The Racing Geek

There’s Plenty To Love About NASCAR

2011-01-25T20:18:00.010-06:00

(Editors Note: Yesterday, Larry McReynolds, while MCing the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing portion of the Sprint Cup Media Tour, made it a point to say the media needs to collectively be more positive with its coverage of NASCAR. I in no way agree with what McReynolds said and am of the belief that the media has every right to cover an event how it best sees fit. Sometimes that entails being critical, while other times it involves heaping praise. It’s up to an individual’s discretion on the approach they think is best. It’s too bad McReynolds, who himself is a member of the media, has yet to learn to this.)

“What’s wrong with NASCAR and what can they do to regain their place in hearts of the American sporting public?” As Larry McReynolds noted yesterday in his remarks, it’s a topic that’s been covered ad nauseum.

Here's the thing; while NASCAR does have some serious issues to address, there’s more right in the sport than wrong. It’s not like other sports don’t have issues of their own.

Take the National Football League for example, the undisputed king of American sports, and maybe the world, depending on your perspective. Despite setting a new television ratings record seemingly every week, there are plenty of warts to be found with the NFL.

First and foremost, it’s a foregone conclusion that there will be a work-stoppage of some sort in the not so distant future. Be it in the form of owners locking out the players or players going on strike. And what for? Because the two parties can’t come to an agreement on how to best divide the millions upon millions of dollars that the league generates each season.

When was the last time labor issues hampered a Sprint Cup race? Or NASCAR refused to let Jeff Gordon race because they thought he was making too much money or Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat out a race because he felt he was owed more than he was getting?

It hasn’t happened. At least not in the modern-era.

By my count, it’s been nearly 42 years since drivers packed up and left a race early over a dispute with the sanctioning body. When that last happened at Talladega in the summer of 1969, it was over the very worthy cause of driver safety. Since then, we’ve never seen a work-stoppage interrupt a scheduled NASCAR race of any kind.

Let’s not beat around the bush, at no point in the history of sports has a professional organization ever been drama free. There are always going to be things that need fixing or something that needs to be improved upon. Granted while some issues are more extreme than others, what NASCAR is experiencing right now isn’t going to sink the sport. NASCAR isn’t going to cancel the Daytona 500 in the same way Major League Baseball canceled the 1994 World Series or cancel an entire season in the same fashion of the National Hockey League did during the 2004-05 season.

Should NASCAR be pulling in better television ratings? Absolutely. But the onus also falls on NASCAR’s television partners to make sure they presenting a product that fans want to watch.

There are many, including myself, who aren’t convinced Fox/TNT/ABC/ESPN are doing everything possible to present the product to the best of their ability.

Should the grandstands be packed like sardines in a can every week? Ideally, yes, but having roughly 70,000-plus attend one of your events is nothing to sneeze at. If you don’t believe that, go to a Kansas City Royals game in the middle of August and count the number of people in the stands.

Has NASCAR perhaps gone a little “too corporate” and lost touch with its roots and consequently turned off some longtime fans? No doubt. Although I will say, it’s hard to please everyone, and from time to time you’re going to upset the applecart in the name of progress. No different from what the NFL is currently going through in trying to curb the number of violent hits. All of which has made a number of fans decry that the league has gone soft and is no longer the sport they grew up watching.

I’m in no way trying to tell you everything is all sunshine and roses with NASCAR. There are plenty of areas where I would like to see improvements and in some cases outright change. But I will tell you there is still plenty to love about the sport. Among them:

Watching Jimmie Johnson do something that has never been done before is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences we’ll share with our grandchildren. And while not everyone may appreciate his greatness now, I’m certain that in due time, we’ll view his reign in the same way many look at Richard Petty’s dominance in the 60s; with awe, envy and disbelief.
The classiness Mark Martin continually exudes even as he sees a dream flicker away.
Kyle Busch’s competiveness – though it sometimes does cross over into boorishness – reminds me of another driver I grew up watching and a driver that NASCAR greatly misses.
The intestinal fortitude exhibited by Denny Hamlin in calling out Jimmie Johnson prior to last season and then going out and damn near toppling NASCAR’s goliath in the process.
There are a lot of athletes who in the face of adversity blame others and refuse to stand in front of the camera. Conversely, athletes tend to be omnipresent when things are going their way. To Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s credit, each week he steps-up to the microphone and answers the tough questions about why he’s not winning and not running better. That’s no easy task, especially when you’re the most popular driver in the garage.
Kevin Harvick, learning to embrace the fact that he’s sitting in the same seat once occupied by arguably the greatest stockcar driver to sit behind the wheel. It may have taken a lot longer than anyone wanted, but listening to Harvick talk about filling Dale Earnhardt’s shoes at RCR, you quickly understand exactly how much it means to him.
Chad Knaus making the tough decision to bench his pit crew mid-race. A decision no crew chief other than a guy who’s done the once impossible, would have the cojones to make.
The raw, unbridled emotion of seeing a driver win a race that no one expected him to win. Take Jamie McMurray for example, when he won the Daytona 500 last year and then proceeded to breakdown in victory lane. That told you all needed to know about how special the moment was to a driver who had been written off just a few months before.
Carl Edwards doing what I always said I would do if I ever were to win a Sprint Cup race, and that’s climb into the stands to celebrate with the people who paid to see you.
The way Brad Keselowski unapologetically spoke his mind when he called Kyle Busch an “ass,” and for his refusal to change his driving style, even though it would be more advantageous for him to do so in the long run.

As noted, these are just a few of the examples of why I love the sport the way I do. While I may get frustrated, angry and sometimes disillusioned over some of the decisions NASCAR makes, in the end, the good far outweighs the bad.

No matter what, NASCAR is a sport that I’m proud to cover both as a fan and a media member. Are there warts? Yes; but you know what? There will always be warts. The key is just learning how to deal with them to the best of one’s ability, even if that sometimes necessitates ripping a decision, a call, or a comment you don’t agree with.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Instant Analysis: Sprint Cup Media Tour Day One

2011-01-25T09:17:00.004-06:00

What Happened: The assembled media converged on Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Penske Racing to listen to drivers and team personnel talk about the forthcoming season. The day ended with a reception hosted by Fox/SPEED where Fox Sports Chairman David Hill shared his thoughts on how Fox would cover the 2011 season, and some changes he would like to see NASCAR make going forward.

What We Learned: Larry McReynolds wants the media to be “positive”...Tony Stewart has gone from eating two large meals a day to five smaller meals…Due to his already busy schedule which includes 38 Sprint Cup races in addition to the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Juan Pablo Montoya has no intention of running in this year’s Indianapolis 500…New dad Ryan Newman has gone from talking about setups with fellow drivers to conversing about cribs…Sam Hornish Jr. is going to run a minimum of 11 Nationwide Series races for Penske Racing…After going in-depth at Daytona in regards to the fight he got into in Australia, Tony Stewart is done talking about it…Kurt Busch will be making his NHRA debut in March at the GatorNationals…Fox wants to see shorter races, a greater emphasis on winning and will focus more on the drivers than in years past.

The Most Significant Development: Fans and media have been banging the drum loudly for NASCAR to shorten races for awhile now, but their requests have, for the most part, fallen on deaf ears. Last night though, for the first time, one of NASCAR’s television partners made it known they’re in favor of seeing the length of races reduced.

“Right now there are more opportunities for stuff [for viewers] than anytime in man’s history,” Fox Chairman David Hill stated. “I think a lot of the races are too long. I think probably three hours would be ideal.”

For those of us who want to see NASCAR trim the fat from some races, this comment is outstanding news. And one has to think these words will certainly resonate with the powers that be down in Daytona.

It's also worth mentioning Hill went on to say Fox is no longer receiving the same value as it once was and that could play an impact when the networks contract expires after the 2014 season.

In Their Own Words: “Last year I think we all started feeling a lot more comfortable in knowing what to expect. It’s definitely not easy for sure, but we have Bobby Hutchins leading this for us. We have some great crew chiefs in Darien Grubb and Tony Gibson. And I have a great teammate with Ryan (Newman). Those are the key ingredients that you have to have.”
--Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart on how much more prepared the team is entering its third season.

What’s Next: Day two of the Sprint Cup Media Tour will feature stops at Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Childress Racing, TRG Motorsports, and Red Bull Racing along with a panel discussion with Nationwide Series drivers and officials.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

A Pointless Change

2011-01-20T15:47:00.004-06:00

I like to think of myself as a pretty smart fella. Whether that’s actually true or not remains open for debate. What I do know is this; the proposed overhaul of the NASCAR points system that has been bandied about – as was first reported by Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press – is not a positive change for the sport.

There are still a lot of undefined details, but this is what we know so far: Under the proposed plan, NASCAR would award the winner 43 points, with the runner-up receiving 42 points and so on, in one-point increments, all the way to the driver who finishes 43rd getting one point for their efforts.

There’s no word yet on whether a driver will be rewarded for leading a lap or the most laps in a race. Furthermore, no one has any idea how this will impact the Chase for the Sprint Cup and what points system will be in place for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. Though it’s likely NASCAR would use the same points system for the Chase.

You won’t get a disagreement from many who feel that a change is necessary in the way NASCAR rewards points. The current system tends to reward drivers more for consistency rather than actual winning, which defeats the principle of what this sport is supposed to be all about.

Far too often, we’ll see a driver play it cautious late in a race rather than take a risk to gain an extra position on the track. I think we can all agree seeing a driver playing it safe in the closing stages of a 500-mile race is a bit of a letdown.

Fans, media, sponsors and just about everyone with a vested interest outside of the guys footing the bill want to see drivers fighting tooth and nail for every position, be it first or 30th.

If NASCAR is serious about making winning matter, forget racing for points, the time has come to offer a bigger incentive for winning.

As such, when he meets with reporters next Wednesday in Charlotte to announce NASCAR’s new points formula, Brian France should step up to the podium and say the following.

“From this day forth, if a driver is to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, they must win a race. We no longer will be taking the top-12 drivers in points. The only eligible drivers will be those who have won one of the 26 regular season races. The days of points racing has come and gone. This sport was founded on winning and as such NASCAR will re-embrace this concept going forward. If you want to win the Sprint Cup championship, you will now have to lay it on the line in the regular season.

“In closing, ‘Boys, have at it.' Again.”

You think this will get an eroding fanbase excited? Your damn right it will. Not only that, I guarantee that many of those who have given up on NASCAR will give the sport a second look and they will like what they see. As for the longtime fan who has felt marginalized over the last 10-15 years, he/she will fall in love again with a sport that looks a lot like the one they once loved so dearly.

But the likelihood of this happening is about as realistic as me finding a writing job where I earn a steady paycheck. Which means don’t expect it to happen anytime in the near future.

In the mean time, what would be best for NASCAR is to scrap this proposed 43-1 idea and come up with a compromise between winning and being consistent. In addition, let’s come up with a points formula that’s easy for fans to understand, makes drivers fight a little more for positions on the track but rewards them for running up front on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, because I’m not a math major, I’m not sure exactly what that system is. However, I will know it when I see. But as of now, I’m still looking.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

The Budweiser Shootout Needs a Reload

2011-01-17T13:22:00.007-06:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this column written, but it’s taken me this long to get my head around the perplexing way NASCAR has elected to determine driver eligibility for this year’s Budweiser Shootout.

You see, there was a time not too long ago when NASCAR fans looked at the Budweiser Shootout, or if you prefer to date yourself, the Busch Clash, the way someone at a restaurant would view an appetizer: You want something light, simple and nothing too complicated. Basically something that wets the palate but isn’t going to ruin your appetite.

For years the Budweiser Shootout did this exceedingly well. It was a short 20-50 lap race featuring some of the sports bigger names that got everyone excited for the following week’s main course, the Daytona 500.

However in recent years, NASCAR has turned the Budweiser Shootout into an appetizer that no one wants to order. Sort of like generic nachos or bland, deep-fried mozzarella sticks.

They’ve done so through a set of convoluted rules and a qualification process that has oversaturated the race to the point that no one can discern the Shootout from a NASCAR race held in August.

(On a side note, I promise you no one makes better homemade nachos than yours truly. I’m not going to give out my recipe, which I’ve cultivated on my own, but I will say it involves a 5-pound bag of cheese, two different kinds of chips and multiple layers of goodness.)

For example, this year a driver qualifies for the Budweiser Shootout if they A) qualified for the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup, B) are a past Sprint Cup champion, C) a former winner of the Daytona 500 or Coke Zero 400, or D) a Rookie of the Year winner from 2001-2010.

If you can decipher all that, it means 30 drivers are eligible, opposed to the usual 17-20 drivers who generally take the green flag.

As for the “luminaries” who are eligible for the February 12 race, they include Sterling Marlin, who hasn’t started a race since 2009 and hasn’t scored a top-10 finish since 2006; John Andretti, a two-time Sprint Cup winner who last went to victory lane 12 years ago; Derrike Cope, perhaps the flukiest Daytona 500 victor in history; Regan Smith, who has never finished better than 12th in 95 career Cup starts; and Ken Schrader, whose winless streak dates back to George Bush’s first term in office. And I’m not talking about George W.; I’m referring to the original George Bush, the one who was once Ronald Reagan’s Vice-President.

And of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another eligible driver; last year’s Rookie of the Year recipient Kevin Conway. He of the stellar 32.6 average finish during his history making (in the bad way) rookie campaign, and a driver who in 34 races in 2010 registered just one measly finish inside the top-20.

Add it all together and a race that once featured some of the sports biggest names in a non-points duel, now features those same big names only joined by a collection of veterans past their respective primes and a couple of guys who never had primes to begin with.

All the while Brian Vickers and David Reutimann, two drivers who have been to victory lane in the last two years, are sitting on the sideline helmet in hand wishing they had the chance to compete.

This brings me to my next point. If NASCAR is intent on going the route of watering down the Budweiser Shootout and opening up the race to include more participants – as is their right to do – there’s a way of doing so while at the same time making it different enough so that it maintains the appeal of years past.

The funny thing is there’s a simple solution to this whole madness. And one that doesn’t involve canceling the Shootout as some have suggested.

It’s an idea that would surely get fans excited and return some of the shine that has eroded away from a once-great appetizer of a race to kickoff the coming season and get the public excited for the following week’s Daytona 500.

My plan opens up the race to any driver who started a race the preceding year. Instead of having everyone on the track at once as we do now, we would divide the drivers up into two heats. We could do so either through some sort of qualifying system or incorporating a random draw much the like the one that is used now to set the lineup for the Shootout.

Each of two heat races would be 20 laps, with only green-flag laps counting. At the conclusion of each heat, we take the top-10 drivers from each and advance them to the feature. This would then give us 20 deserving drivers competing for the win in a 50-lap feature.

Not only is this a similar format that is used with great success on countless short tracks throughout the country, but it also harkens back to the roots of NASCAR. In addition, this is a format that fits with what this race is supposed to be: 20 deserving drivers under the lights on a Saturday night, racing for nothing but the big check that goes to the winner.

No points on the line, just pride. The end result would see fans enjoying the tasty appetizer they once loved so much.

Now if you’ll excuse me, after all this talk about food I’ve gotten a bit hungry. Not to mention thirsty.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Offseason Analysis: Joe Gibbs Racing

2011-01-13T14:32:00.005-06:00

With a combined 11 victories, placing two cars in the Chase, nearly winning their fourth championship and seeing their much hyped second-year driver make gigantic leaps, 2010 was a terrific year for Joe Gibbs Racing. For the team owned by a three-time Super Bowl winning coach, there’s the very real possibility that the forthcoming season will be even better.

Denny Hamlin is coming off a career-year in ’10 which saw him narrowly lose the championship, Kyle Busch is a consistent threat to win just about every week, and Joey Logano continues to flash the talent that earned him the “Sliced Bread” moniker. And best of all, not one of these guys is over the age of 30. From all appearances it’s more a matter of when and not if Gibbs wins his fourth series title.

2010 In The Rearview: Entering last season, expectations were sky-high for Denny Hamlin. If his history has taught us anything, it’s that rarely are those expectations met. In this case though, Hamlin not only met them, he exceeded them.

After a slow start to his year where he finished 17th, 29th, 19th, 21st and 19th through the year’s first five races, Hamlin broke through with a dominating victory at Martinsville. With the floodgates unleashed, the native Virginian rolled off four victories in his next nine starts. That he did this with a surgically repaired knee only made this all the more impressive.

Despite a summer swoon, when the Chase rolled around in September, it was Hamlin who was atop the standings when the points were reset following Richmond.

Once the playoffs started, it was obvious who the man to beat was, as the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota kicked off the playoffs off with a runner-up finish at New Hampshire, a ninth-place run at Dover and a 12th at Kansas. All followed by an eighth at Fontana and a fourth at Charlotte.

But it was at Martinsville, a track Hamlin has owned in recent years, where he seized control of the points with a comeback win and two weeks later returned to victory lane with a rousing win at Texas.

However, the good vibes came to an unexpected halt in the Phoenix desert. A miscalculation in pit strategy cost the team a surefire finish that would have all but locked up the title, but instead opened the door for both Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick to snatch the championship that Hamlin had seemed assured of winning.

The following week in the year’s finale race at Homestead, that door was flung wide-open when Hamlin qualified poorly and then spun out 25 laps into the 267-lap race. Although he gallantly rallied back to finish 14th, it wasn’t to be. When everything was said and done, Hamlin finished the year trailing Johnson by 39 markers.

A year after not making the Chase, we weren’t really sure what to make of the 18 team heading into 2010. Expectations varied from championship contender to fringe Chase contender, with most assuming the team would make frequent trips to victory lane regardless of its position in points.

Yes, there were many times last year when Busch looked like a championship contender. Particularly after his spring win at Dover, where he used patience and guile to force Jimmie Johnson into making an uncharacteristic mistake. But as noted by the seven finishes of 25th or worse, too often the mercurial driver disappeared and wasn’t able to salvage a bad day by fighting hard enough to earn a respectable finish.

Of course, there were still moments when immaturity got the better of Kyle Busch. Who can forget Texas when Busch, who was deemed too fast on pit road, unleashed not only a verbal tirade that HBO would have found offensive, but gave a dual one-finger salute to a NASCAR official that resulted in the sanctioning body slapping Busch with a three lap penalty.

All told, looking back it was a good season that felt like it could, and should, have been even better. While three wins, 18 top-10s and 1,271 laps led are impressive and show what this team is capable of, it’s easy to get the feeling that Kyle Busch once again didn’t reach his full potential in 2010.

For Joey Logano, even though he didn’t win races like his more accomplished teammates, last season was as good as it could be. The youngster improved significantly upon his rookie season, earning four more top-fives, nine additional top-10s and finishing four spots higher in the standings than the year before. With seven top-10s in the year’s final 11 races, momentum is clearly on the side of the 20 team heading into 2011.

2011 Drivers: No. 11 Denny Hamlin (FedEx Toyota); No. 18 Kyle Busch (M&M’s Toyota); No. 20 Joey Logano (Home Depot Toyota)

Key Changes: Not surprisingly for an organization that prides itself on stability, everything will remain as is heading into the 2011 season. Denny Hamlin will continue working with the only crew chief he’s ever known in Sprint Cup, Mike Ford. Kyle Busch enters his second year with Dave Rogers, and Joey Logano again will be paired with Greg Zipadelli, a two-time championship winning crew chief.

Offseason Analysis: When Joey Logano was tabbed to replace Tony Stewart behind the wheel of the Home Depot No. 20 car, the decision makers at Joe Gibbs Racing knew it was going to take some time before the young driver was ready for the rigors of racing at the Sprint Cup level. But after a solid sophomore campaign which saw him post more top-10s than Jamie McMurray or Mark Martin, it’s evident that he has the chops to backup the substantial hype that accompanied his debut.

But for really the first time in his Sprint Cup career, Joey Logano enters the 2011 season in an unfamiliar position. This year he will be required to produce results on a somewhat weekly basis. He will be anticipated to win a race, maybe two, and he will be expected to make the Chase, or at the very least come close to doing so.

The two biggest areas he can work on to help his chances of making the Chase for the first time are: Improving his performance on the series’ two road courses and to learn how to play better with others.

In regards to the former, in four career on tracks where you have to turn both left and right, the 20-year-old driver has never finished better than 16th and has an average finish of 25th. With more seat time, it’s a given that his average finish will decrease. It would help his Chase chances a lot if the improvement started this season.

As for the latter, because of veteran driver’s propensity to take advantage of younger and less experienced wheelman, as well as Logano not fully grasping the nuances of competing in NASCAR’s highest level, he found himself in a tit-for-tat with Kevin Harvick at Pocono, Ryan Newman at Michigan, and Juan Pablo Montoya at Homestead.

What Logano needs to learn this offseason – and I’m confident he will – is that while you’re not always going to get along with every driver on the track, you need to pick and choose your battles. And getting into on-track shoving matches with three respected drivers will hurt you more in the long run than help you. Just ask Brad Keselowski.

In 2010, Denny Hamlin had an absolutely fantastic season. If he weren’t going head-to-head against the best closer in NASCAR history, he would have undoubtedly won his first championship. But the fact is, because of poor fuel mileage at Phoenix and an early race bobble at Homestead he finished 39 points short of his first Sprint Cup crown.

