Nascar Race News!» Chase for the Sprint Cup

Just When You Count Him Out

Journo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:00:04 +0000

Jimmie Johnson had a rough few weeks. He was involved in an on-track altercation with Kurt Busch at Richmond – he finished 31st. He went on to Chicago and had a respectable, but not overwhelming 10th place run. Then he struggled at New Hampshire, finishing 18th. The driver found himself 29 points back in 10th, [...]

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Brad K. Surging At The Right Time

Journo — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:00:22 +0000

Two years ago Brad Keselowski, seeing that his opportunities were limited, left his Nationwide ride at JR Motorsports, for a full time Cup ride at Penske Racing. The move was met with mixed reviews. And in his first full season in 2010, Keselowski struggled. The team averaged a 22.4 finish and scored just two top-10s. [...]

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So Where Does NASCAR Go From Here?

Journo — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:11:48 +0000

With all the hype leading into this final race we certainly had an exciting finish. Who wasn’t on edge after Denny Hamlin spun, Jimmie Johnson’s crew (continually) screwed up, and Kevin Harvick got caught speeding on pit road? I was on the edge of my seat until the final laps. And so after 36 races [...]

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Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR Dynasty May Make Him Greatest Champion

Holly Cain — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 20:46:00 +0000

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson joined his team on the crowded stage, hurriedly set up on the Homestead-Miami Speedway front stretch and, with confetti flying in the air, raised NASCAR's crown jewel, the Sprint Cup Series championship trophy, for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time.

Only seven-time champions Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt have more hardware. And as the humble, low-key Californian hugged his wife, kissed his infant daughter, embraced his dad and gazed out into the crowd, Johnson was struck by something that helped him realize he had finally made it.

"There was a fan standing right up front with an 'I Hate the 48' T-shirt and he gave me the thumbs-up and said, 'Congratulations,' '' the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet recalled with a laugh. "I have people tell me they hate me, but they respect me and that's always cool. If this takes it to the next level, then right on.''

So it is for the most dominant race car driver in NASCAR history. The more he wins, the more trophies he collects, the more people clamor for someone else to step up.

How about, instead, we honor this great accomplishment and appreciate the good fortune to be witnessing sports history.

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Speeding Penalty Derails Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR Title Run

Holly Cain — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:22:00 +0000

Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Richard Childress Racing, NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kevin Harvick and his team owner, Richard Childress, were diplomatic in the moments following Sunday's Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Diplomatic, but not satisfied. Harvick was not happy.

Harvick, who entered the final race in third place in the championship -- 46 points behind Denny Hamlin -- had positioned himself to make a heroic, if unlikely run at his first title, dethroning four-time champ Jimmie Johnson and capitalizing on Hamlin's Sunday afternoon of misfortune.

After racing near the front all day, Harvick exited the pits in first place for a restart on lap 188 of the 267-lap race -- only to be penalized for speeding on pit road (right).

NASCAR said his No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was too fast entering the pits and he was sent to rear of the lead-lap cars, dropping him back to 29th place. Harvick was understandably livid on the team radio when he received the news and still maintained after the race that he was directly behind a car -- on its bumper -- and therefore couldn't have been speeding.

"I don't think that penalty will ever settle in my stomach,'' Harvick said in a post-race press conference. "When you read me off of my pit road times of 49.6, 49.4 50.8 and then 49.6; and there's only a handful people that get to see them, I won't ever settle for that.

"I don't know how you can be speeding when you're on the bumper in front of you and if the other guy is not speeding. So that's about it. ''

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A Points Comparison: Chase vs. Old System

Journo — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:32:16 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but we’re just a couple of days away from the end of the season. And with a three way battle for the championship I thought now would be as good a time as any for my annual look at the points within the Chase and in the old points format. Current [...]

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Three for the Show as NASCAR Hits Homestead for Grand Finale

Holly Cain — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

MIAMI -- Dressed in a freshly pressed, button-down shirt, cleanly shaven and appearing slightly preoccupied, Denny Hamlin was the first to arrive for NASCAR's version of a title fight weigh-in -- a formal press conference with the Sprint Cup Series championship contenders in downtown Coral Gables.

