Filed under: Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Penske Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
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Filed under: Kurt Busch, FanHouse Exclusive, NASCAR
Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
I know Jimmie is leading the points. And I’m not going to say he doesn’t have a chance of winning a fifth championship – he absolutely does. The points race though is the closest we’ve seen after three races in the history of the Chase, and I think Jimmie has the toughest competition (in terms of number of participants) he’s ever had.
Over the last three races we’ve seen drivers make missteps, make amazing recoveries, and show the kind of consistency and success that wins championships. Still, no one looks that much better than anyone else. The common thread that binds the eleven Chasers capable of winning the Chase is that they all have a pretty good chance to win this thing.
On Sunday we saw the strength of a lot of teams. The Roush Chasers showed, despite struggles the last two seasons, they shouldn’t be counted out. At one point in the race the top four cars came from the Roush stables. And how about Hendrick? Despite struggling off and on through the season, Jimmie Johnson is making his charge to the front (so much for us naysayers!) and teammate Jeff Gordon continues to be a consistent competitor (though pushing to a win is still a struggle).
Though one of the RCR cars is (at the moment at least) probably out of contention, Jeff Burton and most especially Kevin Harvick are displaying the strength of their organization. Harvick moved himself into third this weekend and continued to show just how important consistency is. He has more top-fives and more top-tens than any other driver in the sport right now. Obviously wins would help Harvick bring Richard Childress his first Cup championship in 16 years, but one misstep from one his competitors might be all ‘Mr. Consistency’ Kevin Harvick needs.
And lest I forget the Gibbs cars and the two guys without any teammates in the Chase. While Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin continue to make big headlines off the track, their performances on track is what everyone should be keeping their eyes on. Hamlin is second in the points and Busch is seventh, but both could very easily make their way to the top of the heap. And the final two guys, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart, are the only other drivers to have won a championship in the Chase format. If anyone other than Jimmie Johnson knows how to win in this format, it’s these two.
I know from our discussion the other day, many of you are burnt out on the Championship talk, but how could you not be interested in this? It’s not quite the post-season in the NFL, MLB or NBA, but it’s shaping up to be an interesting fight. With the first 11 cars separated by only 149 points every little mistake is going to be amplified, and the wild card race at Talladega could seriously shake things up.
After years of looking for a close battle among a lot of cars, this year is delivering so far. We’ve still got seven races left, but this year may finally be the year we get that race in the Chase.
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It’s hard to believe we’re closing in on the final races of the season. In just more than two months we’ll be in Homestead to crown a champion for 2010. In the meantime we’ve got our Chase field set and 10 races to sort out the good from the great.
So far this season we’ve seen just how important consistency is in this points system (Kevin Harvick) and how bad luck can damage even the best teams (Jimmie Johnson). While we’ve had some convincing wins and some great performances, who exactly the strongest team is, is hard to say. The race for the championship is wide open for the first time in years, and there are 12 drivers now in a dogfight to become the next Sprint Cup Champion.
Denny Hamlin: Has all the makings of a champion. He’s the winningest driver so far this season, and when the #11 team is on, they’re on. The trouble they, and frankly all the Gibbs teams have had is consistency. Hamlin has two DNFs and five finishes of 30th or worse. His championship hopes are on his team at this point. The driver has proven he’s capable. The rest of the team now needs to figure out if they are.
Jimmie Johnson: The #48 team has been good this season – there’s no doubt about that. But they’ve struggled since the implementation of the spolier. Chad Knaus has been unable to keep up with track conditions some weekends, and other weekends, when they look like they’re on, they get hit by bad luck. Consistency was the thing that made this team so strong for so long and it just hasn’t been there. Johnson has four DNFs so far this season and nine races with finishes of 20th or worse. Just like Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson’s championship hopes rest heavily on his team – perhaps more importantly though are the things he cant control, like luck.
Kevin Harvick: Consistent is the one word to describe this team. In 26 races this season Harvick has won just three times, but built a commanding lead in the points. His average finish of 9.8 is the best of his career, and if the team can maintain it, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Though the team has been good just about every weekend, they’re not always in a position to win. Because of this, Harvick’s championship hopes hinge on the consistency of his competitors over the next 10 races. If everyone runs like they have all season, Harvick could very well give Richard Childress his first Cup championship since 1994.
Kyle Busch: Though he hasn’t had as many wins, Busch has been more consistent than his teammate Denny Hamlin. For that reason he might just be in a better position to win the championship. As I’ve said here before, whether you like him or not, it’s hard not to admit Kyle’s talents as a driver. That said he’s been plagued through his short career by a lack of maturity and focus. He’s definitely calmed down a lot this season, but with a truck team and his Nationwide efforts also on his mind does he consistently have what it takes to win on Sunday? Kyle Busch will be likely be a Cup Champion in the not too distant future, whether that could be this season remains to be seen.