The question I'm asked most regarding the upcoming season, is whether Hamlin can put what happened in the final two races behind him and refocus on 2011. It’s a question no one will have an answer for until some point next season.

However, the recent track record of guys who have finished second to the 48 isn’t good. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and Mark Martin all went winless the year following their runner-up finish in points to Johnson. Considering the manner in which he lost the title, one has to think there might be a bit of a letdown this season for Hamlin.

What are we to make of the relationship between Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford? There seems to be some underlying tension between the two, particularly after the ill-advised decision by Ford at Phoenix, where he didn’t keep his driver informed of how close he was on fuel. A decision, which ultimately cost the 11 team the championship.

If this team stumbles out of the gate and has a hard time matching its form of a year ago, there's a very real possibility that we’ll see Ford relieved of his duties.

Few drivers in NASCAR can match the raw talent of Kyle Busch. But it takes more than just talent to be a champion. It takes patience, maturity, and the ability to rally and inspire your team when the chips are down. As we witnessed at Texas, these are all traits Busch is currently lacking.

Since joining JGR prior to the 2008 season, Busch has started 94 Nationwide 49 Truck Series races. While it may help the bottom-line in terms of sponsorship dollars at JGR, it’s taking away from the task at hand, which is winning a Sprint Cup championship. I can’t imagine Busch’s Cup sponsor, M&M’s, is too happy with all the moonlighting their driver is doing in NASCAR’s lesser series’.

If I were Joe and J.D. Gibbs, I think this offseason you have to seriously consider cutting back the number of Nationwide and Truck Series races Busch competes in.

Make Busch focus his attention on Sprint Cup and after he wins his first championship, then you can reexamine your options. But until then, winning Cup races and a championship comes before anything else.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

News and Notes on a Lazy Sunday

2011-01-09T13:03:00.016-06:00

Let’s role-play for a minute. Pretend you’re a starting quarterback for a college football team who was just named most valuable player of the Go Daddy.com bowl. Post-game, you’ve just been handed your MVP trophy by none other than the Go Daddy girl herself, Danica Patrick. Wouldn’t you try and lay a smooch on her if given the opportunity? Of course you would. Which is exactly what Miami (Ohio) quarterback Austin Boucher did Thursday night.

A year ago the IZOD IndyCar Series was a ship rapidly taking on water. The television ratings were abysmal; the competition was lacking due to a chassis and engine package that was outdated as last week’s dinner; and there was a leadership void that led many to question the viability of the series going forward. All told, open-wheel racing in America was going nowhere fast. IndyCar fans needed a miracle worker. Except no one had any idea who that person was.

Enter Randy Bernard, the former head honcho of the Professional Bull Rider’s tour, who as SPEED’s Robin Miller documents, in his first year as CEO of IndyCar has done the seemingly impossible.

But while Bernard has turned wine into water in 12 months time, it's evident he still has a ways to go to bring back IndyCar racing to the lofty heights it experienced in the early 90s. Case in point, rumors are swirling that Firestone is withdrawing its support following the 2011 season. For every three steps forward, it seems the IndyCar Series takes one giant step back.

This originally ran in the July 5 edition of Sports Illustrated, but I just stumbled acrossed it the other day. It’s a roundtable discussion with Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick, where the fivesome shared their thoughts on a wide-variety of topics. Everything from whether Johnson’s dominance is good for the sport, to proposed changes to the schedule to driver safety was covered. It’s a bit lengthy, but it’s well worth the investment of your time.

Speculation has been rampant for months that Ray Evernham would be rejoining Hendrick Motorsports in some capacity. On Tuesday, those rumors were confirmed. Sort of.

Evernham won’t be taking an active role in Hendrick’s four-car NASCAR team. Instead, he’ll be a consultant for the Hendrick Companies, where he will oversee the strategic initiatives for Hendrick’s car dealerships. Sadly as a result, Evernham will be leaving his post as an analyst for ESPN, where he was one of the network’s few bright spots.

While all the participants involved are saying the three-time championship winning crew chief won’t have any role in the motorsports side of things, one has to think we may over time, see Evernham play a larger part in the day-to-day operations of Hendrick Motorsports. Particularly, if a certain driver (cough, cough Dale Earnhardt Jr.) is unable to come out of the tailspin that he’s been immersed in the last couple of years.

From the Daytona 500 to the Indianapolis 500 to the Brickyard 400 last season, Chip Ganassi won just about every major race there was to win in North America. The lone exception was the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

In an effort to change that, Ganassi, as it has become the norm the last few years, has assembled an impressive array of talent in his effort to his win the around-the-clock race. Sharing the driving efforts for the two-car team will be Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Jamie McMurray, Graham Rahal, Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Joey Hand. I’ll give you one guess as to which team is regarded as the favorite when the green flag flies for the 49th running endurance classic.

While we’re on the subject of sports car racing, the American Le Mans Series has inked a new – and unique – television deal with ABC/ESPN. A deal which will see every ALMS race, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, carried live online, but not via broadcast television. For a series that’s struggling with car counts and attracting sponsorship it’s a curious decision to say the least.

Here's the early leader for the feel good story of 2011. Christmas Day, Denny Hamlin played the role of Santa Claus and gave away an all-expenses-paid trip to one of his followers on Twitter.

If you haven’t yet seen it, I suggest checking out some New Year’s resolutions I dished out to a variety of NASCAR personalities.

In closing, here’s an excellent video paying tribute to the Golden Era of open-wheel racing.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Offseason Analysis: Richard Childress Racing

2011-01-06T17:32:00.000-06:00

Call it revitalization, a resurrection, or simply a legendary team picking itself up after being knocked down. Any way you want to look at it, Richard Childress deftly put behind them a disappointing 2009 season and turned in arguably one of its best years since Dale Earnhardt was contending and winning championships in the 90s.

Now it’s time for the encore and the inevitable questions of whether the organization – which has had difficulty carrying over success from one year to the next – cannot only repeat their performance of a year ago but improve upon it. And will adding a fourth car be too much of a burden for RCR and detract from what could – and should – be a year like the one they just experienced.

2010 In The Rearview: Coming off a season that saw none of its then four cars win or make the Chase for the Championship, there were a lot of uncertainties surrounding Richard Childress Racing heading into 2010.

Chief among them was how long Kevin Harvick was going to be with the team. Entering the final year of his contract, Harvick made it well-known that he had no intention of re-signing with the team who he had driven for since 2001, unless they dramatically turned around their fortunes.

Thanks in large part to a massive organizational reshuffling towards the end of the 2009 season, not to mention engines that were regarded as some of the most powerful in the garage, a turnaround is precisely what happened.

Not only did Harvick break a lengthy winless streak at Talladega, when he nipped Jamie McMurray by a few inches, he also went on to win twice more and collected more points during the regular season than any other driver. When the Chase started in September, the Bakersfield, California driver was in the thick of the title hunt. By the time the checkered flag waved at Homestead to closeout the 2010 campaign, Harvick set a career-best third in points, and in the process had negotiated a long-term contract extension for the only team he had ever driven for.

While things weren’t as rosy for the other two cars in the RCR stable, they weren’t far off.

Clint Bowyer went to victory lane New Hampshire and Loudon, made NASCAR’s version of the playoffs for the third time in five years, and again asserted himself as one of the sports more overlooked wheelman. If it weren’t for a 150-point penalty handed down by NASCAR, he surely would have finished higher than 10th overall, and most likely somewhere in the top-five.

Though Jeff Burton didn’t win like his two RCR brethren, he also turned in a fine season, and at one point through the summer months looked like he might win the organization’s first title since 1994. But a closing stretch which saw him average 19.9 in the final 10 races ensured the quest for his first NASCAR championship would continue for at least one more year.

Be it Fontana, Phoenix, Martinsville, Charlotte or Loudon, Burton’s main issue in 2010 was his inane ability to self-destruct whenever a good finish appeared within his grasp. A problem which reared its ugly head far too often and in the end prevented him from having the same amount of success as his two teammates.

2011 Drivers: No. 27 Paul Menard (Menards Chevy); No. 29 Kevin Harvick (Budweiser Chevy); No. 31 Jeff Burton (Caterpillar Chevy); No. 33 Clint Bowyer (General Mills/Cheerios Chevy)

Key Changes: Just a year removed from having to eliminate a team due to a lack of funding, Richard Childress Racing is once again expanding to a four-car team. The six-time championship winning car owner has tabbed Paul Menard to pilot his fourth car, which not coincidently will be sponsored by the home improvement store that bears Menard’s last name. Guiding the 27 team will be crew chief Slugger Labbe who worked with Menard at RPM and played a big role in him posting the best season of his four-year Sprint Cup career.

The other change of note, sees Budweiser leaving Richard Petty Motorsports to become the primary sponsor on the 29 car of Kevin Harvick. A change that was necessitated after Harvick’s old sponsor, Shell/Pennzoil, decided to depart for Penske Racing.

Offseason Analysis: Sustaining success isn’t something Richard Childress has been known for in the past 10 years. Often one good or great season would be followed by a so-so season the following year. However, there is no reason for this team not to be able to build off of what was a fantastic 2010, as all the pieces remain in place. But saying it and doing it are two entirely different things.

The one area of concern is what impact the addition of a fourth car will have on the team overall. When RCR added a fourth car prior to the 2009 season it did so without any success and it sent the team into a tailspin. Collectively they were shutout of both victory lane and the Chase, and looked to be an organization whose better days were behind them.

The absolute biggest key this offseason for everyone who receives a paycheck with the RCR insignia on it, will be ensuring that the addition of a fourth car doesn’t detract from the three cars that are already established. Often what you see in NASCAR when a team elects to expand is the toll it inflicts on the structure that is already in place, from shifting crew guys around, finding additional personnel to hire, along with the litany of other things that go into starting a new team.

With Kevin Harvick, and possibly Clint Bowyer, harboring championship aspirations, there is a real risk of spreading oneself too thin. What remains to be seen, and what will play out over the coming season, is whether it was worth upsetting the proverbial apple cart to add a fourth car to an organization that was doing just fine with three.

With expectations being championship or bust, it’s going to be awfully hard for Kevin Harvick to duplicate the season he had in 2010. Working against him is the fact that he’s never won multiple races in back-to-back seasons.

For me though, Harvick’s season won’t be judged a failure if he doesn’t win the title. (Because if we’re being honest and we were going to use such criteria, at the end of the season there would be only one driver considered a success each year.) Ultimately, I’ll consider his season a success if he wins as many races as he did in 2010 and finishes in the top-five in points.

What’s important for everyone on the 29 team to do is learn to manage the expectations that will be placed in front of them. Don’t run from them or downplay them. Embrace them and use it to make yourself better.

Worth paying attention to, and something which might prove to be a bit of a distraction behind the scenes, is the lack of sponsorship RCR has lined up for the 29 team. Budweiser is only inked to be on the side of the Harvick’s Chevrolet for 20 points races plus the non-points Budweiser Shootout and Sprint All-Star Race. To date, the team has yet to announce any additional sponsorship. A bit disconcerting considering the year Harvick just had and the fact that Daytona is just 44 days away.

Here’s a question that has yet to be answered: Why can’t Jeff Burton close the deal and win a race? Too often last year we saw the veteran driver in position to win in the closing stages of a race only to see it go by the wayside. By the time the Chase started, the driver nicknamed “The Mayor” was admittedly pressing, which resulted in him scoring top-10 finishes in just two of the final 10 races of the year. For 2011 Burton has vowed to return to his more conservative approach behind the wheel, a tactic which served him well throughout the first-half of last year.

Helping Burton get back to the winner’s circle would be having a pit crew that didn’t continually drop the ball. Considering this was a problem that also plagued the 29 team, and resulted in a RCR swapping the 29 and 33 pit crews for the final five races, it goes without saying that fixing their pit road troubles should be priority 1B for RCR.

It’s no secret that I’ve always been a fan of Clint Bowyer, so it should come as no shock that I think he might be this year’s darkhorse pick to contend for the championship. By no means do I expect him to win his first Sprint Cup trophy, but entering his fifth full year, this is going to be the time when the four-time Sprint Cup race-winner gets his just due.

If Bowyer is to take that next step in his career, improving his performance on the intermediate tracks is a must; particularly at Michigan, where Bowyer has a career average finish of 20.4 and just 2 top-10s in 10 career starts on the D-shaped oval.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

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NASCAR New Year’s Resolutions

2011-01-03T06:50:00.004-06:00

Ah 2011, a new and fresh year filled with optimism, hope and the promise of better things to come along with the knowledge that we can learn from the mistakes of the previous year.

While I can’t believe 2010 has already come and gone, we’re not going to use this forum to reflect on the year that was. Instead we’re going to use this time to look forward. You know, the clichéd New Year’s resolutions thing that millions of Americans make at this time every year – and usually forget about come March. And I promise you unlike the vast majority of resolutions that are being made today, the following list of NASCAR resolutions won’t be filed with things like quitting smoking or spending more time with the family.

No, these involve lame jokes, sarcastic comments and the occasional cheap shot that’s somewhat undeserved. So here are my thoughts on what some NASCAR personalities can do to better themselves in the coming year.

I Brian France resolve to pay attention to what an increasingly disgruntled fanbase is saying. That doesn’t mean enacting every change they’re clamoring for, because as any great leader knows, the general populist isn’t always correct. But what that does entail is taking the time to listen to their complaints, concerns, and not acting completely clueless. As such, for the New Year I resolve to do this very thing.

I Jimmie Johnson resolve that I will learn to share in the coming year. I understand that me winning all the time probably isn’t the best thing for the sport and that nobody ever likes the kid in the sandbox who has all the toys.

I Tony Stewart resolve that I will spend some time in a gym. I understand that just because Burger King happens to be one of my sponsors, it doesn’t mean that I have to give the appearance that I eat there three times a day. Therefore, you will see a slimmer, more focused Tony Stewart in 2011.

I Darrell Waltrip resolve not to turn every story about someone else into an antidote about my career. I also resolve not to constantly remind everyone how great I was/am every time the opportunity presents itself.

I Dale Earnhardt Jr. resolve to do to everything possible to live up to my vast potential. I know I will never meet the enormous expectations that Junior Nation has placed on me, but that won’t prevent me from doing whatever it takes to return to victory lane on a semi-regular basis. If that means putting down the video games and testing four times a week, so be it.

I Kevin Harvick resolve to stop the frequent bitching and moaning every time a crew member of mine drops a lug nut or is a little slow putting on a tire. It’s time for me to realize that unloading a verbal tirade on my crew that would make Bobby Knight blush is not good for anyone involved, and is a quick way to demoralize a team that has lofty expectations in 2011.

I Mark Martin resolve that I will actually retire at the end of the year. (No, really, I’m serious this time.) I don’t want to be like Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte and take rides with lesser teams just because the paycheck is too good to pass up. There’s something to be said about riding off into the sunset with your head held high.

I Jack Roush resolve to get some flying lessons, because it’s obvious that when you’ve crashed two planes in nine years that I might need a refresher course or two. Or at the very least, some seat time in a flight simulator.

I Denny Hamlin resolve to put last season behind me and return in 2011 with the same fire and determination I had throughout 2010.

I Carl Edwards resolve that I won’t intentionally wreck Brad Keselowski no matter what he may do to provoke me. Entering the New Year, I understand that what I did last year at Atlanta and Gateway was uncalled for and that I’m incredibly lucky that no one got hurt.

I Kyle Busch resolve to grow up and stop acting like a petchulant child whose toys just got taken away when things aren't going my way on the track.

I Matt Kenseth, after cycling through five crew chiefs in four years, resolve to keep the same guy atop my pit box for more than 18 months. I know this is going to be difficult, but no one ever said New Year’s resolutions were supposed to be easy.

I Mike Ford resolve that I will keep my mouth shut the next time I feel inclined to say something that might provoke the competition. Especially if said comments are directed towards the team that has won the last five championships. My philosophy in 2011 is to not poke the sleeping lion.

I NASCAR, the sanctioning body of the most popular form of motorsports in North America, resolve to finally commence a massive overhaul to a schedule that is in desperate need of a makeover. This means taking away a second date at tracks that don’t deserve them, as well as shortening every race outside of the four majors (Daytona 500, Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400.)

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

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Offseason Analysis: Stewart-Haas Racing

2010-12-27T20:53:00.005-06:00

Coming off a successful inaugural season that saw each of its two cars make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the bar was set pretty high for Stewart-Haas Racing entering the 2010 campaign. While those expectations may not have been completely met last year, one would have to say that with three combined wins, both cars in playoff contention, and with one car making the Chase, it was a successful year for everyone involved. Albeit, slightly below the lofty standard that the organization had set 12 months prior.

Entering Tony Stewart’s third season as an owner-driver, things appear promising all the way around for the team that bears his name. The team gets its cars, engines and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports and they have two very capable drivers wheeling their equipment. With a little bit of work this offseason, 2011 could be a very special one for everyone involved.

2010 In the Rearview: Tony Stewart’s 2010 season was a bit like a rollercoaster. There was the strong acceleration out of the gate – four finishes of 13th or better through the first five races – followed by a downward turn which saw him finish 15th or worse in seven of eight starts, then the peak where in a 12-race stretch Stewart won once, collected six top-fives and 10 top-10s.

Like any rollercoaster, there was of course the slow crawl to the finish, in this case finishes of 21st, 24th, 31st, 11th, 17th and 8th to end the year. Add it all up and on the year the Hoosier native notched two victories and finished a fairly pedestrian seventh in the standings.

For Ryan Newman, he too took a ride on the Stewart-Haas rollercoaster. Although his had a lot more downs than ups. The high was snapping his 77-race winless streak when he outdueled Jeff Gordon in the Phoenix desert. The lows included 34th and 36th-place finishes to start the year, crashing out of three of the four restrictor-plate races and a run-in with Joey Logano at Michigan, which consequently cost Newman any chance of making the Chase for a second straight year.

2011 Drivers: No. 14 Tony Stewart (Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy); No. 39 Ryan Newman (U.S. Army Chevy)

Key Changes: The only offseason change at Stewart-Haas Racing comes in the form of a sponsorship swap. Old Spice goes the way of Tide, GM Goodwrench and many others before them in leaving the sport. They will be replaced on the side of Tony Stewart’s car by Mobil 1, which moves over from Penske Racing.

Offseason Analysis: The formula to winning with regularity and making the Chase on a yearly basis is pretty straightforward. It’s based on a foundation of consistency. Something Ryan Newman has failed to master throughout the course of his career; as he frequently is subject to long periods of futility followed by prolonged periods of success.

Case in point, from the Daytona 500 in February to the Food City 500 in late-March, his best finish was 16th. Compare that to an eight-race span from Richmond in the spring to the first event at Loudon in July, where he finished 16th or better on all but one occasion.

There was also the torrid late-summer stretch where the 2008 Daytona 500 winner had seven consecutive finishes of 11th or better, to be followed by finishes of 36th, 30th, 23rd and 20th over the next four weeks. Again, this is not a recipe for sustained success in NASCAR and underscores why Newman missed the Chase for the fourth time in five seasons.

If Newman is to return to the driver he was earlier in his career -- one who once won eight races in a season and finished in the top-10 in points four straight years -- he has to eliminate the consecutive poor results which seemingly snowballed atop one another week after week.

Another thing that would help Newman’s cause is if he were to lead more laps. Last year he led just eight races for a total of 63 laps. Bonus points add up over the course of a season, and dramatically affect ones position in points. They’re especially important when you’re on the Chase bubble, which the driver of the U.S. Army car has found himself on the last couple of years.

Ryan Newman has made it well-known how much he despises restrictor-plate racing, especially at Talladega. So much so, the sanctioning body secretly fined the U.S. Army driver in the spring for comments he had made regarding the practice of restricting the horsepower a driver has underneath them.

The fact is, no matter how much Newman hates running at Talladega and its sister track Daytona, NASCAR isn’t going to stop racing on those tracks a total of four times a year. He has to learn to accept that restrictor-plate racing is here to stay. And the quicker he accepts this fact, the better off he’ll be points-wise; especially considering that Talladega plays a key role in deciding the championship, with it being the third-to-last race of the season.

Pound-for-pound Tony Stewart is indisputably one of the best drivers in the world. (And yes I’m aware we’re talking about a lot of pounds.) The man has won in a wide-variety of disciplines and is the only driver to have won a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR. He could walk away today and rightfully be regarded as one of the all-time greats.

My concern with Stewart is that he may be stretching himself too thin. Being an owner-driver is an incomprehensible chore. But on top of that, the two-time Sprint Cup titlist also owns a racetrack, and a World of Outlaws team. Not to mention the countless dirt races he barnstorms to each year.

How much is too much and at what point does it distract Stewart from his number one job -- being a winning stockcar driver 36 times each season?

My number one question for Stewart-Haas Racing is what happened to the 14 team after their win at Auto Club Speedway? After that Fontana victory this team was on the frindge of being a title contender. Granted, they were going to need some help, but with six races to go, they were in the hunt. Except over the next six weeks, this team all but disappeared and Stewart’s quest to win his third series crown was going to have to wait another year.

