight among those twelve drivers battling for the Championship, and they should be allowed every opportunity (within the rules) to do well. But what being in the Chase shouldn’t get you, is more favor from the other drivers and from NASCAR.
When the teams hit the track each weekend, 43 drivers are vying for not only that Cup, but also the race. Once inside the Chase, just because only 12 drivers can win the Cup doesn’t change the fact that 43 could still win the race. Those other 31 drivers have just as much right to fight for every inch and race hard as those guys in the Chase. By expecting drivers to take it easy around the Chasers, NASCAR is hurting the integrity of the competition and showing disrespect to the fans of those non-Chase drivers.
For those teams outside the Chase, running well in those final ten races and possibly picking up a win could go a long way towards success in the future. For somebody like a Jamie McMurray it could mean a solid ride for 2010 and possible sponsorship. Or for somebody struggling like Dale Earnhardt Jr., it could be the start of returning to Championship form.
As I mentioned on Twitter earlier in the week, you don’t see the NFL asking the non-playoff teams to take it easy on the playoff teams in week 17 of the regular season. The thought being that those non-playoff teams could adversely affect the the chances for those in the playoffs. Those teams would laugh in the NFL’s face, and the fans would be outraged.
So please NASCAR, does us a favor and just let them race.