The Roush Cars: Forgive me for grouping these guys together, but they all have the same problem – an inability to overcome the performance hump. Ford has struggled all year with the switchover to the FR9 and the Roush drivers just haven’t been as competitive as they should be. Greg Biffle is the last Ford driver to win a race back in Pocono. Before that it was Matt Kenseth last February at California. And Carl Edwards hasn’t seen victory lane since Homestead 2008. All of these guys are good enough to win championships – I’m just not sure the teams are there performance wise.
Kurt Busch: Just like many of his fellow Chasers, consistency, or lack thereof, has plagued Kurt Busch. It’s hard to believe Roger Penske doesn’t have a Cup championship. He’s certainly had drivers with the talent to do it, and teams formidable enough to compete, but it just hasn’t happened. Since becoming the lone Dodge team Penske, the organization, looks good. Kurt Busch could deliver “The Captain” his first Cup Series championship, I just don’t know if this will be the year.
Tony Stewart: This isn’t 2009 – and Tony Stewart knows it. He has hustled for every good finish he’s had this season. Though they struggled after the implementation of the spoiler, Stewart’s team looks to be back on track as of late. Since Dover he’s had 11 top-ten finishes, five top-five finishes, two second place finishes and one win. While he’s going to need to run a little bit better – as in more wins – Tony Stewart may be hitting his stride at the right time.
Jeff Gordon: Speaking of overcoming the hump. I feel bad for this team. They’re good year in and year out, but Jeff Gordon hasn’t won a race since April of 2009. Before that it was October of 2007. This season Gordon has 10 top-five finishes but no wins to speak of. He’s certainly got what it takes, but this team needs to find that little bit extra to make them a serious contender. Jeff Gordon can be a five time champion, but some things are going to have to improve.
The other two Childress Cars: Consistent but not Championship great – at least so far this season. Both Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer are consistent performers for RCR, but they, like Gordon, just haven’t been able to close the deal. Burton has been in position a couple of times this season only to lose it because of mistakes. Bowyer, like Burton, hasn’t had a win since 2008 and is probably going to need to be a little stronger to truly compete. If these two are going to go head-to-head with Kevin Harvick they’re going to need to find some speed, and fast. They’re capable, but I have my doubts.
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!
Filed under: Kurt Busch, Sprint Cup
I wonder if we will ever quit referring to driver and sponsor movements as the Silly Season. It was initially called that because it referred to a specific part of the season when all this started happening. Now it seems that it starts in February at Daytona. Sorry, I digress…
Has the 2010 Silly Season not been extremely odd? Looking at what we know and still don’t know about who will be where in the future is really interesting. We’ve had all kinds of crazy things happen already, and it’s only August!
Let’s review. First, it was announced in April that Kasey Kahne would leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of 2010, and that he’d signed a deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2012. The move certainly raised a ton of questions, namely, where in the heck Kasey would be driving for the 2011 season. In the four months that have followed, we’ve heard everything from Kasey to Stewart Haas, Kasey to stay at RPM, Martin out at HMS early, and so on and so forth. As it sits today, we still don’t have a single answer about where Kahne will be in 2011. With other teams having open seats, and some considering adding teams, was this move the best for Kahne? Should he have waited to make a move? The ball is in Mr. H’s court.
A few weeks after the Kahne announcement, we learned that Shell-Pennzoil would be leaving the Richard Childress #29 and Kevin Harvick to join Penske Racing and Kurt Busch for 2011 and beyond. It was an interesting move at the time, as trouble was brewing and it appeared Harvick was on his way out at RCR. Besides the chance to sponsor a NASCAR Cup champion, a big reason for the move on Shell’s part was the chance for rights to sell their oil in all of Penske’s auto dealerships. Shortly after the initial announcement however, Harvick won at Talladega, and later decided to re-sign with RCR. Even with the business opportunities for Shell at Penske, this move was still an odd one. You don’t often see a sponsor leave a team at or near the top of the points standings. It may be a little awkward at season’s end if Harvick ends up winning the championship.
The strangest driver change of this season though, just might be the most recent one. On July 27th, Marcos Ambrose announced he would leave JTG Daugherty Racing after the 2010 season. The move ended a five year relationship with team owner Tad Geschickter that took Ambrose from the Truck Series to the Cup ranks. JTG wasn’t driver-less for long, as only a few short days later they announced that Bobby Labonte would replace Ambrose for 2011. What’s odd here though, is Ambrose is now without a ride for the future. We’ve seen plenty of lame duck situations with drivers over the years, but how often has the lame duck driver not had a spot for the next year already locked up when he made his announcement to leave? I can’t think of one off the top of my head. The persisting rumor is that Ambrose is headed over to RPM to replace one of their vacating drivers in either the #9 or #19, but no announcement has come and there are indications that RPM doesn’t have a sponsorship deal lined up. Some have floated that Ambrose may be wanting to return to Australia, but I feel if that were the case, he would have already told us that. He may just be caught in the middle right now waiting for a deal to come together. Either way, the whole situation is very odd.