Was it simply a second-year team running out of steam and an organization that's still not quite ready to win the whole enchilada? Before the green flag flies at Daytona, Stewart, crew chief Darian Grubb and competition director Bobby Hutchens need to find an answer to this question.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

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Offseason Analysis: Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

2010-12-23T15:54:00.001-06:00

Outside of winning the championship, it’s hard to have a better season than the one Earnhardt-Ganassi experienced in 2010. On the year they were the victors in two of the sports biggest races and four races collectively.

That however doesn’t mean Earnhardt-Ganassi can’t improve upon what they accomplished. Neither Jamie McMurray nor Juan Pablo Montoya made the Chase for the Sprint Cup, as the two-car team had its share of bad luck and mechanical failures which played a big role in keeping both of its drivers out of the playoffs.

The time now is now to build upon the foundation that was laid last year and make 2011 even better. More importantly, this team needs to show that 2010 wasn’t a fluke, but a launching pad for greater things.

2010 In the Rearview: From the unemployment line to victory lane three times over, Jamie McMurray had a career-year in 2010. A season that no one predicted before the year started saw the affable driver collect wins at Daytona, Indianapolis and Charlotte along with runner-up finishes at Talladega, Darlington and the May Charlotte race.

So how does a driver who won three races and frequently ran near the front not make the Chase? Well, when you post seven finishes of 30th or worse, making the Chase is going to be a difficult task. And surprise, surprise this is exactly what happened, as the 2003 Rookie of the Year finished the year 13th overall.

Regardless, you can’t ignore the fact that 2010 was a breakout year for a guy who entered the season on a one-year contract.

Speaking of breakout years, Juan Pablo Montoya had his the season before last when he surprisingly made the Chase and then was in the thick of the title hunt through the first five events. Entering 2010, he was expected to build off of that and become a consistent force in NASCAR.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Finishes of 37th, 37th, 26th, 36th and 34th in the first eight races pretty much sealed Montoya’s fate before the calendar even turned to May. The one thing he can take solace in, is that the fiery Colombian collected his second career Sprint Cup victory with a dominating performance at Watkins Glen. Other than that, 2010 failed to come anywhere close to 2009.

2011 Drivers: No. 1 Jamie McMurray (Bass Pro Shops Chevy); No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Target Chevy)

Key Changes: There’s no need to breakup a tandem that was so successful, so Jamie McMurray will again be paired with Kevin Manion. While teammate Juan Pablo Montoya will begin his third full season working with Brian Pattie.

Offseason Analysis: Entering 2010, there was nothing to suggest that Jamie McMurray was a superstar driver. He had never won more than one race in a season and had never finished better than 11th in the standings. So after the results of last season, do we have to reassess our opinion of the driver who became just the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season?

Not yet. Before we do so, let’s see what he does for an encore and how close he comes to matching his results of a year ago.

I’m not going to call what he did a fluke by any means, but one year doesn’t make a driver great. To be considered great, you have to win year after year and finish high up in the points, both of which McMurray has yet to do in his career. This coming season will go a long way in dictating how we view the defending Daytona 500 champion.

If McMurray is to make the Chase for the first time, the biggest thing that needs to change is the point-killing finishes in the 30s. It goes without saying that if you could take away a couple of those poor finishes he almost certainly would have made his first appearance in the Chase.

The key for Juan Pablo Montoya in returning to the form he showed in 2009 is rediscovering the patience that propelled him into the Chase.

Montoya still needs to learn that there’s a time and a place to be aggressive and too often it seems that he forgets that. As the saying goes, patience is a virtue, especially for a stockcar driver who wants to win races and contend for a title.

This team could also use some old fashioned good luck, which often eluded the 42 team last season. The Target car often found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time, as typically happens when you’re snake bitten, and the results weren’t good.

After being heavily courted by Ford last September, Earnhardt-Ganassi wisely decided to renew with Chevrolet. While EGR will never find itself atop the Bowtie manufacturer’s pecking order, it doesn’t make sense to mess with a formula that brought the team so much success. The engines that EGR produced in conjunction with Richard Childress Racing were some of the most powerful on the circuit. While the new Ford FR9 engine has shown promise, it still has a long way to go before it comes close to matching the engines that EGR had in its cars throughout 2010.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

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Offseason Analysis: Roush Fenway Racing

2010-12-20T20:51:00.005-06:00

While the superteams of Hendrick, Gibbs and Childress were slugging it out for the championship, the fourth superteam, Roush Fenway Racing, was noticeably absent; spending most of 2010 playing catch-up. Attempting to make the transition fulltime to Ford’s new FR9 engine as well overcoming NASCAR’s testing ban which put the organization behind the eight-ball.

By the end of the year though, the hard work paid off. Roush Fenway Racing placed three of their four cars in the Chase, two of which finished in the top-five and saw Carl Edwards go to victory lane in the final two races of the year. As a result, the organization enters the offseason with a pocket full of momentum and is poised for big things in the forthcoming season.

2010 In the Rearview: Depending on whether you’re a glass is half-full or half-empty person will affect how you view Roush Fenway’s 2010 season.

The glass is half-empty attitude is that it took 21 races before the team’s first victory and for the second straight year, a Roush-owned car wasn’t in contention for the championship. Not to mention Matt Kenseth went winless for the second time in three years, David Ragan continued to flop and reliability issues cost the team precious points and potential victories.

On the flip side of things, despite struggling with a front nose that gave them fits through the first half of the season and an engine which proved problematic, Roush Fenway still fielded cars that won a combined four times, placed more cars in the Chase than either Hendrick or Gibbs, just as many as Childress, and finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the standings. And of course, there was the harrowing plane crash team patriarch Jack Roush survived in August. Not a bad year, all things considered.

2011 Drivers: No. 6 David Ragan (UPS Ford); No. 16 Greg Biffle (3M Ford); No. 17 Matt Kenseth (Crown Royal Ford); No. 99 (Aflac Ford)

Key Changes: Things are status quo this offseason on the competition side of things, not surprising considering this team made a few notable moves during the ’10 season. Among them Jimmy Fennig was named Matt Kenseth’s crew chief in June, a position he’ll keep fulltime in 2011, and Drew Blickensderfer assumed crew chief duties on the 6 car of David Ragan in September.

Offseason Analysis: After a sluggish start to the year, Carl Edwards ended the year as well as any driver not named Jimmie Johnson could. He stretched his fuel to its max at Phoenix and in doing so, snapped his 70-race winless streak. He followed that up with a dominating victory the next week at Homestead.

To go along with his two wins, Edwards posted seven other finishes in the top-five, recorded a total of 19 top-10s and ended the year fourth in points. Looking back, it was one of those years where you go “Wow, he was a lot better than I remember.”

As such, in 2011 the Missouri driver will be a popular pick to unseat Jimmie Johnson. A position Edwards is more than familiar with, having been the preseason favorite in 2006, when he was coming off a year in which he won four times and finished third in points, and again in 2009, when the previous year he won nine races and pushed Johnson to the championship.

The concern I have is in both ’06 and ’09, Edwards didn’t come anywhere close to meeting the expectations that had been laid out before him, failing to win a single race either year. It’s an issue Edwards is more than aware of, as he was joking with reporters about it in the media center following his victory at Homestead.

What needs to be analyzed by Edwards, crew chief Bob Osborne and team owner Jack Roush over the next couple of months is what can be done to ensure there isn’t a drop-off like the one Edwards has experienced twice previously. Learning to manage expectations is a skill and it’s one that obviously the 99 team needs to learn this offseason if they’re to fulfill the promise they showed towards the end of 2010.

Without question, the number one issue facing the 17 team of Matt Kenseth this offseason, and really all of Roush Fenway Racing, is finding some stability atop the pit box. Last year we saw three different crew chiefs take their turn guiding the No. 17 Ford.

It’s no secret that the 2003 Sprint Cup champion is at his best when he has stability around him. And for the last few years, the only thing stable with the 17 team has been the guy sitting behind the wheel. It’s not a coincidence that Kenseth’s performance has fallen off since Robbie Reiser stepped down following the 2007 season.

While I like the pairing of Jimmy Fennig and Kenseth, the fact is this will be Kenseth’s fourth crew chief since Reiser‘s departure. This leads me to question how long Fennig will have that position since being the crew chief for Kenseth comes with a pretty short shelf-life.

Chemistry and stability isn’t an issue with Greg Biffle and Greg Erwin, who have a great working relationship. Frequently overlooked, this duo is one of the best in the garage. This team is always prepared and if you take away a couple of DNFs due to mechanical failures, particularly at Fontana, which came a week after Biffle won at Kansas, the 16 would’ve finished the year higher than sixth in points.

The biggest factor in Biffle having a successful 2011 is whether he’ll have a reliable engine underneath him. One would think the reliability issues that plagued the Ford teams last season should be solved after another offseason of working out the kinks of the FR9 motor. If so, there’s little reason not to expect this team to run up front with regularity.

In the four years he’s been with Roush Fenway, David Ragan has never won a race, never finished better than 13th in points and his average in the yearend standings is 21.75.

Long story short, the evidence strongly points to Ragan being nothing more than a journeyman driver.

With his contract up at the end of the 2011 season, it’s evident that he won’t be back at Roush Fenway, barring some sort of a miracle. And even a miracle might not be enough to save Ragan from the unemployment line. From all appearances it’s obvious that Jack Roush is thinking the same thing, as he already has a succession plan in place with 19-year-old Trevor Bayne being groomed to fill Ragan’s seat.

Add everything up, and with Ragan and Roush both playing out the string, the expectations for this team entering 2011 have to be minimal at best. I don’t see anything that can be done this offseason to change that fact.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

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Offseason Analysis: Michael Waltrip Racing

2010-12-17T14:14:00.002-06:00

No, they don’t have the resources of Hendrick or Gibbs. And Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann will certainly never be confused for Jimmie Johnson or Denny Hamlin. But the hard truth is, with two capable drivers and two competent crew chiefs leading them, there’s no reason why Michael Waltrip Racing can’t do better than its current state.

For some reason, this team can’t figure out how to put the pieces to the puzzle together. After another season of unrealized potential, the organization is facing yet another offseason of hard questions most of them revolving around why they’re not better than they are.

2010 In the Rearview: It was assumed that as spring turned to summer and summer to fall, driver Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Pat Tryson, both in their first year at Michael Waltrip Racing, would be a formidable duo by the end of the year. Instead, the two struggled to click and failed to meet expectations.

Overall, Truex finished in the top-10 seven times with just one of those top-10s being a top-five. On the year he lead a total of 88 laps, with 62 of those laps coming in the season finale at Homestead. The consistency that was supposed to develop never materialized. The team would put together a couple of solid finishes only to follow-up with weeks where they would have to fight just to finish 20th.

More troubling was the five times where Truex posted finishes of 30th or worse. Finishes which not only stunts a team’s momentum but absolutely kills them in points.

Not surprisingly, Truex’s MWR teammate David Reutimann struggled with the same issues – inconsistency and crippling finishes in the 30s.

When Reutimann was clicking – a season-opening a fifth-place run in the Daytona 500, back-to-back fifth-place finishes at Dover and Charlotte in May, a surprising victory at Chicagoland and a strong second at Bristol in August – few drivers were better.

However, with the good comes the bad and there was plenty of it last year. Engine related issues saddled the team with finishes of 40th at Atlanta, 38th at Bristol and 37th at Texas. Making matters worse, these finishes all came within a five-week span early in the year and made it virtually impossible for the driver known as “The Franchise” to make the Chase for the first time in his career.

2011 Drivers: No. 00 David Reutimann (Aaron’s Toyota); No. 56 Martin Truex Jr. (NAPA Toyota)

Key Changes: As things were in 2010, they will also be in 2011. David Reutimann will be working with crew chief Rodney Childers and Martin Truex Jr. will again be paired with Pat Tryson.

Offseason Analysis: Truex, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, is often recognized as one of the more talented drivers in NASCAR. Yet, outside of the 2007 season when he won his lone Sprint Cup race and made the Chase, he’s rarely lived up to the hype.

Although the nickname is cute and catchy, the fact is, David Reutimann is anything but a franchise driver. He’s an above average driver who will win on occasion. Expect nothing more and you’ll receive nothing less.

Under the right circumstances however the expectation should be that both drivers contend for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint on a yearly basis.

But both drivers need a team that’s capable of putting them in the right situation. Right now, Michael Waltrip Racing isn’t doing that. So what’s the problem and what does MWR need to do to become a team that needs to be reckoned with?

As was pointed out above, the biggest hurdle for the organization is consistency. That means showing up to the track each week with cars that are capable of running in the top-10. Every week. Not just once every three or four weeks.

It means building reliable cars with engines that won’t fail like they did in the early part of ’10. More so, on race weekends, driver and crew chiefs need better communication with one another. Good teams, teams that win races and run in the top-10 weekly, find a way to get better during the course of a race.

Rarely last year, did you see Truex or Reutimann qualify poorly then get better during the race. Typically, a good qualifying effort equaled a good run on raceday. Conversely, if either struggled in qualifying, you could expect each to struggle during the race.

The blueprint to success in NASCAR isn’t complicated. It’s just that everyone in the garage is working from the same script which makes gaining an edge a tough proposition. It’s time for Michael Waltrip Racing to start enacting that blueprint which other relatively new teams (Stewart-Haas, Red Bull) have used to moderate success.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Offseason Analysis: Penske Racing

2010-12-15T11:23:00.005-06:00

Roger Penske is, rightfully, regarded as one of the premiere car owners in all of motorsports. No matter the discipline – stockcars, open-wheel or sports cars – his cars have always found a way to get to victory lane more often than not. For some reason though, the consistency that has been the Penske trademark in other series, has alluded him as of late in NASCAR.

In 2010, that inconsistency was again on display, when Kurt Busch looked like a title contender through the first-half of the year, but backslid as the season moved towards its conclusion.

At the same time, his two Penske teammates, Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish Jr. could often be mistaken for rolling chicanes. With Keselowski’s biggest achievement on the Sprint Cup side of things was surviving a harrowing crash at Atlanta, while Hornish was just lucky if he got through a race without crashing.

Now, after a bit of organizational restructuring, Penske Racing hopes to regain its place among the top teams in the sport. A spot, they were perched on throughout the 90s but a position that they’ve struggled to maintain since.

2010 In the Rearview: From February to the beginning of July, it appeared Kurt Busch and not Denny Hamlin or Kevin Harvick was going to be the biggest thorn in Jimmie Johnson's side. In that 18-race span, Busch won two races along with the non-points All-Star Race, finished in the top-10 nine times and was fourth in the standings after the series’ annual Fourth of July stop at Daytona.

Except instead of getting better, as the season moved along into its second-half, the flag bearer for Penske Racing regressed. A tailspin that cumulated with him posting finishes of 13th, 21st, 30th, 16th 30th and 24th in consecutive weeks and being a complete non-factor in the Chase and finishing the year 11th overall.

Still all told, Kurt Busch had nothing on the two guys who he called his teammates.

To say that Brad Keselowski struggled in his first full season in Sprint Cup would be a gross understatement. Finishes of 36th, 21st, 26th and 36th opened his year, and it took 32 races before he finished a race inside the top-10. Not to mention there were those five DNFs due to accidents.

Then there was the continued failed experiment of Sam Hornish Jr.’s attempt to become a NASCAR driver. After a sophomore season in which he showed promise – albeit small – the former IndyCar champion did nothing to disprove his critics who thought he was in over his head.

On 19 occasions he finished 25th or worse, just once did he finish in the top-10, and there was so much bent sheet metal from him wrecking, seemingly weekly, it became a running joke with my buddies to guess which lap Hornish would crash on each week.

All in all, a season that at one time looked promising ended up being anything but by the end of the year.

2011 Drivers: No. 2 Brad Keselowski (Miller Lite Dodge); No. 22 Kurt Busch (Shell/Pennzoil Dodge)

Key Changes: The Sam Hornish Jr. experiment has come to a merciful end, with Penske pulling the plug on his third car after sponsorship couldn’t be found to keep the team afloat.

Also, Brad Keselowski will have a new crew chief in 2011. Paul Wolfe, who guided the Michigan driver to a Nationwide Series championship last year, is being promoted to replace Jay Guy in an effort to jumpstart the 2 team.

Offseason Analysis: The biggest challenge for everyone at Penske this offseason, is that the Dodge Charger is getting refitted with a new nose. Gone are the splitter braces which have adorned the car since the inception of the Car of Tomorrow and in its place are molded splitters affixed to the bottom of the front bumpers.

Making this changeover more difficult is Penske Racing happens to be the sole Dodge-backed team in NASCAR. Hence, they bear the brunt of making sure no speed is lost aerodynamically. Expect to see the organization spend a lot of time this offseason both on the track testing and in the wind tunnel.

The fortunes of this team, particularly Kurt Busch, are tied to how quickly the team sorts out the new nose. If the process is slow, it’s hard to imagine Busch making the Chase for a third consecutive season; let alone winning a race for the 10th straight year.

A question that should be asked by Penske officials is whether it’s worthwhile to continue to align itself with a manufacturer whose commitment to NASCAR is questionable.

I buy the idea that because they’re the only Dodge supported team, they get more attention and all that comes with it (i.e. money and engineering support). But that’s a double-edged sword. Without another team to share and exchange information, the onus then falls on Penske to make the Dodge Challenger work all by themselves, which is typically a losing proposition in NASCAR. And what happens to Penske if Dodge decides that NASCAR isn’t worth their time and money?

Moving Paul Wolfe up from the Nationwide Series to be Brad Keselowski’s crew chief was a very wise move. Keselowski and Jay Guy never gelled, and it’s obvious that Wolfe knows how to bring out the best in Keselowski. My only concern is Wolfe’s experience working on a Sprint Cup car is limited. But that’s a limitation that’s easy to overcome over the course of the next two months.

Entering his second full season in Sprint Cup, the pressure will be on Brad Keselowski to show that he belongs. No one expects him to win, though that would be nice. What the expectation should be in ’11 is that he finishes in the top-10 with some regularity. Also, it’s evident by those five DNFs he posted due to accidents, he needs to learn better car control and start finishing more races.

I know this team is trying to find sponsorship to run a third car for Sam Hornish Jr. but at this point, why? This organization needs to cut bait with a driver who has yet to give them any real hope that he’ll one day master a full-bodied car. At this point, there’s no reason to think he’ll be anything more than a journeyman driver who wrecks far too often to deserve a ride with a team like Penske Racing.

Rarely does Roger Penske make a move that I disagree with, but letting Justin Allgaier leave was a big mistake. The prudent move for The Captain would have been letting Hornish walk and instead devote their efforts to finding a sponsor for Allgaier, who finished fourth a year ago in the Nationwide Series, tops among non-Sprint Cup drivers. He has more potential in NASCAR than the former Indy 500 winner and he certainly wouldn’t have torn up as much equipment. At the very least, Penske would have made the guys in the shop happier by saying so long to Hornish.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Offseason Analysis: Red Bull Racing

2010-12-09T20:11:00.005-06:00

After a breakthrough 2009 campaign – one that saw the organization win its first race and secure a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup – the 2010 season was expected to be even better for Red Bull Racing.

However, there is never a guarantee that everything will go as one expects. This principle explains the season Red Bull had last year. Little went right and just about everything that could go wrong, did. With failed expectations come the consequences, which is what Red Bull Racing is dealing with in their preparation for the 2011 season.

2010 In the Rearview: A year after making the Chase for the first time in his career, Brian Vickers opened the ’10 season with five top-15 finishes in the first six races. His teammate, Scott Speed, who was entering his second year in Sprint Cup, was impressive in his own right, posting five finishes of 19th or better in the year’s first nine events.

At that point, from all appearances it appeared that Team Red Bull was going to take the next step and were ready to assume a seat at the big boy’s table of NASCAR's superteams.

It was then things started to unravel and a team that looked to be on the cusp of being a major player, in the end looked like a team that didn’t have a clue as to what it was doing.

First, Vickers, the unquestioned team leader at Red Bull, was diagnosed with blood clots which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. In his place, the organization was forced to make due with the Pu-Pu platter of Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson, Boris Said and Mattias Ekstrom until Kasey Kahne joined the team in October.

As one can imagine, the performance of the 83 team dipped noticeably and they ended the year 25th in owner’s points, a year after finishing 12th.

At the same time as Vickers and the team were dealing with his medical situation, his teammate in the 82 car started to regress dramatically. Remember that strong start to the season where Speed was finishing in the top-20 on semi-regular basis? Well, that disappeared in a blink of an eye. For the remaining 27 races of the season, the former F1 driver scored just four finishes better than 19th and nine times finished 30th or worse. He ended the year 30th in points

2011 Drivers: No. 4 Kasey Kahne (Red Bull Toyota); No. 83 Brian Vickers (Red Bull Toyota)

Key Changes: Not surprising considering his performance (or lack thereof) Scott Speed was released following the season. Though I will say, informing Speed of his release via a fax and without direct communication was a bit impersonal of the team. Nonetheless, it was a move everyone saw coming and a decision that was more than justified.

