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Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- NASCAR Chairman Brian France confirmed the sport is moving toward higher technology, is weeks from announcing "impactful changes" for the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule and is still considering changes to the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship that would make "winning at a given moment more important than it is today.''

France addressed a group of the media in an impromptu news conference trackside at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, less than an hour before Sunday's Brickyard 400 green flag.

He had just spent the previous hour meeting with Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chairman Bruton Smith inside the NASCAR corporate trailer nearby, where Smith said they discussed "many things."

Smith, however, was coy about any progress that might have been made toward his company receiving a Sprint Cup date for Kentucky Speedway or a second race for Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011.

He also said his company would be making an announcement next week, but declined to give any details.

"It's not complicated for us,'' Smith said, standing alongside his son, Charlotte Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith. "It's strictly NASCAR's decision (about the 2011 schedule) and we work with them and are cooperative. Our relationship has never been better than it is now.''

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Ryan Newman, Chase for the Sprint Cup

FanHouse has partnered with Ryan Newman for a behind-the-scenes look at NASCAR's Chase for the Championship. Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway is the sixth of 10 races that will decide the Sprint Cup Series championship.

Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army-sponsored Chevrolet, is ranked ninth of the 12 Chase drivers vying for the season title, 288 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, but only 111 points behind fifth-place Kurt Busch. Newman is coming off an 11th-place finish Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway -- his third finish of 11th or better in the five Chase races so far.

In this week's installment of Inside the Chase with Ryan Newman, FanHouse gets the back-story of the Ryan Newman Foundation, which raises money for animal shelters and pet adoption education.

Inside 'The Chase' With Ryan Newman: Helping the Animals originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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With the Chase for the Sprint Cup in full swing headed to Dover, teams must bring their “A” game to the track every weekend to have a chance at the championship.  The smallest mistake by a mechanic, or a slight misstep by a pit crew could cost their team everything.  I was curious though just how good a team had to be over the final ten races to secure the championship, so I did a little research to find out (Racing-Reference.info is great).

A big story this week was Kasey Kahne’s blown engine at Loudon.  Some suspected sabotage, but a broken crankshaft proved to be the culprit.  Many have said this mechanical failure probably ended Kahne’s chances at the championship.  But before you write him off, remember that Jimmie Johnson started off the 2006 Chase with a 39th at Loudon.  But Johnson was able to win the Cup with a final six race stretch that included a win, four second place finishes, and a ninth at Homestead.  Kahne and Co. are certainly capable of such a run, but with the inconsistency they’ve shown this year, fans have plenty of reason to worry.

The only other driver to have a finish outside the top 25 in the Chase and still win the championship was Kurt Busch in 2004.  He finished 42nd at Atlanta, but powered to the Cup with eight top six finishes (including a win).  In 2005, eventual winner Tony Stewart’s worst finish was 25th, while Johnson’s worst finishes in ‘07 and ‘08 were a 14th and a 15th respectively.

Since the Chase was introduced, the highest average finish for the champion came in that 2006 season with Johnson.  He averaged a 10.8 over the final ten races.  But Johnson needed an average finish of fifth in 2007, and an average of 5.7 in 2008 to win those titles.

Just by looking briefly over the statistics, it would appear that the competition for the Cup gets more difficult every year.    While a team may be allowed one mulligan finish, odds are that one bad weekend could ruin their shot.  Johnson’s worst finish last year was a 15th as I said above, and even with an average finish of 5.7, his margin over second place was a scant 69 points.  Over ten races, that means earning 6.9 points more per race then the next guy, or finishing about two positions better on track.

How’s that for pressure?