Besides the situations and questions that I mentioned, there are plenty of other holes to fill for 2011. There are strong indications that Paul Menard is bailing from RPM and taking his family sponsor money to help RCR restart their fourth team for next season. The deal may already be done. If that happens, where does that leave RPM? What happens to Elliott Sadler, who by most indications appears to finally be on his way out? With Brian Vickers health still in question, and Scott Speed’s unflattering 2010 performance, who will drive the Red Bull cars next season? Is Sam Hornish going to be out at Penske at season’s end, or does Roger keep him on? Could Justin Allgaier be bumped up to the third or possibly fourth team for Penske next season?
Where’s the Advil, my head is spinning…
To use the words of the late David Poole, Dale Earnhardt saved Elliott Sadler’s life on Sunday.
What happened to Elliott Sadler on the backstretch (between turns one and two) late in the race at Pocono isn’t exactly clear to those of us who didn’t happen to be in a car and on the backstretch at the time (thanks Kurt Busch and ESPN). What we do know though is Pocono needs to make safety upgrades, like yesterday, and the COT and HANS Device saved Elliott Sadler from serious injury or death.
From what I saw of that wreck, it was one of the worst in recent memory. After hitting the inside Armco barrier, Sadler was propelled back out onto the track – a distance that’s probably a good 50 feet. In the slow motion replay on ESPN, Sadler’s whole body can be seen lurching forward. That tremendous amount of force ripped the car apart. See the engine being towed back to the garage. Sadler was luckily able to walk away with nothing but the wind knocked out of him.
For all of the criticism its gotten and complaining that’s been done about it, the COT has been a wonderful safety innovation. It has no doubt saved lives. Ask Micheal McDowell. Now ask Elliott Sadler.
Add to that the proliferation of the HANS Device and the SAFER barriers and NASCAR has become a much safer place to compete.
In the days leading up to the race, Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky, grandson of the Drs. Mattioli, addressed plans for some much needed safety features, including SAFER barriers between turns 1 and 2, and 2 and 3, and a much needed catch fence. It’s about time.
Looking around on the net Sunday night some were suggesting Pocono shouldn’t be on the schedule. I couldn’t disagree more. It’s a unique facility with great fans (though two races seven weeks apart is ridiculous). I do think though the track needed to have made these upgrades before other things were done – say for instance a $16 million solar farm.
It’s certainly easy to play Monday morning quarterback on this – but I think anyone who has ever seen the facility can see there are a lot of upgrades that need be done. As usual I digress.
Who knows what would have happened to Sadler had he not had the benefit of the current safety features. I shutter to think. Through all the complaining about ESPN missing the moment (big deal), the biggest story here is what didn’t happen and what we fortunately didn’t see.
What NASCAR has done since February 2001 truly has made the sport safer. There have been no serious injuries and no deaths. And thankfully on Sunday we were able to keep that record intact.
I don’t care who you are, if you didn’t think the end of the race at Loudon was good, then you aren’t a race fan. There, I said it.
As a whole, I realize this probably wasn’t the most exciting race of the season, but the last 15 laps were awesome. We saw Jeff Burton make a rare mistake, and two bump-and-runs for the win.
It all started on lap 289. Burton got into turn three too deep, slid up the track, and got into Kyle Busch’s left rear. At the time, the two were racing for third, and both had led laps. Busch ended up 11th, with Burton one spot back in twelfth. Apparently the New Kyle Buschwas driving today, as he was surprisingly calm after the race with his comments. Don’t forget though, these two crossed paths a few weeks ago at Charlotte, in an incident that ended with Burton yelling at Busch on pit road after the race. This burgeoning feud is far from over.
Just a few short laps later, Kurt Busch pulled the classic bump-and-run on Jimmie Johnson to take the race lead. Busch got under Johnson into turn three, and he made just enough contact to send Johnson up the track and scoot by. The elder Busch was able to get away for a few laps, but Johnson ran him back down, and pulled the same maneuver on Busch! Johnson would go on to win his second straight race.
In his post race press conference, Jimmie told reporters that after Busch got into him, he only had one thing in mind: ”wreck his ass.”
We’ve now had two straight weeks where a number of drivers were upset after the race. Last week, the common theme was Jeff Gordon. This week, Clint Bowyer was mad at Juan Pablo Montoya, Montoya was mad at Reed Sorenson, and so on. The drivers have shown that the gloves are off, and anything can and will happen during these races. And if you think these guys are going to forget what has happened over the last two weeks, think again. It might not happen right away, but scores will be settled.
And you know what? There ain’t a damn thing wrong with it.