In his place will be Kasey Kahne, a driver who is unquestionably one of the sports more talented drivers and will instantly upgrade Team Red Bull. Albeit, for one season before he heads off to Hendrick Motorsports.

Offseason Analysis: Red Bull Racing has always been viewed as a bit of a sleeping giant within the Sprint Cup. But with the exception of 2009, they’ve never really put everything together and lived up to anyone’s expectations.

This year for the first time, the organization will have two bona fide drivers wheeling their cars. Because of that, there will be no excuses. If the team fails to run well, it will be because the team failed to give them the proper equipment to do their jobs effectively.

If you give Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne the tools to get the job done, both have shown that they can compete and win. Everything this offseason should revolve around doing whatever it takes to make sure the cars match the talent-level of the two guys driving them. No corners should be cut and no expenses should be spared.

On the other hand, Kahne’s situation with Team Red Bull is as unique a one as we’ve seen in modern NASCAR history.

He’s only contracted to drive for the team for one year before moving over to Hendrick, with whom he already has an inked contract. No matter what happens this year, good, bad or indifferent; Kahne won’t be with Red Bull for the 2012 season. And going with him to Hendrick, will be his crew chief Kenny Francis, who moved over with Kahne to TRB from Richard Petty Motorsports.

The question becomes how much information do Toyota engineers share with Kahne and Francis? Do they open up the books completely and share everything in effort to do whatever it takes to win this season? Or do they withhold some key data for fear that the two will take said info with them when they move over to Chevrolet’s flagship team?

To this point everyone has been saying all the right things, but you have to think Toyota has to be a bit leery about the situation.

Another concern this offseason is Brian Vickers’ health. Both he and the team say he will be ready by Daytona. The question is, what happens if he isn’t? Who’s going to fill-in for him and what happens to the 83 team if he’s not behind the wheel? We saw what happened last year when Red Bull tried a hodgepodge of drivers in his absence. It didn’t work and it won’t work now. The last thing this team needs is instability in what is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for Red Bull Racing.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Offseason Analysis: Richard Petty Motorsports

2010-12-08T11:03:00.005-06:00

If can you can get past the infighting, mounting bills and missed payments, their marquee driver announcing in April that he would be leaving at the end of the season, unstable ownership, the lingering possibility that they wouldn’t make it to the track due to a lack of funds and the numerous other distractions that they faced, I can guess you could say that Richard Petty Motorsports had a fairly mundane 2010 season.

Not that the offseason has been much quieter. In the two-plus weeks since the season finale at Homestead, the news has been filled with stories of Richard Petty attempting to keep afloat the team that bears his name. With him putting the final pieces in place just last week.

Now, in the aftermath of yet another ownership change, not to mention a host of other sweeping moves, this is a crucial offseason for everyone associated with RPM.

2010 In the Rearview: The good news for Richard Petty Motorsports was that just about every week they found their name in the headlines. The bad news is that it was often for the wrong reason.

Initially it was Kasey Kahne’s decision to leave RPM at the end of the year for the greener pastures of Hendrick and all that accompanied that announcement that kept RPM’s name atop the headlines. This cumulated with Kahne’s long tenure with RPM coming to an early end after a wreck took Kahne out of the fall Charlotte race followed by a he said, she said moment with his crew afterwards.

Mostly though, RPM found itself in the news because its owner forgot that running a race team takes money. Lots of it actually. Money which George Gillett apparently didn’t have, as unpaid bills continued to pileup and the buzzards circled the carcass of what was surely going to be a dead team. So much so, that the last five weeks of the season it became a question of whether the four-car team would make it to the track, with the answer often not coming until mid-week.

Simply put, if there’s ever a manual of “How Not to Run a NASCAR Team” there will certainly be a few chapters devoted to the exploits of Gillett.

However, there were some positives. AJ Allmendinger continued to improve and easily had his best season of his young career, finishing a career-best 19th in points. The same can be said of Paul Menard, who posted six top-10 finishes and finished 23rd overall.

Though his time with RPM was cut short, when he was there, Kasey Kahne did have his moments. He led 144 laps at Atlanta and dominated at Loudon before an engine failure ended his day early.

Then there was Elliott Sadler, who again turned in another subpar year and will be racing fulltime in the Nationwide Series next year as a result.

2011 Drivers: No. 9 Marcos Ambrose (Stanley Tools Ford); No. 43 AJ Allmendinger (Best Buy/Insignia Ford)

Key Changes: After what was essentially a hostile takeover, Richard Petty is back in control and running things on a day-to-day basis. Further changes include the reduction of two cars due to lack of funding, as well as the addition of Marcos Ambrose to replace the departed Kasey Kahne.

Offseason Analysis: Now that Richard Petty is back in charge, the real work can begin to restore a team that just a few years ago had a very promising future. The problem is, The King’s track record as an owner isn’t the best. Only once since Petty retired as a driver, has a Petty owned-car finished the year in the top-10 in points, and overall he’s amassed just three wins. Two with the late Bobby Hamilton in 1996 and ‘97 and one with John Andretti, at Martinsville 11 years ago this spring.

The reason for Petty not having any sustained success is simple. His team is operated like a mom-‘n’-pop corner store that’s trying to compete with the Target and Wal-Mart located just around the corner. People love what you offer and want to see you do well, but in the end everyone wants more value for their buck, so they go and shop at the big box stores.

Sponsors want to win and will spend big money to do so. While being associated with the Petty name is well and good, more times then not, it hasn’t been enough to get to victory lane consistently. What’s going to be so different this time around? Can Petty run a winning team in an era where it’s more about engineering than mechanical know how? The jury is still out on that one. But to be honest, it isn’t looking very good.

Whether Richard Petty Motorsports is successful or not will fall on the shoulders of AJ Allmendinger. After a rough foray into NASCAR, the former IndyCar winner has shown that he has the chops to compete and win against the best stockcar drivers (excluding Kevin Conway of course) in the world.

This will be the first time that the Los Gatos, California driver will be the undisputed team leader, a role that he seems to be embracing and thriving in.

Last year, when rumors were abuzz that RPM was folding, it was Allmendinger who inspired his team to keep fighting both by words and by actions; which included him posting four top-20 finishes in the final five races including a fifth-place finish at Homestead.

If he can continue to do that in what will be his fifth season, RPM has a chance to not only survive but prosper. That doesn’t mean he has to make the Chase. It means finding a way to lead his underfunded team to a win.

To do that Allmendinger needs to work on his patience and learn that in a 500-mile race driving flat-out isn’t always the best option. Saving your car for the last one-hundred miles is imperative to being a winning racecar driver.

It would also help matters if his pit crew didn’t shoot themselves in the foot on a semi-regular basis. With RPM cutting back from four teams to two, logic would dictate that finding a more competent crew out of the excess personnel should be fairly easy.

While the future of RPM may be AJ Allmendinger, he will be pushed this coming season by Marcos Ambrose, who has the tall task of replacing a driver that won 11 races and twice made the Chase in the car he’ll be driving.

Like any new driver-team relationship, the biggest factor will be how quickly they can forge a good relationship with one another. But due to the Aussie’s easygoing and affable personality, he shouldn’t have a hard time developing chemistry with his new team.

On the track there’s a lot of potential, as Ambrose has shown that he can compete at this level. Especially on the road courses where the former Australian Touring Car champion is always formidable no matter what kind of car he’s driving.

Priority No. 1 this offseason is the frequency in which Ambrose wrecks. Five times in ’10 he didn’t finish a race due to an accident, including a three-race stretch in the spring. That kind carnage can easily derail a team like RPM, which doesn’t have a ton of extra capital to invest in repairing damaged racecars.

This needs to be addressed over the next two-and-a-half months and Ambrose needs to be made aware of what the consequences are if he has a repeat performance of ’10.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Offseason Analysis: Hendrick Motorsports

2010-12-06T13:33:00.011-06:00

It’s only fitting that we begin our Offseason Analysis series with the organization that has won the last five championships and 10 of the 16 overall.

While the success of Jimmie Johnson was unprecedented and worthy of high praise, things weren’t all sunshine and roses for Hendrick Motorsports in 2010. Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each failed to win a race and of the three, only Gordon made the Chase for the Sprint Cup. A far cry from the heights this four-car team reached in 2009 when Johnson, Martin and Gordon finished 1-2-3 in the year-end standings and won a combined 14 races.

2010 In the Rearview: It would have been unreasonable to expect Hendrick Motorsports to match its performance from ’09. But through the first part of the year, it appeared they were going to pick right up where they left off the previous season.

Jimmie Johnson was his typical dominant self, winning three of the first five races. Jeff Gordon looked like the Jeff Gordon of old, nearly winning races at Las Vegas, Martinsville, Phoenix, Texas Richmond and Darlington. Mark Martin had five top-10s in the season’s first nine events and was sixth in points following Talladega. And in his first full year working with crew chief Lance McGrew, Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed actual signs of life, posting a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500 and leading 46 laps at Texas in route to an eighth-place finish. Not to mention the fourth-place run at Daytona in July that moved the sport’s most popular driver inside the Chase.

All in all, it was a very good start to the year for NASCAR’s premiere team.

Except, somewhere along the way, as the weather turned warmer, the team’s results cooled. Most notably, they struggled in the transition from the wing to the spoiler as they were not prepared for the aerodynamic changes that were a result of the switch.

And the difference wasn't more apparent than with Gordon, who led 709 laps through the first 11 races primarily racing with the wing, then regressed and led just 210 laps the rest of the way after the spoiler was implemented fulltime.

Also not helping matters, at least in Martin’s case, were the off-track distractions. Mostly as a result from Hendrick’s announcement in April that Kasey Kahne would replace Martin in the No. 5 car beginning with the 2012 season. From that moment onward, the driver who has finished runner-up in points five times was besieged weekly with questions about his future and not coincidently his year went south.

Accompanied with the continued souring of the Earnhardt-McGrew relationship, which disintegrated into terse exchanges on the radio just about every week, there wasn’t much reason for the organization to celebrate outside of Johnson’s fifth title. That being said, a vast majority of the garage would gladly exchange the season they just had for the year Hendrick Motorsports went through.

2011 Drivers: No. 5 Mark Martin (Go Daddy Chevy); No. 24 Jeff Gordon (Drive to End Hunger Chevy); No. 48 Jimmie Johnson (Lowes Chevy); No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (AMP Energy Drink/Army National Guard Chevy)

Key Changes: This was an organization that was due for a shakeup and it’s getting one in a big way. Two days following the season-ender at Homestead, Hendrick announced that he was restructuring his three winless teams by playing mix-and-match with his crew chiefs.

Alan Gustafson will move from the 5 team and become Jeff Gordon’s new head wrench. Gordon’s old crew chief, Steve Letarte, will be asked to revive the sagging fortunes of Dale Earnhardt Jr.; while Lance McGrew will move from the 88 team to the 5, where he’ll work with Mark Martin.

Offseason Analysis: The first task Hendrick Motorsports will be faced with this offseason will be integrating Gordon, Martin and Earnhardt with their new crew chiefs. Helping matters is the "one for all, all for one" attitude that encompasses the organization. Obviously, how quickly each driver develops a working relationship with their respective crew chief will go a long way in dictating what kind of season each has.

The bigger issue will be if the team aero department can figure out the spoiler and recapture the speed that their Chevrolets had when they were equipped with wings. When he spoke with reporters following Homestead, Rick Hendrick acknowledged that his team needed to catch-up to the Gibbs, Roush and Childress cars. Now, and over the next two months is the time to do so; be it with on-track testing, spending time in the wind tunnel or likely a combination of both.

Something else that Hendrick addressed with reporters was his commitment to Mark Martin in what will be the driver’s final year with the team. It’s not often a driver of Martin’s caliber knows going into a year, that he will be replaced at the conclusion of the season. More so, it’s not often a lame-duck driver is able to focus entirely on the present when their future is filled with so much uncertainty. Although, as Jamie McMurray just showed; sometimes a driver is at their best when they’re racing with something to prove.

Another issue, one that seemed to particularly plague Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., was their inability to get their cars better as the race moved towards its conclusion. Was this because of poor communication between driver and crew chief and something that will resolve itself by changing the guy sitting atop the pit box? That remains to be seen.

With five consecutive championships and having never finished worse than fifth in points, it’s hard to find fault with what the 48 team is doing. But if there should be one area of focus this offseason, it should undoubtedly be on retooling a pit crew that had more than its fair share of mistakes in ’10. So much so, Chad Knaus felt compelled to replace them mid-race at Texas.

We all understand that mistakes are going to happen no matter how good you are. And it’s inevitable that you’re going to have dropped lug nuts, the occasional slow stop, crew guys slipping and other calamities. These things happen. It’s a part of racing and you learn to deal with it.

However, to be as consistently mistake-prone as the 48 team was last year can’t happen. In retrospect, it’s amazing that Jimmie Johnson was able to overcome a pit crew that frequently cost him more track position than it gained him. As a result, you have to expect that changes will be forthcoming over the next 76 days, simply because the 48 cannot afford to repeat their subpar work on pit road in ‘10.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Questions Galore

2010-12-02T09:32:00.018-06:00

Since the checkered flag waved at Homestead on the 2010 season, the offseason has been anything but quiet. Two days following the season-ender, Rick Hendrick reorganized his four-car team by exchanging three of his four crew chiefs. This past Monday, Richard Petty Motorsports announced the restructuring of their ownership, with “The King” himself assuming day-to-day control of the fledgling two-car team that bears his name. While yesterday, via Twitter, Scott Speed confirmed what we already knew to be true, that he won’t be back with Team Red Bull Racing next season.

Although it’s been anything but quiet the past week and change, that doesn’t mean that everything has been settled. Some of outlying questions will be answered before Speedweeks, while others won’t be known until this time next year. So I present to you, the most pressing questions as head into December and before you know it, the 2011 season.

Why doesn’t Jeff Gordon, the owner of four series titles and 82 Sprint Cup winner’s trophies, no longer win with any sort of regularity?

How will he and new crew chief Alan Gustafson get along, and will Gustafson be the difference in Gordon returning to victory lane?

Will Dale Earnhardt Jr. ever become the driver who at one point won six races in a season and finished third in points again? Or will he continue to be a driver who runs and finishes mid-pack just about every week?

Is crew chief Steve Letarte the answer to Junior’s problems? And if Junior continues to struggle; will he be back with Hendrick Motorsports in 2012?

What affect, if any, will the crew chief shuffle that Rick Hendrick orchestrated Thanksgiving week have on a team that had just one car taste victory?

Will Jimmie Johnson be the only Hendrick car to win in ’11, or will one of his three teammates find their way to the winners circle?

Can Johnson complete what he dubbed the “six pack” and win his sixth consecutive championship?

Why is David Ragan still employed by Jack Roush and still driving Roush’s No. 6 Ford Focus?

Do you think "The Cat in The Hat" regrets forcing Mark Martin out and subsequently tabbing Ragan as his replacement?

Speaking of Martin, will he retire at the end of ‘11, or will he continue to drive? And if he continues on as a driver, which team will employ his services in ‘12?

Will Martin win another Sprint Cup race before he calls it quits?

How will Kasey Kahne fare in what is supposed to be his only season with Team Red Bull?

After blood clots forced him out of the car just 11 races into the ’10 season, can Kahne’s Red Bull teammate, Brian Vickers, successfully make a comeback?

In her second season wheeling a stockcar, can Danica Patrick improve upon a season that saw her finish no better than 19th and finish on the lead lap just once?

Come April, how will the first female of NASCAR do when she makes her debut on the high-banks of Bristol?

With some more seat-time, will we see Danica make an appearance in the Sprint Cup Series at some point this season? And if so, when and where will it come? Perhaps Texas in the fall? Or maybe at Phoenix, a track she knows very well.

What will it be like at Daytona when the new surface is tested under race conditions for the first time? Will it become a clone of Talladega, or will Daytona hold onto some of its unique characteristics?

Have the television ratings hit rock bottom or will we continue to see them decrease by double-digits on a seemingly weekly basis?

Coming off of one of the most competitive seasons in NASCAR history and with almost every track slashing their ticket prices and offering fans more bang for their buck, will attendance go up or will we continue to see fans disguised as empty seats?

At age 25 and entering his seventh full season, is this the year Kyle Busch grows up and puts it all together, both on and off the track?

Is running an average of 47 races between the Nationwide and Truck Series’ too much of a distraction for young Mr. Busch? Shouldn't he maybe focus more on winning his first Sprint Cup title?

After coming oh so close to unseating Jimmie Johnson, how will Denny Hamlin handle the disappointment of finishing second? Will he use it as motivation in ’11, or will it be something he won’t be able to overcome?

Will Richard Petty really revive the fortunes of the team which he regained control of earlier in the week?

After an impressive bounce back from a disappointing 2009 season, can Kevin Harvick follow-up on what was an impressive ’10 campaign?

Behind the wheel of topnotch equipment for the first-time in his career, how will Paul Menard do with Richard Childress Racing?

After failing to make a four-car team work the first time they tried it two years ago, how will RCR fare this time around running four cars?

Can Jamie McMurray come anywhere close to matching his breakthrough season? One in which he won two of the four NASCAR majors. Or, was last year a fluke and the Earnhardt-Ganassi driver will come back to earth with a resounding thud?

Can Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe, who led Keselowski to the Nationwide championship, have the same magic in Sprint Cup that they had in NASCAR’s junior series?

Entering his third full season in Sprint Cup, is this the year Joey Logano makes The Leap and lives up to his “Sliced Bread” nickname?

Who, if anyone, will be competing for the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year? To this point no driver has registered and it’s looking a lot like ’10 when Kevin Conway, of all people, won the award.

Will Roush Fenway Racing, and in particular Carl Edwards, be able to carryover the momentum they had from the just completed season into '11?

Can Edwards handle being labeled a preseason championship favorite better than he did in years past? The two previous times he was highlighted as a possible titlist (2005 and 2009) he came nowhere close to meeting anyone’s expectations.

Can Matt Kenseth find a crew chief that he wants to keep around for a full season?
In closing, the biggest question of them all is whether can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus when it matters the most?

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Handing Out The Sprint Cup Hardware

2010-11-28T20:02:00.016-06:00

Friday night, NASCAR hosts its annual Sprint Cup awards banquet. The problem with this is we already know who's won all the major awards. Not to mention, the lack of drama, how uncomfortable everyone looks wearing tuxedos and the fun level is pegged at zero.

In its place, I present to you The Golden Geeks. A far less stuffy affair, where you’re encouraged to wear shorts – and if you’re a good looking woman, something skimpy – the bar is open, the drinks stiff and the results unexpected.

Without any further hesitation, let’s get to the reason you came here, and start handing out the hardware.

Derrick Cope Award (Biggest Surprise)
A. Jamie McMurray
From the unemployment line to winning the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500, along with runner-up finishes at Talladega, Darlington and Charlotte. There is no one, and I mean no one, who would have predicted this before the season.

B. Denny Hamlin
Although Denny Hamlin was picked to contend for the title, it was still a surprise that he did so in the manner that he did. Notching eight victories and leading the points heading into the final race of the year at Homestead. Sometimes the surprise is simply living up the expectations and doing what’s expected.

C. Kevin Harvick
Last fall, in the midst of a dismal season, Kevin Harvick was openly campaigning for his release from Richard Childress Racing. Flash-forward a year and the driver nicknamed “Happy,” snapped his 115-race winless streak three times over and racked up the most points in the regular season. Although him winning a race this season wasn’t a surprise, it was him being as dominant and consistent as he was that qualifies him for this award.

Award Goes To: Jamie McMurray, the driver who didn’t have a job last October and whose best offer was only a one-year deal with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

Before this year, the consensus was McMurray was a nice guy, great in front of the camera and with sponsors, and occasionally would find a way to snag a ‘W.” Basically, long story short, he was looked at as a journeyman driver; no more, no less.

Then for some reason – pride, comfortability with his new old team, powerful engines – things just clicked and the results were something no one expected. A shocking Daytona 500 victory, followed by near-misses in some of the sports biggest races, then a win at Indianapolis and the Brickyard 400, and capping it off by taking the checkered flag in the October stop at Charlotte.

In fact, McMurray’s season might be the most unexpected since 2002. That was the year when Kurt Busch, in his sophomore season, came out of nowhere to win four races and finish third overall.

Dale Inman Award (Best Crew Chief)
A. Chad Knaus
It was just another ho-hum year for the “The Mastermind,” guiding his team to their fifth straight championship, along with six victories. Like I said, ho-hum.

B. Gil Martin
Rejuvenated the fortunes of the 29 team and led the temperamental Kevin Harvick to three wins, the regular season points crown and his best overall finish of his 10-year career.

C. Mike Ford
Masterfully handled not only the preseason expectations which have a tendency to sink some teams (See: Edwards, Carl, 2009) but also a slow start and his driver’s knee surgery in April to come within 39 points shy of winning the title.

D. Kevin Manion
In his first year working with Jamie McMurray, Manion guided his team to two majors (Daytona and Indianapolis), plus a win at Charlotte. Far and away, excluding the three title contenders, his team had the best season of everyone else.