Looking a lot younger than the 30 years he turned Thursday, Hamlin politely smiled but more often stared up at the ceiling as his two bearded, 30-something challengers -- four-time defending Cup champ Jimmie Johnson and veteran Kevin Harvick -- arrived and took their seats on either side of him, then seized every opportunity to take good-natured barbs at the birthday boy and each other.

Hamlin, who holds a 15-point edge over Johnson and a 46-point cushion over Harvick entering Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, called the event "awkward'' because "there's all this s***-talking going on and we're like two feet away (from each other).''

"He definitely seems like the most nervous,'' Harvick said smiling and looking over at Hamlin.

"That's because I'm between you,'' Hamlin replied.

Actually, it's his position in front of them that has made this the most dramatic final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup since NASCAR first instituted its 10-race playoff format seven years ago.

It is the closest-ever margin between first and second place entering the final race. And Harvick, who has the best average finishing position (8.4) among the three at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval, is still a factor compared to past years when a third-place driver was merely a mathematical technicality.

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NASCAR Championship Scenarios as Finish Line Nears for 2010

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Denny Hamlin certainly had plenty of frustration boiling over after late-race strategy failed to work in his favor. So, he took a water bottle and threw it Sunday in Phoenix.

The temperament, however, may be unjustified: Hamlin heads into Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the proverbial driver's seat to win the 2010 crown.

Sure, the Virginia driver is sporting just a 15-point lead and could lose it by finishing second to Jimmie Johnson at Homestead.

But if that happens, Hamlin will be just the third driver in NASCAR's modern points system era to lose the championship in the season's final race. The first was 1979 when Richard Petty beat Darrell Waltrip and the second in 1992 when Alan Kulwicki topped Davey Allison.

Hamlin, however, clinches his fate by simply leading the most laps and finishing second or better. If Hamlin pulls that feat while Jimmie Johnson wins, the two will finish tied in the point standings.

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NASCAR Boasts Closest Battle in Chase History With One To Go

Holly Cain — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Half predicting, half declaring next week's NASCAR season finale will be "one hell of a show," Jimmie Johnson emerged from his fifth-place finishing No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet smiling and feeling good about his chances for an unprecedented fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

You'd have thought he won the race. He's not even leading the standings.

That designation belongs to the unhappiest of Sunday afternoon drivers, Denny Hamlin, who, after leading a race-best 190 laps, had to pit for fuel with 14 laps remaining at Phoenix International Raceway.

Hamlin heads to next week's final showdown at Homestead-Miami Speedway a scant 15 points ahead of Johnson in the closest championship fight since the Chase playoff format was installed in 2004. Third place Kevin Harvick is still very much in the thick of things, 46 points behind Hamlin.

The in-car television camera showed Hamlin yanking off his driving gloves and throwing them one by one against the dashboard of his 12th place No. 11 FedEx Toyota after the race's cool-down lap. Sitting on pit wall immediately after the race, he threw a water bottle and sullenly awaited his television interview.

"Yeah, it's pretty disappointing,'' Hamlin said, taking a long pause before answering questions. "We were in a good position there to look pretty good going into next week.

"It's tough to not be happy having a points lead going into the last race but. ... I was sitting pretty.''

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Jimmie Johnson in Unfamiliar Position With Two Races to Go

Holly Cain — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:51:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR

You don't win an unprecedented four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships without being calm, cool and collected. And competitive.

And Jimmie Johnson's two championship challengers are about to find out just how competitive the four-time champ can be.

For the first time since he started piling up the titles in 2006, Johnson is trailing in the standings with two races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Denny Hamlin swiped the championship lead last week with a win at Texas Motor Speedway and now holds a 33-point advantage on Johnson and 59 on Kevin Harvick.

Johnson couldn't be more blunt in his assessment.

"It sucks,'' Johnson said. "I don't want to be there (in second).''

It's an unfamiliar and unwelcome position for Johnson, but not insurmountable. As he reminded reporters Friday before qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway, no two championship runs are ever the same.

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