Award Goes To: This is arguably the toughest category. All four of the nominees were excellent this season and each was instrumental in their drivers having remarkable years. But for what he did in the Chase, from benching his pit crew at Texas, to rolling the dice and his title hopes on fuel at Phoenix, to calmly withstanding the pressure chamber that was Homestead, no crew chief earned this award more than Chad Knaus.

Down the road and with a little perspective, we’re going to look back at how Knaus willed his team to an unprecedented fifth championship with great admiration. There is no team in all of motorsports that takes on the personality of the guy in charge like the 48 team does with Knaus. This team is built in his image and that is why they’re unflappable when it matters the most.

Richard Petty Award of Excellence (Driver of the Year)
A. Jimmie Johnson
If you don’t know why he’s a nominee, I don’t know why you’re taking the time to read this column.

B. Denny Hamlin
Even driving with a surgically repaired left knee, Denny Hamlin still led the series in wins with eight and was just one of three drivers to lead 1,000-plus laps. If it weren’t for an ill-timed decision early in the Ford 400, he would be your 2010 Sprint Cup champion.

C. Kevin Harvick
Here are Kevin Harvick’s credentials: Three wins, a season-best 26 top-10 finishes, and no driver was better during the regular season. Not to mention, he finished third in points and won the Budweiser Shootout in February.

D. Jamie McMurray
There is not a driver outside of the above three who wouldn’t trade their season for the one Jamie McMurray had in ‘10. One could make a good case that he had arguably a better season than any driver not named Johnson, Hamlin or Harvick.

Award Goes To: Listen, Denny Hamlin had a terrific season, and if it weren’t for that bobble in the opening laps at Homestead he would be getting this award. That’s even with Johnson winning the championship. But that mistake in South Florida can’t be ignored. Johnson didn’t so much win the title, as Hamlin lost it.

Although what Kevin Harvick did was nice, the fact is he won half the number of races as Johnson and five less than Hamlin and finished behind both in the standings.

As for McMurray and his career-year; it was a good story and all, but this sport is about contending and winning championships. Something he didn’t come close to doing in ’10.

Thus, it’s the people’s champion (sarcasm switch firmly placed in the ‘on’ position) who again wins the Richard Petty Award of Excellence. At this point in his career, the debate is no longer, “Where does Jimmie Johnson rank among the all-time greats?” but rather “Is he the best NASCAR driver ever?”

Grab The Headlines Award (Year’s Biggest Story)
A. Jimmie Johnson’s five-peat
Never in the sport’s history has a driver done what Jimmie Johnson has done these last five years. And the numbers he’s amassed during his championship reign are simply staggering: 35 wins, 81 top-fives, 117 top-10s and 7,655 laps led.

B. Denny Hamlin’s emergence
It wasn’t like Denny Hamlin was a nobody before the season started, but in ’10 the fifth-year driver emerged on the track as one of NASCAR’s elite drivers. While off of it, he became one of the leaders in the garage. Frequently sharing his well thought-out opinions on the direction the sport was headed. Even, if it meant incurring NASCAR’s wrath in the form of a substantial fine.

C. RCR’s resurgence
Out of all the teams that run fulltime, none has been around longer than Richard Childress Racing. But after perhaps their worst year in the 33 years they’ve ran a full schedule, there were some serious questions about the viability of RCR and how much longer they were going to be around. Those questions were put to bed though, in a year when the organization won five times and placed all three of its cars in the Chase.

D. Best points race in years
In ‘10, we saw arguably the best points battle since 1992 and certainly since 2004. What made the points race so good, besides how tight the standings were heading into the final race of the year, was the participants involved. Jimmie Johnson racing for his place in NASCAR immortality; Denny Hamlin and his all out quest to slay the 48; and Kevin Harvick, propelled by the legacy of Dale Earnhardt, attempting to win RCR’s first title since 1994.

E. Continued shrinkage in television ratings and attendance
Despite some of the best racing we’ve seen in years, the number of people watching in person and at home continued to dwindle. Seemingly every race featured sections of empty seats, and it was generally doom and gloom when the TV ratings were released mid-week. Again, this was all in the midst of what was consistently some of the best on-track action in many years.

F. “Boys, Have At It”
When NASCAR announced in January that they were going to let the drivers police themselves and they were not going to sanction their on-track behavior unless absolutely necessary, there was a collective, “We’ll believe it when we see it.” But true to their word, the sanctioning body abided by their proclamation. Even when certain situations demanded that they step in and do something. The end result was fantastic racing and a mentality that harkened back to the sports glory days.

G. NASCAR reorganizing the schedule
Over the last 10 years the Sprint Cup schedule had grown a bit stale. Not only that, some tracks had multiple dates that they didn’t warrant, while others deserved more than they were getting. This summer, NASCAR in conjunction ISC and SMI – the two major bodies that own the majority of tracks – took action. Gone were second dates at Fontana and Atlanta and in their place came a second stop at Kansas and an inaugural race at Kentucky. In addition, Chicagoland was moved so that it would be the first race in the Chase starting in 2011.

Award Goes To: Although each of the stories above was newsworthy in their own right, the winner is “Boys, Have At It” in a landslide. The philosophy of letting drivers settle things for themselves on the track, and sometimes off of it, would resonate throughout the season. As this decree dramatically affected what we saw on the track each week and had a hand in some of the most memorable moments of the season.

Bobby Ginn Award (Organization That Laid the Biggest Egg)
A. Michael Waltrip Racing
With David Reutimann winning the organizations first race last season and the signing of Martin Truex Jr. along with crew chief extraordinaire Pat Tryson, big things were predicted for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010. Instead, outside of Reutimann’s surprise win at Chicagoland, the team continued to wallow in mediocrity. They frequently combined some good to great runs with a lot of subpar days. Not to mention the four engine failures that plagued them early in the season. Overall, this team didn’t come anywhere close to meeting its preseason expectations.

B. Team Red Bull Racing
2009 was a year of firsts for Team Red Bull Racing. The two-car team won its first race and placed a car in the Chase for the first time. In 2010 reality hit and TRB came back to earth with a resounding thud. Team leader, Brian Vickers, struggled out of the gate and was eventually sidelined due to blood clots. At the same time, F1 reject Scott Speed had difficulty in learning the nuances of stockcar racing.

C. Roush Fenway Racing
While the other superteams of NASCAR – Hendrick, Gibbs and Childress – were winning just about every week, it took Roush Fenway 21 races to make their way to victory lane. While the team placed three cars in the Chase, more than any other, accumulating just four wins on the year is unacceptable. I’ve yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why Jack Roush continues to employ David Ragan.

D. Penske Racing
If you take away the season Kurt Busch had, Penske Racing was pretty much nonexistent in 2010. Sam Hornish Jr. continued to show that he made the wrong career choice when he decided to switch from IndyCar to NASCAR. Posting just one finish inside the top-10, a 10th at Loudon, crashing out of three races and finishing the year a dismal 29th in the final points rundown. Then there was Brad Keselowski, who had a tough go of it in his first year running fulltime in Sprint Cup. A pair of 10th-place finishes represents his best result of the year.

Award Goes To: Based on sheer expectations, the award based on ineptitude and failed expectations, should go to Roush Fenway Racing. Then again, they did win four races and had Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth finish fourth and fifth respectively overall.

Instead, in a mild upset, let's acknowledge the lost season that Team Red Bull Racing had this past year.

Alan Kulwicki Award (Driver Who Did the Most with the Least)
A. Kurt Busch
Despite driving for the lone factory backed Doge team and despite being saddled with two inferior teammates, who combined for three top-10s and finished 25th and 29th in points respectively, Kurt Busch still managed to find a way to win twice, record nine finishes of fifth or better, 17 top-10s and lead 17 races for a total of 842 laps.

B. AJ Allmendinger
Throughout the year, AJ Allmendinger was faced with many questions. Among them, questions about his future, a team that couldn’t pay its bills and wasn’t sure it could make it to the track through the latter part of the season, a lack of funding and just the overall craziness that is associated with being a part of Richard Petty Motorsports; or as I like to refer to them as, Team Dysfunctional. No worries though for the former IndyCar pilot, as he set career-highs in top-fives (2), top-10s (8), laps led (181), lead lap finishes (26), and average finish (17.8).

C. Regan Smith
Driving for an underfunded single-car team is not an easy proposition, but in 2010 Regan Smith made it work. He qualified for all 36 races and finished 20th or better on 12 different occasions. Not great by any means, but it’s still a lot better than most would do given the circumstances.

Award Goes To: For not only surviving but thriving in the madness that evolved Richard Petty Motorsports in ’10, no one deserves this honor more than AJ Allmendinger. Therefore, he receives the Alan Kulwicki Award, along with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. For those unaware, that’s the good stuff, as The Racing Geek spares no expenses.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Award (Most Disappointing Driver)
A. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The namesake of this award had yet another, in an increasing long line of them, miserable/disappointing/frustrating season. 21st in points, 0 wins, 3 top-fives, eight top-10s and an average finish of 18.6 isn’t going to cut driving for the preeminent motorsports team in the Western Hemisphere.

B. Juan Pablo Montoya
Yeah, that win at Watkins Glen was nice, as were the six top-fives and the 14 top-10s. But a year after making an appearance in the Chase and being in the thick of the championship race through the first five races, more was expected of Juan Pablo Montoya in 2010. Unfortunately, due to a combination of mechanical failures, accidents, simple bad luck, over aggressiveness and poor pit strategy, the former Indy 500 winner didn’t come close to matching the season he had a year ago.

C. Kasey Kahne
Like Juan Pablo Montoya, a myriad of factors kept Kasey Kahne out of victory lane and out of the Chase for the second consecutive season. Unlike Montoya, a lot of Kahne’s issues in 2010 were self-induced. After his announcement in April that he would be leaving for greener pastures after the season, he became a lame-duck. As a result of all the problems that go with being in a limbo, his year was effectively over.

D. Mark Martin
Martin fell hard from five wins and a runner-up finish in points last year to being completely shutout of victory lane and not even making the Chase this season.

Award Goes To: The easy answer is Dale Earnhardt Jr., but to be honest, at this point we’re use to him underachieving. Instead the award goes to his Hendricks tablemate, Mark Martin.

While expecting Martin to repeat his performance of a year ago was a bit much, there’s no reason why the 51-year-old driver couldn’t have won at least once and put up more of a fight to earn a Chase berth. I understand that the constant questions about his future plans and whether Kasey Kahne would replace him behind the wheel of the No. 5 car in 2011 were a distraction for both driver and team. But at some point you have to be able to put the blinders on and focus on the task at hand. It’s no coincidence that when everything became settled in mid-August, Martin started running better on the track.

Don’t Delete From the DVR Award (Best Race)
A. Daytona 500
The Great American Race lived up its billing, featuring a Daytona-record 21 different leaders exchanging the lead 52 times, and stirring finish featuring Jamie McMurray withstanding a furious charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

B. Kobalt Tools 500
The penultimate race of the season was filled with high-drama. Denny Hamlin dominated all afternoon and was inline for the win, which would have all but locked up the championship. Except for one thing; his fuel tank ran dry with 12 laps to go. Chad Knaus, knowing that the only chance his driver Jimmie Johnson had of finishing ahead of the 11 car was by foregoing a final pit stop, called for his driver to nurse his car the final 82 miles. Johnson did so effectively and came home in fifth. Hamlin never recovered and fell back to 12th. Afterwards, we saw Johnson uncharacteristically talk a little trash, Hamlin seethe and the fans rejoice in what was shaping up to be an epic title fight.

C. Ford 400
If you thought above race was dramatic, it didn’t hold a candle to what we witnessed in the season-ending race at Homestead. Three drivers, all with a realistic chance at winning the championship and a race that featured more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. There was Denny Hamlin, spinning out through the grass early on and his ensuing comeback; Jimmie Johnson’s troubles on pit road throughout the day; Kevin Harvick’s costly speeding penalty; his dustup with Kyle Busch, which cumulated with Harvick wrecking Busch and trapping Hamlin a lap down; and in the end, Johnson calmly driving to a runner-up finish and his fifth straight title.

D. Aaron’s 499
With 88 lead changes and a series-record 29 different leaders, the Aaron’s 499 was the most competitive race in NASCAR history. It also featured a photo finish that saw Kevin Harvick nip Jamie McMurray by 11 one-thousands of a second, and snapped Harvick’s 115-race winless streak.

Award Goes To: It comes down to competiveness vs. nail biting drama. In the end, the Aaron’s 499 will be remembered as a great race. Albeit, one aided by the use of restrictor-plates, which diminishes its significance greatly. Years from now, the Ford 400 will be talked about as one of the great races that ended up deciding one of the all-time best championship battles in NASCAR history.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

A NASCAR Three-way Swap

2010-11-24T15:03:00.010-06:00

Wining has a way of masking weakness. As long as you’re winning, your faults will be overlooked. So while Jimmie Johnson may have been winning races this season and fighting for a championship that he would ultimately win, the fact that his three teammates at Hendrick Motorsports were struggling each week became merely a footnote.

But by their own – albeit high – standards, Hendrick Motorsports had a subpar 2010 season. Johnson was the only Hendrick driver to make a trip to victory lane, while Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., combined to put-up a zero in the win column.

Of the trio, only Gordon made the Chase. Although he wasn’t much of a factor, posting just four top-10 finishes with his best finish being a fifth at Kansas. While Martin and Earnhardt each went through prolonged slumps which left them on the outside looking in when the playoffs rolled around in September.

A far cry from year ago when Johnson, Martin and Gordon finished 1-2-3 in the standings and won a combined 13 races.

Despite the 48 team winning their fifth consecutive championship, a shakeup of the premiere organization in NASCAR was needed.

On Tuesday, the patriarch of the team, Rick Hendrick, acted quickly and decisively in announcing that he was restructuring his three underperforming teams.

“I think in a nutshell our whole organization after last year and winning the championship and being 1-2-3 in the points, we just kind of got complacent, and other teams were just getting stronger and stronger,” said Hendrick earlier today. “We were not where we needed to be so we started to really try to really step up our program in every area, and I think that after the championship we decided that these moves would make all four teams better.”

Steve Letarte, who has been directing the 24 team since September of 2005, will be shifted over to the 88 team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the latest attempt to jumpstart the sagging fortunes of the sports most popular driver.

Earnhardt’s former crew chief Lance McGrew will be moved to the 5 of Mark Martin, who finds himself entering his final season with Hendrick Motorsports.

Alan Gustafson, Martin’s head wrench last season, will be paired with Gordon and will be tasked with snapping the four-time champ’s career-worst 43-race winless streak.

Rome certainly isn’t burning and Rick Hendrick will never be accused of being a fiddle player, but the above changes are much-needed and long overdue.

The question is will these moves be enough and what impact will each have?

It was obvious that the Earnhardt-McGrew pairing wasn’t working and wasn’t going to work going forward. In the year and a half the twosome have been together, they’ve yet to click both on and off the track; mixing frequent bouts of sniping on the radio with inconsistency and poor finishes.

Earnhardt finished a career-worst 25th in points in ’09 and despite efforts last offseason to bolster the 88 team, things weren’t much better this year. The former Daytona 500 winner posted just three finishes inside the top-five, eight top-10s overall and finished a woeful 21st in the standings.

As Junior Nation has often decried, their driver has shown he can win and compete; having won 18 Cup races, and finished fifth or better three times in the yearend championship order. In their opinion, it’s a lack of a knowledgeable and competent crew chief that has hampered their favorite driver.

From the outset, Junior Nation was vocal in their belief that Lance McGrew wasn't the right guy for the job, having won just one race and never having a driver finish better than 15th in the standings.

What Junior’s legion of fans think of Steve Letarte will be interesting. His credentials are far superior to McGrew’s – nine Cup wins and four appearances in the Chase. But Letarte is the same guy, who despite having one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers driving his cars, has won just one race in the last three years.

Can the mild-mannered Letarte be the taskmaster (i.e. Tony Eury Sr.) which Earnhardt needs and has thrived under in the past?

“He’s (Letarte) a leader and he is a no-nonsense guy when it comes to the race,” explained Hendrick. “But he has an ability to make people feel comfortable and at the same time get the job done. I think at this point, with the kind of season that Junior has had, that Steve will be a perfect fit for him.”

Another perfect fit should be Jeff Gordon and Alan Gustafson. In my opinion what Gordon has needed these last few years is a spark. Though, that’s something his car owner refuted when the subject came up.

“I know Jeff Gordon is just as hungry as when he won his four championships. He’s a competitor and he wants to win a championship himself.”

“He (Gordon) has a tremendous amount of respect for Alan (Gustafson)," clarified Hendrick. "Over the years we have talked about different alignments in different shops. Jeff wants to do whatever is necessary to give him the opportunity to win and win championships.”

The fact is, since 2002 when Jimmie Johnson arrived on the scene fulltime; Gordon has yet to finish higher than him in the standings and has won just 24 races compared to the 53 for the five-time defending champion. Perhaps being moved out of the shop that he has shared with Johnson’s team since the 48s inception, will ignite a fire in Gordon.

If he is to return to his winning ways, having Gustafson, who is highly regarded in the garage and has a keen understanding of NASCAR’s new car, atop his box, should restore the luster to the 24 team.

The odd man out in this game of musical crew chiefs may end up being 51-year-old Mark Martin. Who, in his final season with Hendrick Motorsports, will be saddled with Lance McGrew and a team that has yet to show they can consistently field a fast racecar week in, and week out.

In addition, with Martin being replaced by Kasey Kahne following the 2011 season, one could easily think that Martin was purposely given the short end of the stick. A notion Hendrick refuted when asked that this morning in a teleconference.

“My commitment to Mark and my sponsors and everybody else, we’re not going to have a lame duck situation,” promised Hendrick. “We’re going to go for wins and championships, and Mark can do that. And that team can do that.

“We are going to do whatever it takes with people, with equipment, whatever it takes for Mark Martin to win races and have the opportunity to go for the championship again.”

An issue to be aware of when Kahne comes aboard is what happens if his longtime crew chief Kenny Francis joins him at Hendrick, as the rumormill suggests will happen. A situation, that if it comes to fruition, would leave the 10-time championship car owner with five crew chiefs and just four race teams. However that conundrum is a year away.

The one team who wasn’t affected by this shuffle was, of course, the only team in NASCAR history to win five straight titles. As it would’ve been foolish for the man I dubbed “The Godfather” to mess with a group who has proved to be the best-of-the-best for the last five years.

Ultimately, a move of this caliber will be judged not on whether Jimmie Johnson wins another championship or even Dale Earnhardt Jr. getting back to victory lane after an absence of two-plus years.

It will be judged on whether all four cars, not just one, within the Hendrick Motorsports stable can have the type of success that’s expected of them. Because if not, more moves like this will be forthcoming. As was demonstrated with this announcement, Rick Hendrick isn’t shy about shaking up the status quo.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-11-23T14:29:00.004-06:00

While the season at times can feel like a grind, it also feels like the Daytona 500 was just last month. I still vividly remember Jamie McMurray’s stirring win and all the good vibes that surrounded Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s runner-up finish.

38 weeks of racing later and the 2010 season has come to an end with one of the more dramatic points race in recent memory. Before we enter the offseason and all that comes with it, here is the final NASCAR Power Poll of the year.

1. (2) Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson became only the third man in the modern-era to win the championship after trailing entering the finale race. The others were Richard Petty, who entered the 1979 season ender two points in arrears of Darrell Waltrip, and Alan Kulwicki, 30 points behind then-point leader Davey Allison with one to go in the 1992 season. I would call that pretty select company.

2. (3) Kevin Harvick
A year after going winless and finishing 19th in the standings, Kevin Harvick bounced back nicely, winning three times and finished third overall. To hear him speak post-race, he sounds mighty optimistic that he’ll be back in this position 12 months from now.

3. (1) Denny Hamlin
There’s going to be a lot of second-guessing within the Joe Gibbs shop over the next three months. First, there was the fuel mileage miscalculation at Phoenix, and then there was the overall approach to the weekend at Homestead. The key for everyone involved will be not wallowing in what wasn’t, but building off of what was.

4. (6) Carl Edwards
After a remarkable 2008 season, one in which he won nine times and finished second in points, Carl Edwards was tabbed as the preseason favorite entering ‘09. Following back-to-back victories to closeout this season, that same fate of being called the favorite, might once again fall at his feet. But when asked that Sunday night, the Roush Fenway driver was pretty clear where he stood on the matter, “Please don't do that again. That didn't work worth a damn.”

5. (8) Matt Kenseth
Certainly didn’t rebound quite to the same extent as Kevin Harvick did, but a year after missing the Chase for the first time in his career, and three crew chiefs later, Matt Kenseth has a lot to be proud of his fifth-place finish in the standings.

6. (10) Clint Bowyer
It was a year of firsts for Clint Bowyer’s sponsor General Mills. At New Hampshire, the longtime NASCAR supporter finally visited victory lane. While Bowyer’s 10th-place finish in points, represented the first time the company’s had a driver finish the year out in the top-10.

7. (5) Mark Martin
A strong finish to the season for Mark Martin gives him hope that the ’11 season will be better. But one wonders where this performance was throughout the bulk of the regular season?

8. (4) Joey Logano
If you missed it, which you probably did because ESPN glossed over it, Joey Logano had an interesting afternoon Sunday. After contact with Juan Pablo Montoya sent the sophomore driver into the wall, he retaliated by wrecking Montoya under caution. Montoya’s car owner, Felix Sabates, was outraged and according to the Joe Gibbs Twitter feed, demanded an apology from Logano. If one was not received, Sabates was going to have one of his cars intentionally wreck Denny Hamlin. There has been no explanation as to why ESPN completely missed one of the more entertaining stories of the day, but one sure would be nice.

9. (9) Greg Biffle
The Biff drove to a 10th-place finish in his backup car after cracking up his primary car in Friday’s lone practice. Noteworthy, since this is his first top-10 at Homestead since 2006, the last of his three straight victories on the mile-and-a-half track.

10. (7) Kyle Busch
There are a lot of things to be excited about for 2011, but the main ones for me has to do with the escalating Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick feud. If both drivers are again running up front and contending for wins on a weekly basis, this rivalry could reach unprecedented heights of bitterness and animosity.

11. (12) Tony Stewart
Two Lucky Dog’s later and Tony Stewart (8th) was able to post his first top-10 since winning at Fontana. So, I guess in that case, we can say he didn’t completely mail in the second-half of the Chase.

12. (14) Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman became a father for the first time last week when his wife Krisse gave birth to a healthy baby girl. No offense, but I hope the bay looks more like mom than dad.

13. (11) Jeff Gordon
Listen, Steve Letarte may be a nice guy and does a fairly decent job of guiding Jeff Gordon’s team each week. And Gordon himself may even want him to continue calling the shots for the 24 team next season. But at what point does Rick Hendrick step-in and say a change needs to be made. I don’t know about you, but I think one victory in three years is the tipping point. Then again, maybe I just have higher standards and expect Jeff Gordon to win more than once every 36 months.

14. (13) Jamie McMurray
Raise your hand if you thought before the season Jamie McMurray would win three races, including the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. Like I suspected, I don’t see many hands raised, including my own.

15. (NR) AJ Allmendinger
It sounds as if Richard Petty has it worked out with the bank and his investors so he can keep Richard Petty Motorsports solvent. If true, the future of RPM is promising thanks to the continued growth of AJ Allmendinger, who looks primed for a breakthrough next season.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Monday’s Thoughts: The Championship That Means The Most

2010-11-22T07:38:00.003-06:00

This one was different. It was unlike any of the previous four. This was about pure grit and determination. It was an utter and complete refusal to give in, despite the numerous obstacles that kept arising along the 10-race meat grinder known as the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Be it a car that didn’t seem to run well in traffic, not one but two pit crews who had their share of difficulties throughout the playoffs and an adversary in Denny Hamlin, who wasn’t intimated by the juggernaut known as Team 48.

No, this year was about a driver, a crew chief, an owner, and most importantly a team that met every challenge head-on and never wavered. While the end result is the same as it was in 2006, ‘07, ‘08, and ‘09, this year was by far the most special of them all.

In the previous four years, Jimmie Johnson rolled into Homestead with his name all but engraved on the championship trophy; only needing a somewhat reasonable finish to secure the title.

That was not the case yesterday, where Johnson had to scrap and fight for every position on the track, because every point meant the difference between being a five-time titlist and a former series champion.

To the surprise of no one, and to the angst of many who were ready to see someone else win, when the checkered flag waved it was the same team being handed the trophy that we’ve seen for the last four years.

“I've always told you guys that the first championship, first win, has meant the most to me,” said an exuberated Johnson.

“This one, I think this takes the lead. Just the circumstances, it's not that the other Chases weren't competitive. We were stronger I think in the previous two Chases, at least. Maybe all four. But this one, I'm just so proud, because there were times on Saturday nights when we would get together and discuss our race car after practice, and we would have some tough conversations, and just struggled to get what we needed.”

The obvious thing to do now is to try and determine Jimmie Johnson’s place in the sport and where he sits among the all-time greats. Except, now isn't the time for that, as there will be plenty of time to assess where he ranks in the pantheon of NASCAR immortals later.

Let’s for the time being simply acknowledge that he and his team continue to make what was considered impossible, very much possible. They’re doing so in the most competitive era in NASCAR history. At a time when parity rules the day and no one team is supposed to have a prolonged advantage, the 48 team continues to defy logic.

Is Johnson beatable? Of course he is. His pit crew is sloppy, mistake prone and inconsistent, not just in the Chase, but throughout the entire season. On intermediate tracks, the Lowes Chevrolet frequently struggled, particularly when immersed in traffic.

One could make a very good case that the 11 team of Denny Hamlin outperformed the 48 over past 10 weeks. If it weren’t for a couple of self-induced mistakes at Phoenix and Homestead, they easily could have dethroned the 48. But woulda, shoulda, coulda, the results are what they are and speak for themselves.

The scary thing is Chad Knaus, just hours after the conclusion of the Ford 400, had already turned the page to 2011 and what the Hendrick organization can do to be better.

“The 2010 season ended two hours ago,” said the crew chief that at times seemingly willed his team to the title. “And 2011 started two hours ago.

“We have started preparing at Hendrick Motorsports for next year and we are full force to make sure that we take a better product to the racetrack next year, and it's going to be so.

This dynasty is far from being over and the appetite that this team has for winning is far from being satisfied.

###

I’m of the belief that to first win a championship, you first have to lose one. Until you experience the pain of seeing something you want so badly slip through your fingers, you can’t fully realize the immensity of the task at hand.

This past weekend, Denny Hamlin lost the championship.

It all started with the poor qualifying effort on Friday, which he downplayed afterwards, but eventually led to his demise.

In trying to move up from his 37th starting position, he was simply too aggressive. There’s no need to go three-wide 24 laps into a 267-lap race unless absolutely forced. When he moved underneath Greg Biffle, who was beside Paul Menard coming off Turn-2, it was a recipe for disaster.

The No. 16 car of Biffle moved down, clipped the front of Hamlin’s Toyota, who then proceeded to slide across the grass on the backstretch.

The subsequent damage proved too much to overcome, and with it a fine season that saw the Joe Gibbs driver on the brink of his first title, went out the window.

“You can kind of maybe contribute it to bad qualifying,” said Hamlin. “But our car was really fast at the beginning. I mean, just unbelievably fast at the beginning, and I knew we had a car that could contend for a win. And obviously when we got in that incident on the back straightaway, it tore up the front and knocked the toe out and obviously the car did not drive as well for the rest of the day.”

How Hamlin handles the disappointment of losing will be one of the more captivating subplots heading into the offseason.

Does he use it as motivation to propel him to greatness, much like Jimmie Johnson used losing the championship in 2004 and ’05 to drive him?

Or, does he go the route that the other drivers who have finished second to Johnson have gone, and struggle the following season.

Jeff Gordon still hasn’t recovered from losing out on his fifth title in 2007, and has won just one race since. Carl Edwards went from having nine victories in 2008 to being shutout the next season. And there’s Mark Martin, who won five races last season, but not only went winless this year, he didn’t even make the Chase.

The direction Hamlin goes from here is up to him. For the time being, he can take solace in what was a breakout season.

“I feel like we had a solid year. We had a really good car all year, and you can take away the fact that we are coming off of our best year ever. I still know that there's -- I've got to get better in a lot of areas.”

Last year, the future appeared bleak for Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress Racing. Driver and team were floundering, and it was all but a certainty that Harvick would be taking his services elsewhere for 2011.

Now, following a season in which he won three times, won the regular season points crown and finished third in the Chase, the future is as bright as it was dark a year ago.

“It’s a 180 for us,” said a smiling Harvick. “Last year at this time we all wanted to put a gun in our mouth. Didn't know what we needed to do to fix it, and we were running better but we didn't know if that was going to continue into next year.

The guys, we came out of the gate strong. We ran strong all year. And in the end, we came up a little bit short but from where we were last year to this steppingstone, for us to build on is a whole lot better than where we were a year to go to be consistently racing for championships.”

For a driver who can be highly critical of his team, sometimes too much, the above comments speak volumes. There’s a lot to be proud of, and for Harvick to recognize all that he and his team have done this season says a lot about where he has come as a leader.

“I remember where we sat when I left this race last year. You always want to win but I'm not going to sit here and be disappointed. We raced as hard as we could race this year, with everybody putting up every piece of effort that they had, week-in and week-out, and I know what it feels like to run like we did last year.

“I'm not going to look back. This is going to make us stronger. We have got a good race team that's going to stick around for a while, and I'm just happy to be a part of it right now.”

While there may be doubt as to whether Denny Hamlin can put this bitter defeat behind him, those questions don’t surround Harvick. In fact, it’s the complete opposite, as one expects him to be the thick of the championship picture when the series returns to Homestead 12 months from now.

By the way, incase you didn't notice, Carl Edwards was your race-winner yesterday. It marks the second straight week he went to victory lane and no one noticed. That’s life when we’re in the midst of a compelling title fight that goes all the way down to the closing laps.

Not that Edwards is complaining. After going 70 races before returning to victory lane last weekend in Phoenix, he’s grateful just to be winning again.

“A 70-race winless streak is very difficult. And it's difficult because -- Jack owns this team. He goes to bed and wakes up every morning; I'm sure, thinking how can we make this better. I go to bed and wake up every morning, thinking how can I be better and Bob (crew chief Bob Osborne) does the same thing.

“When you don't get the results you want, you first look at yourself and you say, hey, how can I do better. It's very easy to start looking around and start pointing fingers at everyone else.”

Despite a grueling season, featuring the longest schedule in sports with 36 point races, plus two exhibition events, Edwards isn’t ready for the season to end. If he had a say, the Daytona 500 would be next weekend, he’s that excited about what the future holds.

“I feel a lot better right now going into 2011 than I did going into 2009. That's because I feel we have a lot of momentum and things are getting better. We have a new engine that we are working on that just keeps getting better.

“For our team, to finish like this and to be on the upswing that we are, this is as good as it gets.

At one point, it would have been unfathomable to think Jeff Gordon would go through a whole season without winning a single race. Well, for the second time in three years, that is the reality we’re dealing with as the four-time champion again went winless. With just one victory in his last 108 races, it’s going to be a long offseason for a team that not too long ago was the benchmark of NASCAR.

Joining Gordon as drivers who won in 2009 but went winless this year are Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle all returned to victory lane after lengthy absences.

In what may have been their last weekend of existence, Richard Petty Motorsports put together a solid weekend. Aric Almirola’s fourth-place finish was a career-best, while AJ Allmendinger started fifth, ran in the top-10 for the majority of the afternoon and came home fifth.

As to what the future holds for the organization that has debt up to its eyes, and an ownership group that is very much in flux, who knows? It would be too bad to see Allmendinger, who has made tremendous strides in making the transition from IndyCars, end up sitting on the sidelines without a ride. Not to mention the Petty name no longer associated with a sport they helped build.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Ford 400 Preview

2010-11-19T21:54:00.006-06:00

What: Ford 400
Where: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1-mile D-shaped oval)
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
When: November 21, 2010
Green Flag: 1:15 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
Defending Winner: Denny Hamlin

Storylines Worth Following

Denny Hamlin Coming From The Back
Entering the final round of the Chase, one of the things we’ve learned thus far is that qualifying can be a tad overrated. Look at Denny Hamlin, who has yet to start better than 17th in the last three weeks, and has an average starting position in the Chase of 17.7.

While at first blush the No. 11 Toyota qualifying 38th today may not appear to be that big of a deal – he did after all win last year starting in the exact same position – the circumstances are a bit different compared to a year ago.

In 2009, Hamlin wasn’t racing for a championship and could afford to take a chance or two on the track. That opportunity won’t be afforded to him on Sunday, as he’ll have to mix cautiousness with aggressiveness as he attempts to work his way to the front. One ill-timed move and his title hopes will have to wait another year.

Jimmie Johnson/Chad Knaus Forcing The Hand of The 11 & 29
The strategy of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus is a simple one. Start near the front, lead a lap(s), and force the 11 and 29 teams into making mistakes in their efforts to keep pace. So far the plan has worked well, as Johnson clocked in the sixth fastest time today, while his two rivals will be lining up 28th (Harvick) and 38th (Hamlin).

However, there are two issues to watch for on Sunday regarding the 48s fortunes. The first is whether Johnson and Knaus have found the speed during long runs that has been absent for the majority of the Chase. Two, as this team uncharacteristically has gotten worse not better as the race moves towards its conclusion. If both of these trends continue, their run of consecutive titles will certainly come to an end at four.

Kevin Harvick Going For Broke
If he is to win his first Sprint Cup championship, Kevin Harvick not only has to outrun Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, he’s going to need both of them to stub their toes. Not a lot mind you, but enough as to where it allows Harvick to overcome a 46-point deficit.

The only way he’s going to be able to do that, is by throwing deep, taking chances and not caring about the consequences. Be it going for two tires when everyone else is taking four or trying to stretch his fuel much like the 48 team did a week ago.

Carl Going For Two In a Row
Last weekend at Phoenix, Carl Edwards snapped a 70-race winless streak. He did so in fine fashion, having what could be described as a perfect weekend. As he was fastest in every practice session; set fast time in qualifying and then went on to win his first race in close to two years.

While the Columbia, Missouri driver won’t go two-for-two in the perfect weekend department – Kasey Kahne won the pole forcing Edwards to start second – it’s looking like he may not have to wait 70 races before returning to victory lane. In fact, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him go back-to-back for the first time since the fall of 2008.

More Misery For Jeff Gordon?
Between not winning a race through a variety of late-race miscues, having won only once in the last three years and seeing his pit crew taken from him in a effort to bolster the chances of Jimmie Johnson, you can safely say that it’s been a trying year all-around for Jeff Gordon. Can the 85-race winner muster some magic on a track he’s never tasted victory, or will it be more of the same frustration and disappointment?

Keep An Eye on The Gas Gauge
As we saw last weekend, fuel mileage can be the great equalizer in NASCAR. And Homestead-Miami Speedway happens to be the kind of track where how much petrol you have left can come into play. Take for instance two years ago when Matt Kenseth ran out of gas with four laps to go and handed the win to teammate Carl Edwards.

With the difficulty he had in Phoenix keeping fuel in his tank, it has to be a concern of Denny Hamlin’s and his crew chief Mike Ford not to have a repeat of what happened a week ago.

Driver Speak
--Denny Hamlin and his approach come Sunday:

“The important thing is we have a good car for Homestead. It’s going to be our Texas car. So, we know we got a good piece there. This is why we run the races. This is why you can’t crown anyone before this thing is over, is because if any kind of strategy or anything goes wrong, it could be the deciding factor in the championship. It’s a tight one. It’s just going to be whoever runs best. Trust me, I’d rather race at Homestead knowing I need to go out there and I need to win the race than knowing I need to finish 15th. That’s the mentality I’m going to have, is to win the race. It will be one of those things where you’ll probably see me as aggressive as I’ve been all year.”

Homestead-Miami Speedway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Greg Biffle (3)

Owner Wins: Roush Fenway Racing (6)

Manufacturer Wins: Ford (6)

Average Finish: Jimmie Johnson (6.5)

Laps Led: Tony Stewart (384)

Top-5s: Jeff Gordon (5)

Top-10s: Jeff Gordon (9)

Contenders
1. Carl Edwards
In six trips to the South Florida speed plant, Carl Edwards has won three times and has finished in the top-10 all but once. His average finish of 6.4 is tops among all drivers.

2. Denny Hamlin
Yes, that 38th-place effort in qualifying is a bit worrisome. Then you realize it’s where he started when he won here last year and that he’s driving the same car he won with at Texas two weeks ago. It makes you think, you know what, I could see Denny Hamlin in victory lane on Sunday. And you know, he’s the kind of guy who would like nothing more than to secure his first championship in grand style.

3. Jimmie Johnson
Homestead is one of four tracks Jimmie Johnson has never won at in his career, but you get the feeling that could change by Sunday afternoon. This team is as focused as they’ve been since the Chase has started, and so far they have the speed to match their intensity.

Sleeper
Jamie McMurray
This season Jamie McMurray has made a habit of stealing the limelight away from some of the sports biggest names. At Daytona in February, McMurray held off a furious charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Daytona 500. In August, at the Brickyard 400, McMurray again picked up the checkered flag, this time beating Kevin Harvick to the stripe.

What’s not to say he does it again on a day when everyone is focused on the three championship combatants?

The Official Racing Geek Pick
If you’ve ever wondered why Ford spends so much cash to be the title sponsor of this race, it might have something to do with how strong the cars with a blue oval on their hood have performed here in the past. Ford drivers have won six of the last 11 races.

I think after Sunday, that number will change to seven and it will be because of Carl Edwards, who will win for the second straight week.

As for the championship, look for Jimmie Johnson to be strong early, but for Denny Hamlin to continually get better as the race goes along, just as he's been throughout the Chase. In the latter stages he’ll find a way around the 48, which will be enough for him to win his first Sprint Cup championship and end Johnson's run at four.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Brian France Meets The Media

2010-11-19T14:55:00.004-06:00

Like he does every Friday before the year’s season finale at Homestead, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France meets with the media and gives a State of the Sport address.

Today when he did so, it was a wide variety of topics that were covered. Included among them possible changes to the Chase for the Sprint Cup, forthcoming efforts to further differentiate the Nationwide Series from the Sprint Cup Series, television ratings that are going down rather than up, and how the “Boys, Have At It” philosophy has worked in its first year.

Here are some highlights from his press conference earlier this afternoon.

On Why NASCAR Is Looking At Making Changes to The Chase for the Sprint Cup:

Brian France: “What I like is, a winner-take-all, if you will; and watching someone not just have to run well, but have to beat some other people. That is feeling to us like that's exactly what we want.

“And by the way, it's exactly what the drivers want. It's working out that way this year.
“Let me say this; almost every sports league, including the NCAA Tournament last year, is looking around at what they need to do to change their formats a little or a lot – depending on who they are – to make sure that their playoffs or their championship runs are what they want them to be. And we are no different.

“It's that time of the year where these are the kind of questions that we get. We understand that we are going to have a championship that puts a lot on the line as it does now. That's credible, and rewards the drivers that have the biggest performances throughout the season, and whatever we might consider, we'll accomplish that.

“That's what excites our fan base (Game 7 type moments), and it excites casual sports fans who are going to look to this sport one day to enjoy as much as we do. If there's a plan for us to accomplish that, we will consider it over the winter. Right now we are obviously thrilled with where we are at and looking forward to Sunday.”

What Those Changes To The Chase May Be:

France: “I am not going to talk about what we are considering, because we are considering a lot of different things. My only thing is, is that we really like the way things have elevated, as I said, the performances, what that means to our going out on a very strong, positive note.

“And if there's one thing we can do is simplify how we crown our champion so the casual fan feels a little bit easier -- it's easier to understand; that would be a good thing.

“But the idea is to create big moments by the best teams at the end of the year, who have to put their best performances forward to win it all, and if there's a better way to do that, like every other commissioner, I'm sure that we'll consider it and there will be that normal consideration and that happens this time of year, every year.

“And frankly, the criteria that I just described, that doesn't change. That was the same criteria I used last year, and we didn't make any changes. So I wouldn't assume that we are just going to make some changes because we are talking about looking at things.”

When and What the Sanctioning Body Plans on Doing to Fix the Nationwide Series:

France: “You will be hearing about that in January. And the idea for us is, we want to see the Nationwide Series have its own identity, very similar to what college football does for the NFL. That's a great analogy for us. And what we don't want to see is Sunday and Saturday homogenized, just completely homogenized.

“We want to see Cup involvement. Absolutely, fans want to see that. We also want to make sure the Nationwide Series is helping us find stars that stay there for a little while, earn their stripes and move up.

“And that's because it's very crowded in how many seats are available in the Nationwide division, given so much cross over. So what you'll see from us is we'll deal with that. That's the kind of policy things that we will try to weigh properly and make sure that we are developing more stars with their own identity; at the same time, not throwing out a lot of things that are working.

“It's delicate of how to do that, but we have been at this for a number of months studying the idea of making Saturday (Nationwide Series races typically run on Saturday) better -- it's more so its own identity. But you have to remember, it's the second most popular form of motorsports by a wide margin.

“So whatever we would do, we have to be careful, we don't want to throw out too many things that are working properly. Everybody would like to have the ratings and attendance and sponsorship and everything else that goes with that series, but we'll balance that correctly.”

The Possibility of Shortening Sprint Cup Races and the Idea of Running a Race Mid-Week:

France: “We are looking at shortening races as we go along. We shortened California this time around, and we think that made for a very good event. So on the margins, we'll look at when that makes sense to shorten certain races that we think will get a better competitive product on the track, if it was a little bit shorter.

“But actually, making a big change with the schedule in the mid-week, that would be possible now.”

The “Boys, Have At It” Attitude and What Role It Might Play On Sunday’s Outcome:

France: “Look, you know, some (beatin’ and bangin’) could happen. That's true. We are going to look at that (anything that might be construed as deliberate.) But you know, late in the race, when you're mixing it up, if something is blatant, obviously that will get our attention.

“But I would expect if two or three are going down to the wire, I've said it before, this is a contact sport. You're going to get shoved around a little bit if somebody is trying to get by and you're trying to win; a championship is on the line. We are not going to treat this race any differently than we would another. And despite how much is on the line, they have got to settle it on the track.”

On Why the Television Ratings Have Continued to Decrease Each Week:

France: “We are starting this race two hours earlier than we did last year. That's a lot. And homes in use, [it] obviously goes up later on in the afternoon and on into the evening. So we did that for a variety of other reasons, and we knew that that had some risk of some ratings erosion. There are other factors, too. We changed networks, as well, for the Chase. So we will be looking with our partners. They want -- ESPN -- wants the highest ratings possible for their network. So do we.

“We haven't had a very strong Chase in the last three or four years, at least in terms of this kind of a closeness. So we are not going to make decisions based on some ratings in one season that were not what we wanted it to be. But obviously our goal is to grow our audience, and expose NASCAR to the biggest audience that we can, and we have a lot of smart people and a lot of smart people in this industry who will ultimately achieve that.”

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Three Different Approaches, Same Result

2010-11-17T15:26:00.008-06:00

The 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup has been the most compelling points race in years. First, there was Clint Bowyer winning at Loudon with a car that passed and then didn’t pass post-inspection. Then, it was Denny Hamlin the Friday of Dover making accusations regarding the legality of the cars Richard Childress Racing was fielding. That was followed by Kevin Harvick taking exception to Hamlin’s comments and intentionally driving into the 11 car during practice on Saturday.

Of course throughout the post-season, there’s the storyline of Jimmie Johnson’s Drive for Five and Hamlin’s determination and plan for winning his first championship.

Not to mention photo finishes, middle fingers, Jeff Gordon throwing down, fuel mileage gambles, mid-race pit crew swaps, smack talk, mind games, and I’m sure I’m leaving something else out.

To me, the Chase more than anything else, has been about the guys sitting atop the pit boxes for our three championship contenders. How Chad Knaus, Mike Ford and Gil Martin have influenced and shaped this year’s Chase stands out more than anything else. How each is approaching Championship Sunday?

Often overlooked, the trio of head wrenches has been seemingly been in the spotlight more this year than any other; with each having led their respective teams to the brink of the championship in their own distinct fashion.

Chad Knaus is already regarded as one of the greatest crew chiefs in history, maybe the greatest, no matter how Sunday turns out. He guides his team in much the same way as Vince Lombardi or Bill Belichick would if they were running a race team.

Willing his team and pulling out all the stops to win a championship. Sometimes by patting his guys on the back, other times by kicking his guys in the behind.

In much the same vain as Lombardi and Belichick, Knaus puts emotions aside and does whatever needs to be done to accomplish the goal. Whether that goal is winning a race or a championship, the only thing that matters is winning, everything else be damned.

He even went as far as taking the drastic measure of replacing the 48 pit crew mid-race. A move that was necessitated after a series of subpar stops cost Jimmie Johnson valuable track position. After all, if a pit crew isn’t doing their job, what other choice do you really have?

Let’s not forget the fuel mileage call at Phoenix, where Knaus, the only crew chief to win four consecutive championships, gambled that his driver could go the final 88 miles without a pit stop. Like Texas, a move that was predicated on factors that essentially forced Knaus’ hand.

On that day in the desert, the 48’s championship foe, Denny Hamlin, clearly had the fastest car. Without a caution, he would have certainly have gone to finish somewhere in the upper-half of the top-10. The only way Johnson was going to finish ahead of Hamlin was by out thinking him, which is exactly what Knaus set out to do. He did this by calculating that his Lowes Chevrolet could make it on fuel if his driver could take it easy the last 88 laps.

When the checkered flag waved, it paid off just how Knaus thought it would; with his driver ahead by seven spots and gaining significant ground, points-wise.

Come Sunday, Knaus will face a scenario unlike any he’s had to manage in the last four years. Instead of rolling into South Florida with a comfortable lead and just having to finish somewhat respectable to secure the title, his team, trailing the 11 squad by 15 points, will be the hunters and not the hunted.

“I think the biggest concern that I've got currently is that we haven't gone to Homestead to truly race yet,” said Knaus when he met with reporters yesterday. “We've gone down there with a bit of a protective mindset, so I think that puts us a little bit behind compared to the other guys. We haven't had to be the aggressor there, so I think that puts us a little bit behind the 8-ball.”

However, if there is a silver lining in the position they find themselves, it’s that they can be on the attack this weekend. Something Knaus almost seems to be relishing.

“Then again, when we go to tracks for the first time and try to get aggressive with it, we usually do pretty well. So I think that it could be a good thing, also.”

The team he’ll be attacking is the one led by Mike Ford. Who like Knaus, finds himself in a unique position, albeit for a different set of reasons.

This is the first time in his five-year tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing that his team is in contention for the championship. As such, this is the first time Ford has had to deal with the war of words that is typically associated with a title fight.

At Texas, after an emotional win that gave his driver Denny Hamlin the point lead, Ford wasn’t shy about who thinks the best team in the garage is. And it sure wasn’t the team who had won the last four championships.

“I think our race team is better than their race team, and I'm not going to tiptoe around them because of where they're at,” Ford proclaimed. “I'm going to do what it's going to require for us to win a championship beat them. Not that I'm playing dirty by any means, but take what's ours, and I'm not afraid to go toe to toe with them.”

Tough talk from a guy who’s pretty mild-mannered by nature and even admonished his driver at Dover for inciting the competition.

Their biggest hurdle this weekend might not be the 48 or the 29, but instead whether Ford and his driver can restore the communication that was lacking last weekend in Phoenix.

In that race, the No.11 Toyota was the best car on the track, as Hamlin led a race-high 190 laps. The problem was he was unaware how close he was on fuel, while rivals Johnson and Harvick were already in fuel conservation mode and not planning to come onto pit road.

When Hamlin did make his stop, it pushed him behind the two drivers trailing him in the standings. Instead of essentially locking up his first championship, he saw his points lead cut in half.

Understandably, it was not something that sat well with him following the race.

“We could have made it,” Hamlin lamented afterwards. “There were a ton of guys that made it that pitted at the same time we did. Usually we have the best fuel mileage. That part I just don't understand. I can save fuel pretty well. But I was never alerted to save fuel; so I assumed that everyone was going to have to pit. I didn't even think it was a question.

“Like I said, I did my job.”

With those last words, the relationship between Hamlin and his crew chief came into question.

What will be interesting to watch beginning Friday, is where the relationship is at between Ford and his driver. Especially after a contentious race at Phoenix that saw Hamlin criticize his team, particularly the guy in charge (Ford), for not keeping him aware of where he was on fuel.

Although yesterday Ford did say that what happened post-race last Sunday is much ado about nothing.

“When you mix partial information with lack of information and then throw in a little frustration, you get inaccurate comments,” explained Ford. “I think he did good in his post-race at one point, then when he got to the media center, it just became more frustrating for him, and he said some things that weren't true.

“I can deal with that. I respect that. I'm the same way. I'll blow my stack occasionally, as well, and say things I wish I wouldn't have said. But you can look over that. That's nothing new. That's how you handle it.

“And by the time he gets to Homestead, I guarantee that even by the time yesterday (Monday) rolled around, he had a different outlook on things, and I'm sure that he's going to be 100 percent focused when he rolls into Homestead. He knows the deal.”

Dealing with a driver throwing his team underneath the bus is not anything new for Gil Martin. It’s an every week occurrence when you’re the crew chief for Kevin Harvick.

Harvick has always been quick to criticize his team after a slow stop, when strategy works against them or when they’re simply having a bad day.

I guess you can call it an occupational hazard; much like a postman dealing with dogs or a doctor trying to handle an ornery patient. Being the guy who has to deal with a driver of Kevin Harvick’s nature is never easy.

You’re part amateur psychologist, part mechanic/engineer, part mediator and with it comes a fulltime headache. The benefits though, do far outweigh the negatives, as Harvick is unquestionably one of the more talented drivers in all of NASCAR. Having won three races in ’10 and comfortably accumulating the most points during the 26-race regular season.

If there is one driver who won’t be bothered by all the hoopla that comes with being in the closest NASCAR points battle since 2004, it would be the driver of the 29 car. Who throughout his career has shown that what happens outside the racecar has no affect on him inside of it.

A trait, Martin thinks will serve him well on Sunday.

“The one thing that I think our driver does the best; I think he works his best under these kinds of conditions. Head games will not bother him because he's one of the best that there is at playing head games to start with. I'm very, very happy that we have a driver with that strong of a mental aspect about him going into this race.”

Speaking of head games, it’s not something Martin himself likes to get involved with. Unlike the 11 and 48, who have been going tit-for-tat in the head games department since the Chase started.

Rather, he lets his actions on the track speak for themselves. Plus, as he figures, there’s no use trying to mess with a team that bares the credentials that the 48 has.

“I think it's kind of a waste of time to do a lot of smack talking with the 48,” said Martin. “They have been in this position many times. They haven't been trailing going into Homestead, but a team of that caliber, you're not going to do a lot of smack talking and bother them a whole lot. They're going to go down there focused with a mission, and I think a lot of that has the potential of backfiring on you.”

Ala what happened to Mike Ford at Phoenix, a week removed from proclaiming that his team was the team to beat in the Chase.

Martin figures there’s no sense in trying to poke the bear with a stick. Particularly, if the bear in question is adorned with a yellow 48 on its side and has a history of devouring the competition.

Of the three teams, the 29 might find itself in the most enviable position. This despite being 46 markers in arrears of the championship lead.

They enter the weekend knowing that the worst they can finish is third. As such, there is little expected of them on Sunday because of the deficit that they would have to overcome to win the title. With no pressure there’s a relaxed attitude among the 29 bunch. So much so, they’re on a deep-seas fishing expedition today.

Who knows, maybe that laidback approach will lead them to reeling in a title on Sunday afternoon? At least that’s what Martin’s thinking.

“We’re going to run flat-out all day long with nothing to lose, and [the] other guys, somewhat -- will have to play a little bit of defense. We're not intending on playing any defense at all. We're going to throw the long ball all day long and see where it ends up.”

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-11-16T11:23:00.003-06:00

1. (1) Denny Hamlin
It’s amazing how a couple gallons of fuel can change the complexity of not only a race but a championship as well. Still, Denny Hamlin sits on a 15-point cushion and owns the first tiebreaker (wins) over the two guys he’s battling with.

2. (2) Jimmie Johnson
It took Jimmie Johnson, oh about, three seconds to fire a salvo at Denny Hamlin following the conclusion of Sunday’s race. In my opinion, being second with nothing really to lose makes Johnson a very dangerous adversary on Sunday.

3. (3) Kevin Harvick
I said it in the Power Poll following the race then and I’m saying it again now, those 15 points at Talladega Kevin Harvick missed out on by finishing just inches behind teammate Clint Bowyer, could ultimately prove to be the difference between him winning his first title and finishing third.

4. (4) Joey Logano
If you’re just starting to realize what a tremendous roll Joey Logano’s been on as of late – five straight top-10s – welcome to the party. If you’re interested in hoping onboard the Logano Is Going To Easily Make The 2011 Chase Bandwagon, good luck finding a seat because the bus is filling up quickly.

5. (5) Mark Martin
In the last six weeks this team hasn’t finished worse than 14th, and looks nothing like the team that sleepwalked through most of the regular season.

6. (11) Carl Edwards
Last year Kevin Harvick used the final 10 races as a building block towards a fantastic ’10 season that included him winning the regular season points crown. With a win and five finishes of 11th or better, it sure seems as if Carl Edwards is attempting to copy Harvick’s formula of next season success.

7. (7) Kyle Busch
Like his Joe Gibbs teammate Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch was inline for a top-three finish before a lack of petrol necessitated a green-flag pit stop in the closing laps. On the plus side of things, at least he didn’t give the finger to a NASCAR official this week. Although there was that contentious exchange with a security guard post-race.

8. (8) Matt Kenseth
Right now Matt Kenseth is higher in the standings than Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. I don’t know if that says more about the season Kenseth is having or more about the year that Gordon, Busch and Stewart aren’t each having respectively? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

9. (12) Greg Biffle
With back-to-back top-five finishes and considering he once won three consecutive races at Homestead, it makes me think Greg Biffle could be the man to beat Sunday. Then, I realized he hasn’t finished better than 13th since the last of those three victories. On second thought, never mind.

10. (6) Clint Bowyer
An up-and-down day which saw him run of fuel four laps from the finish, kind of symbolizes how the Chase has gone for Clint Bowyer: some good races, some bad races and a few in-between.

11. (9) Jeff Gordon
Barring some sort of miracle Sunday in South Florida, Jeff Gordon, for the second time in three years, will have failed to score a win. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

12. (10) Tony Stewart
One would think with Chevrolet making a return to the IndyCar Series in 2012, Tony Stewart would have some possible interest in putting together a team to run in the Indy 500. Except when he was asked that question last weekend in Phoenix, he answered with an emphatic “No.” But as is often the case with the owner-driver, what he says and what he does are often two different things.

13. (14) Jamie McMurray
Let me use this space to apologize to Jamie McMurray. Yesterday, I wrote that he threw a water bottle out his window in a deliberate attempt to get NASCAR to throw a caution. That apparently was not the case as the subsequent yellow that did come out was for a different piece of debris and not for a nomadic water bottle. So as the kids like to say, my bad.

14. (NR) Ryan Newman
As I wrote yesterday, Phoenix has been a good track for Ryan Newman in ’10 with a victory in the spring backed up by a runner-up finish in the fall. It’s just too bad for Mr. Newman that there aren’t races there in the summer and winter months.

15. (13) Jeff Burton
Started 40th and quickly made his way into the top-10. Except with his fuel tank running dry, he was forced to pit eight laps from the finish and left with 19th-place finish. A finish that wasn’t at all indicative of how strong the CAT car was on Sunday.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Monday’s Thoughts: Carl Wins; Jimmie and Chad Go for Broke

2010-11-15T09:54:00.011-06:00

For the first two-thirds of the Kobalt Tools 500, it was clear which direction the race was going in and what the storylines following it were going to be.

Denny Hamlin, who had dominated all afternoon and led a race-high 190 laps, was going to win for the second week in a row and as such, would take a commanding points lead into the season’s final race of the year at Homestead. This seemed all but a foregone conclusion.

And he was doing all this, as his two rivals for the championship were each having their own struggles. Struggles, which seemingly would doom and likely end their respective championship hopes.

Jimmie Johnson, who came into the weekend having won the last three fall Phoenix events, never was able to find the handle of his Chevrolet. Although he had a car that was good enough to finish in the top-10, it wasn’t a car that was good enough to prevent Hamlin from taking firm control of the championship.

Whereas Kevin Harvick, who once again overcame a poor qualifying effort to race his way into the top-five, saw his good run came to a halt when his pit crew left off lug nuts during his final pit stop of the afternoon. This forced him back onto pit road, but did allow him to top off his fuel and make it the rest of the way without pitting. Which would only pay dividends if the race stayed green the rest of the way.

This is where our story takes a turn, and where Denny Hamlin’s day went from exuberance to devastation.

Needing a caution to maintain his position up front, but not getting it, the points leader was forced to make a green flag pit stop. It was then, that Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus, seeing that his only shot at staying ahead of the 11 car – both on the track and in the standings – made the NASCAR equivalent of a Hail Mary.

Electing to roll the dice that his driver could save enough fuel to make it the final 88 laps without pitting. A decision, considering the circumstances and what was at risk, is easily one of the gutsiest gambles in recent history. And a decision that Johnson said afterwards was one they felt they had to make.

If it paid off, it would keep him in excellent shape to win his fifth consecutive championship.

However, if it fails, the season’s over and Denny Hamlin is your 2010 Sprint Cup champion.

“We were in a position today where we had to take a chance,” said the four-time defending champ.

The thing is, Johnson did make it on fuel and crossed the line in fifth. While Harvick, whose earlier misfortunate on pit road turned out to be a lucky break, finished fifth.

And because he had to pit and never was able to recover the track position he lost, Hamlin ended up in 12th and as a result the championship that at one point on Sunday appeared to be all but over, is now an intense race.

Which makes the pressing question at the moment, how quickly can Hamlin forget about Phoenix? A race that he should have finished no worse than second, and left with the title more less in his possession. He was saying the right things post-race, but his demeanor which included chucking a water bottle after getting out of his car, said otherwise.

“I did everything I was supposed to do today,” said an obviously frustrated Hamlin. “Things didn't work out for me.

“All I can do is concentrate on next week once Monday comes and put it behind me. The thing is, it could have been a lot worse. We could have lost the points lead. But regardless, you never know what can happen in the final race.”

Instead he’s atop the standings by a paltry 15 points over Johnson and up 42 over Harvick, who still has a more than a punchers chance at Homestead.

A fight that could have been over after nine rounds is now ensured of going the complete distance.

Following a race which took more twists and turns than a bad soap opera, we’re left with just one race in what has been an absolutely fantastic Chase for the Sprint Cup. As we’ve seen at Talladega, and at Texas and again this week, anything can and usually does happen.

***

My apologies go out to Carl Edwards, who on Sunday won his first Sprint Cup race in 24 months. Except, his victory was lost in the shuffle of the above drama. A victory that has been a long time coming for the driver, who two years ago, won a season-high eight times and finished second in the standings.

Since then, there have been several near misses (remember the flip at Talladega?) and a few incidents (remember Atlanta and Gateway?) along the way that has changed the public perception of a guy who seems to have a perma-grin glued to his face.

But the one thing that hasn’t changed is Edwards’ ability behind the wheel. Through it all he’s persevered and 70 races later he’s back in victory lane.

“I'm very proud of how our team has come together through this past year-and-a-half or two years since we've won,” said Edwards, who won for the 17th time in his career. “I'm very proud to be a part of this team because we very easily could have fallen apart. Instead we just kept working. Here we are in Victory Lane, fourth in points, salvaging a season that did not begin well.”

For a driver who was tabbed as the preseason favorite heading into 2009, a strong finish to this season could prove to be the catalyst for big season to come next year. At the very least, it gives him a much-needed boost going into the offseason.
If there were a track that agreed with Ryan Newman this season it almost certainly would be Phoenix International Raceway. In the spring, it was there where he snapped a 78-race winless streak and won his first race as a member of Stewart-Haas Racing. While yesterday’s runner-up finish was his best result since winning here in April.
With a third-place finish Sunday, Joey Logano continued the hot streak he’s on, as the sophomore driver ran his top-10 streak to a career-best five races.
Despite throwing a bottle out of the window of his car, for which NASCAR penalized him a lap, Jamie McMurray was able to rally back and finish in the 10th spot. The first time the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 winner has finished inside the top-10 since his victory at Charlotte four weeks prior.
The second-half of the season hasn’t been kind to Kurt Busch, who has come nowhere close to matching the performance he had earlier in the season. Nothing illustrates this more than the fact that the 20 laps he led yesterday were more than the laps he’s led in the last 14 races combined.
Not really relevant but somewhat interesting is that Carl Edwards is the third driver to win from the pole in the Chase. The others were Jimmie Johnson at Dover and Denny Hamlin at Martinsville.

Kobalt Tools 500 Preview

2010-11-14T06:06:00.001-06:00

What: Kobalt Tools 500
Where: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile D-shaped oval)
Distance: 312 laps/312 miles
When: November 14, 2010
Green Flag: 3:15 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
Defending Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Storylines Worth Following

Denny Hamlin’s Mindset
With two races left and leading the standings, Denny Hamlin is in the exact position he wants to be. His first Sprint Cup championship is there for the taking. The question is, how does he go about grabbing it? Does he keep the pedal to the floor, go for the win and not think about the points? Or, does he back off a bit, play it safe and shoot for a top-five finish, and let the things fall where they may?

What’s Wrong With the 48?
At first blush that may be a strange question to ask considering Jimmie Johnson has won six times this year and is very much in contention for his fifth straight championship. On a deeper level though, there is something amiss with the 48 bunch. They’ve won just once in the past 17 races and in the last six races they’ve led only 40 combined laps.

If there was ever a time that the 48 team desperately needed a win, it would be this weekend. But unlike past years, that’s a lot easier said than done. Now, Jimmie Johnson is the hunter and not the hunted.

Who Can Find The Handle?
Phoenix is a track with two distinct corners, which means to go fast here, you have to find some sort of compromise between the two ends of the D-shaped oval. Friday, the common theme from drivers was how important it was to get the handling of their cars just so. With the ever changing track conditions, it will be important for crew chiefs to keep up. Whoever can do this the best will greatly increase their odds of winning.

Tires, Fuel and Track Position
Races in the desert have a history of coming down to a couple of things. One, due to the long green flag stretches that we often see, is fuel mileage. Two, is track position. Case in point what happened here in the spring, when Ryan Newman won by electing to take two tires during final pit stops and the subsequent favorable track position that went with it. As a result, he started up front on the race’s final restart and was able to pull away for his first win in two-plus years.

A Relaxed Kevin Harvick Equals a Dangerous Kevin Harvick
I know it sounds a bit oxymoronic, but despite being in the throes of a points race, Kevin Harvick has entered the weekend with a relaxed demeanor. All stemming from the fact that the worst he can finish in the standings is third. Because of that, he realizes he has nothing to lose and as such has made it known that he plans on going for broke today. That attitude, accompanied with how good the 29 team has historically been at Phoenix, makes Harvick someone to keep an eye on this afternoon.

Driver Speak
--Kevin Harvick on how he’s approaching the final races of the year:

“I feel excited just for the fact that this is the worst we can finish in the points is third. Whatever it takes to gain is what you do on the race track and what you do off the race track. There’s really nothing else that matters at this point. Just throw it all out there and if it gets rough, it gets rough – if it doesn’t then we just go race and see where it all falls in the end. It’s still a no pressure, no lose situation for us and I like it.”

Phoenix International Raceway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Jimmie Johnson (4)

Owner Wins: Hendrick Motorsports (8)

Manufacturer Wins: Chevrolet (14)

Average Finish: Jimmie Johnson (4.9)

Laps Led: Jimmie Johnson (857)

Top-5s: Mark Martin (12)

Top-10s: Mark Martin (18)

Contenders
1. Carl Edwards
In every practice and in then in qualifying, Carl Edwards has had the fastest car on the track. Assuming that speed carries over to today, there’s little reason not to think the 99 Roush Fenway Ford won’t be at or near the top of the leaderboard all afternoon.

2. Jimmie Johnson
Considering Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last six Phoenix races, including the last three fall events, you’d think he would unquestionably be the driver to beat today. The problem is, he’s had a tough go of it this weekend, and hasn’t looked anything like his typical dominant self. He qualified a disappointing 21st, and in final practice, his 10 consecutive lap average was only good enough for 29th on the speed charts. Still, we’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

3. Denny Hamlin
Although he’s never won here, Denny Hamlin is no slouch on the flat mile oval. Four times he’s finished in the third position, and overall he has six top-10s in 10 career starts. This track drives similar to Martinsville and New Hampshire, two tracks he’s had a lot of success on throughout his career.

Sleeper
Mark Martin
In the past the past three weeks, Mark Martin has finished second and a third, and has looked a lot like the driver who won five times and finished second overall a year ago. To say this is a very good track for the Arkansas native would be a bit of an understatement, as he’s won here twice (1993, 2009), has a track-best 12 top-fives and 18 top-10s and comes in having finished in the top-five in his last three Phoenix starts.

The Official Racing Geek Pick
Historically, Jimmie Johnson has been most dangerous when people have written him off. While no one has handed Denny Hamlin the championship yet, there does seem to be the consensus that this isn’t Johnson’s year.

However the reality is, if Johnson were to win today and then win next Sunday at Homestead, he would win the title no matter what Hamlin does.

That being said, there’s ample evidence to suggest that this isn’t the 48’s weekend as they’ve been sluggish in every practice session. Still, until someone shows me otherwise, Johnson is the man to beat having won the last three fall stops in the desert and owning an average finish of 4.9. Thus, he’s my pick to win today.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

A Plan To Save The Nationwide Series

2010-11-11T20:30:00.006-06:00

Last Saturday in Texas, Brad Keselowski wrapped up the Nationwide Series championship. Not only was it Keselowski’s first series title, but it was his legendary owner Roger Penske’s first NASCAR championship of any kind.

The moment should have been special for everyone involved. An up-and-coming driver taking the next step in what surely will be a successful career and an owner, who has won just about everything there is to win in motorsports, finally getting his first championship in a NASCAR sanctioned series.

Instead, the moment felt, kind of flat. A kind of, been there, done that feel, which is the complete opposite on the emotion spectrum one should have been experiencing.

It was for one reason and one reason only. Brad Keselowski is a fulltime Sprint Cup driver and him winning the driver’s title in a junior series isn’t all that big of a deal. Despite what NASCAR may say otherwise.

It’s the equivalent of Albert Pujols dropping down to play Triple-A baseball and slugging 50 homeruns. There would be no need to celebrate Pujols’ deed, because he is doing exactly what is expected – dominating against inferior competition.

No different than what Brad Keselowski did this season in winning six times and handily winning the series title. If you want to come back with the argument that he had to beat Carl Edwards, Paul Menard and other fulltime Cup drivers to do so, you’re missing the point.

This isn’t about Brad Keselowski or, for that matter, any other Sprint Cup Series regular.

This is about a series that once upon a time was a breeding ground for young drivers looking to make a name for themselves. A series where young drivers could learn the nuances of racing in an upper-echelon series and a place where older drivers who didn’t have what it takes to make it in Sprint Cup could apply their craft and earn a living.

In its present state, the Nationwide Series has become nothing more than a glorified test session for Cup drivers looking to get more information for the next day’s Cup race. As well as an opportunity for them to pick up another paycheck, that in all honesty, they really don’t need.

Everyone knows that the Nationwide Series has some serious issues, and issues that need some addressing if the series is going to continue to exist in its current form. To their credit, NASCAR is attempting to address the problem. But their solution leaves a bit to be desired.

While not yet announced, their solution to restoring some prestige to the beleaguered series is to not award points to any Cup driver competing in a Nationwide Series race. Meaning, Keselowski and Edwards will be allowed to run fulltime next year, and they, along with the other Cup drivers who decide to dip their toe in the Nationwide waters, can continue to dominate each and every week. Much like we saw last weekend in Texas, where Edwards and Kyle Busch dominated the proceedings, with Edwards going on to win his third race of ’10.

It says all that needs to be said that on the year, Cup drivers have won 31 of 33 races. With Justin Allgaeir’s win at Bristol the only time this season that a fulltime Nationwide regular went to victory lane.

So what’s the solution? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here are three suggestions that NASCAR should take to restore the Nationwide Series to what it was originally intended to be, and should be, going forward.

1. Limit the number of starts a Sprint Cup driver can make in a year to 10 races
Sprint Cup drivers have always raced in the Nationwide Series; the series first ever race back in 1982 at Daytona, was won by none other than Dale Earnhardt. And the argument that tracks need the likes of Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski and other marquee drivers to sell tickets has never been truer, given the shape that the economy is in. However, with that being said, there has to be some sort of compromise that can be worked out that can appease everyone’s best interests.

Therefore, I propose that NASCAR cap the number of Nationwide races a fulltime Sprint Cup driver can run in one year at 10 races per a year. This way tracks will still get the big-names they need to sell tickets, and ESPN will still have the stars that attract eyeballs. Everyone wins.

My thinking is if you limit a Cup driver inside the top-35 in points to a predetermined number of a starts or limit the number of Cup drivers that start a given Nationwide Series race, it would still give drivers the opportunity to compete on Saturday’s, but the field for a Nationwide race would no longer mirror almost to a 'T' the field for the next day’s Cup race.

Limiting the number of races a Sprint Cup driver could make in any given year would also prevent a Sprint Cup driver from winning the series championship. This as stated above is a serious problem for the NASCAR’s No. 2 series, and something that a fulltime Sprint Cup driver has done the last four years.

The Nationwide championship should be won by a Nationwide driver, not a Sprint Cup driver moonlighting as a Nationwide driver simply so he and his team can cash a bigger check. I don’t like repeating myself, but it’s worth saying again: Is there any real honor in a Cup driver winning a championship in a series that they were never intended to race in fulltime?

2. Increase the purses and make it more economical for someone other than a Sprint Cup owner to run the full season
One of the main reasons that Sprint Cup drivers have dominated to the extent that they have – fulltime Sprint Cup drivers have won 127 out of 138 races dating back to 2007 – is because of the disparity in equipment and resources that exists between a Sprint Cup owner fielding a Nationwide car, and an owner who only fields a car exclusively in the Nationwide Series.

If you increase the size of the weekly purse and distribute it throughout the field, it will give the smaller teams who have to slug it out with the Sprint Cup superpowers a greater chance of being competitive on a more regular basis. Remember our goal here is to differentiate the Nationwide Series from the Sprint Cup Series, and having owners own cars in both series is not necessarily the best way to go about doing it.

3. Think younger and long-term
Instead of just promoting the fact that Edwards, Busch, Hamlin, Harvick and other Sprint Cup drivers will be racing in a Nationwide race, let’s think younger. Why not promote the heck out of some of the younger stars of the series, which should be the foundation of what the series is built upon.

As noted above, for the Nationwide Series to be successful you are going to have to use some of the big name Sprint Cup drivers to draw fans and to attract television viewers. But watching a young up-and-coming driver, who might one day become a future winner in Sprint Cup, competing for the win should be what the Nationwide Series is all about.

Think Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, and Joey Logano.

The key to the Nationwide Series being successful is to develop young racers that fans get to know and that one day will go on to have success at the next level. This would encourage fans to pay attention and get to know the young drivers in the series before they make the move up. This would also be a great way for new fans to develop relationships with new drivers that hopefully would last many years as said driver makes the move up the racing ladder.

For a series that values and depends on fan loyalty more than any other, beginning the relationship between fans and a young driver on the rise would be mutually beneficial to everyone involved both in the short-term, but most importantly in the long-term.

Will implementing my three ideas fix everything? Of course not. Going forward there is more work that could and should be done. Separating NASCAR's top two series more often and scheduling more standalone races for the Nationwide Series would go a long way in helping it recapture its identity.

The best example of this is this year’s race at Iowa Speedway. The series was the featured event that weekend and it was treated like the second biggest racing series in America, which it is.

Furthering the point, is the fact that there were only five full-time Cup drivers in the field, but you would have never known that by watching the action on the track. The race was perhaps the best Nationwide Series race of the year with plenty of side-by-side racing. And do you really think that the 55,000 fans that were packed in the stands cared that they weren’t watching a Cup Lite race?

No, they were more than happy to watch a bunch of up-and-comers race and hopefully showcase their ability for a prospective Cup ride down the road. Everyone involved was a winner.

However, if we start by addressing the three main issues I raised above, it will go a long way to righting a ship that has been slowly taking on water. Because in the end, it’s easier to patch a hole or three in a sinking ship than it is to build a new one.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-11-10T17:50:00.001-06:00

1. (3) Denny Hamlin
With more wins and points than any other driver, Denny Hamlin justifiably moves atop the Power Poll for the week.

2. (1) Jimmie Johnson
The 24 pit crew will be servicing the 48 for the remaining two races of the year. The good news for Jimmie Johnson’s new crew is they have a shot at winning their first race in 18 months.

3. (2) Kevin Harvick
Although a 59-point deficit is certainly not insurmountable, the fact is, if Kevin Harvick is to win his first championship, he’s going to need both Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson to each stub their toe at least once over the next two weeks.

4. (5) Joey Logano
For the first time in his career, Joey Logano has posted top-10 finishes in four consecutive races. I’m telling you with how strong he’s finishing the season; next year is going to be a very big year for the driver nicknamed “Sliced Bread.”

5. (7) Mark Martin
A sixth at Fontana, a runner-up finish at Martinsville and a fourth at Texas shows that Mark Martin and his team haven’t packed it up during the Chase. Although, truth be told, you wouldn’t expect anything less from Martin.

6. (9) Clint Bowyer
It was a solid weekend all around for Clint Bowyer. Crew chief Shane Wilson returned after serving his four-race suspension and a seventh-place finish moved Bowyer back into the top-10 in points.

7. (4) Kyle Busch
I’ve been saying it for awhile now, that one day Kyle Busch’s boorish behavior would come back to bite him. Well, on Sunday, after a dual one-digit salute to an official accompanied by a verbal tirade on the radio, the 25-year-old driver may have received his comeuppance. Will Busch learn his lesson and stop with the childish antics? It’s far too early to tell, but if it’s any consolation, his apology in the garage post-race did seem genuine.

8. (11) Matt Kenseth
When I saw that Matt Kenseth was fifth in the standings, it absolutely floored me. I don’t even know what to say, so let’s just move on.

9. (6) Jeff Gordon
Here’s what I would’ve said if I were Jeff Gordon and I was told that my pit crew was being shifted over to Jimmie Johnson. “That’s fine, I understand the situation. In exchange though, I want Chad Knaus as my crew chief starting next year.”

10. (10) Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart recorded his best finish (11th) since winning at Fontana. That, more than anything underlines just how bad this team has been for the past month.

11. (8) Carl Edwards
Outside of a mechanical failure or an accident, there’s no reason why Carl Edwards should finish a Texas race in the 19th position. But for some reason, that’s where the guy who I thought was going to win ended up finishing.

12. (NR) Greg Biffle
It was a frustrating trip to Texas for Greg Biffle. As he led 224 laps and probably would’ve won the race had it not been for a bulky transmission that severely hobbled him on restarts.

13. (12) Jeff Burton
The Mayor said yesterday in a conference call with reporters, he “did not intentionally turn Jeff Gordon driver side into the wall.” Ok, if you say so, but the evidence tends to say otherwise.

14. (13) Jamie McMurray
This might be the most schizophrenic team in all of racing. For weeks, they’re running mid-pack and look nothing like a winning team. Then, boom, one week they hit on the setup and they’re contending for the victory. Like I said, schizophrenic.

15. (NR) David Reutimann
Three top-10s in the last five races, though he did finish 15th at Texas, is good enough to give David Reutimann the final nod in this week’s Power Poll.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

What Knaus Did Wasn’t Easy, But It Was The Right Thing To Do

2010-11-09T03:15:00.000-06:00

In NASCAR, you are defined by winning. To be considered great in this sport you have to win; both races and championships. Richard Petty is who he is because he won 200 races and seven titles in his career. Same goes for Dale Earnhardt, who like Petty, won seven Sprint Cup titles.

NASCAR is no different than any other sport, where emotions have to take a backseat to what is best for the team. Above all else, if it’s a good move for the team and can help propel you to victory, than it’s a move you have to make. No matter how tough a decision it may be and no matter whose ego it may hurt.

As I wrote in my Monday Thoughts column, Chad Knaus was left with little choice yesterday but to bench his pit guys and replace them mid-race with Jeff Gordon’s crew guys. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was finishing as high up in the running order as possible. However, with a crew consistently making mistakes on pit road that was going to be a difficult proposition. Something had to be done. Not after the race, not during the week, but then and now.

By that same logic, this why it came as no surprise that Hendrick Motorsports made it official today, that the pit crews of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon would be exchanged for the final two races of 2010.

Not the crew chiefs or the car chiefs mind you. Just the guys, who go over the wall on raceday and whose responsibility it is to put the tires on, refuel the car and make any and all adjustments.

If Jimmie Johnson is to have any chance of catching Denny Hamlin and erasing the 33-point deficit he currently finds himself in, he needs a crew that’s not going to cost him valuable track position every time he hits pit road.

If the crew that can best do the job happens to work on another team within the Hendrick camp, then guess what? You make the move and you don’t give it a second thought.

While it may seem this move is extraordinary, it’s in fact not. The same move took place just three weeks ago, within another organization that has multiple cars in the Chase.

With Kevin Harvick in the thick of the championship race, and with Clint Bowyer’s title hopes having ended when NASCAR deemed his car illegal following his victory at New Hampshire, Richard Childress wisely decided to take Bowyer’s crew, which was considered the best at RCR, and shift them over to Harvick’s team.

Both Bowyer and Harvick supported the move and understood why it had to happen. Harvick represented the best opportunity for RCR to win the championship, and to do that, he needed what Bowyer had. It’s called teamwork. And it certainly hasn’t prevented Bowyer from being competitive, as he went out and won at Talladega two Sunday’s ago.

Obviously there will be ramifications for both Johnson and Knaus down the road, as it’s going to take a little work to rebuild the fractured chemistry within the 48 team. Though I suspect a complete overhaul of the over-the-wall guys will commence as soon as the checkered flag flies at Homestead. Also, it might be hard to convince someone to sign on as a crewmember with the knowledge that they might be replaced mid-race if they’re not performing.

Then again, if you’re working on a team that’s being led by Chad Knaus, the expectations are already going to be stratospherically high to begin with. This is one of the main reasons he wins as often as he does. After all, this is a cutthroat business and no one knows this better than the only crew chief to win four straight championships.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Monday’s Thoughts: With Win, Hamlin Makes a Texas-Sized Statement

2010-11-08T13:19:00.010-06:00

Denny Hamlin talks a big game. It’s been a common theme throughout his career, more so this season than any other. But like he has done many times in 2010, he once again backed it up on the racetrack. Winning the AAA Texas 500 with a daring pass of Matt Kenseth with two laps to go and more importantly, wrestling away the points lead away from four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson with just two races remaining.

I’ve said for the last four years that it’s going to take a special driver and team to dethrone Johnson. It will take a driver with moxie, and the talent to take it to the 48 on the track, and a team who’s unflappable on pit road in the intense pressure chamber known as the Chase.

If there was any doubt that Hamlin and his FedEx team possessed these qualities, they were answered in a big way Sunday.

Despite starting 30th and not showing much in the way of speed in practice, the Virginia driver was able to masterfully weave his way into the top-10 within the first 80 laps. And thanks to a pit crew that never wavered, the No.11 Toyota was a fixture up front the rest of the day.

When it was time to go with less than 20 laps remaining, Hamlin was more than ready to do so. Passing Mark Martin for the lead and then outdueling Kenseth for the victory. With the two exchanging the lead back-and-forth a couple of times, Hamlin firmly grabbed a hold of the lead it with a nice slide-job of off Turn-2.

As a result, Hamlin moves to the top of the championship order, holding a 33-point lead over Johnson, who finished ninth and a 59-point lead over Kevin Harvick, who rallied to finish sixth. For the first time since 2005, a driver other than Jimmie Johnson leads the points heading into Phoenix.

“It’s going to be on us to just flat-out perform over the last three races,” said Hamlin, who won for the 16th in his career. “You know, this was a good step in the right direction, the first leg.”

Now, it’s off to Phoenix, a track Hamlin has never won on before, but a track he has ran well on in the past, having finished in the top-10 in six of the last eight races. The good news is the flat, mile-oval shares similar characteristics with Martinsville and New Hampshire, two tracks Hamlin has had a lot of success on throughout his career.

“We still know going into Phoenix that that's a great racetrack for both of those guys (Johnson and Harvick), and it's been a very up-and-down racetrack for me, We've got to go there with our guns loaded and see if we can't get another win. I'm going to race like we need to win from here on out.”

If there’s anything we’ve learned this year, it’s that we need to take Hamlin seriously when he says he’s going to do something.

Earlier this year, he said his season wasn’t over despite undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. He was right, it wasn’t. Since going under the knife, he’s won seven times and is on the verge of winning his first title. Just a few weeks ago going into Martinsville, he said he was going to win, and then followed up on his proclamation by doing just that.

Hamlin’s confidence and big talk has even rubbed off on his crew chief Mike Ford, who made it crystal clear when he met with the media post-race, that his team is the team to beat the rest of the way.

“I think our race team is better than their race team. I'm not going to tiptoe around them because of where they're at. I'm going to do what it's going to require for us to win a championship [and] beat them. Not that I'm playing dirty by any means, but take what's ours, and I'm not afraid to go toe to toe with them.

Ford even went as far to say that he thinks Chad Knaus replacing his pit crew mid-race was an act of “desperation” and a move that could comeback to bite the 48 in a big way.

You know the saying “Walk softly and carry a big stick?” As Texas again proved, it’s obviously not something Hamlin or Ford take much credence in.

###

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus find themselves in an unfamiliar spot this morning. It has nothing to do with them trailing this late in the season for the first time since 2005. After three mistake-filled pit stops yesterday that cost the 48 valuable track position, Knaus took the unusual, though not unprecedented, move of replacing his pit crew mid-race. Swapping them with the crew of Jeff Gordon, who no longer had a car to service after Gordon wrecked out.

While the stops by the 24 crew were noticeably better – the 24’s first pit after replacing the 48 bunch was over a second faster – the move may have some serious ramifications going forward.

Who services the 48 car next Sunday in Phoenix? Does Rick Hendrick swap the crews permanently like Richard Childress did a few weeks ago with the crews of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer? Or, was this move merely a stop-gap in an attempt to salvage a decent finish? If so, what does this do to the confidence to the over-the-wall guys of the 48 gang?

No matter what the consequences and the questions that this move raised, in my opinion this was a decision that Knaus was forced to make.

Was he supposed to have sat idly by as pit stop after pit stop was bungled and addressed the issue post-race? No, because by doing that, the 48 may have been all but eliminated from the title picture as a result of their woefully slow pit stops. By replacing the crew in the week between Texas and Phoenix, it would have been too late.

This is a win-now sport, and the issues that the 48 team was having on Sunday wasn’t simply a bad day. It was just another in a long of line of mistakes that the 48 has made on pit road throughout the year. While benching the pit crew that has won the last four titles may be a bit harsh, again, Knaus was left with little choice.

Sometimes being the leader involves making tough decisions. Decisions that aren’t always popular with the people who you are leading. However, if this team is to win another championship, they’re going to need a pit crew operating at the highest-level. Not a crew channeling the Three Stooges. If that means some feelings are hurt along the way, so be it.
There are few drivers with the talent of Kyle Busch. The knock on Busch however, is that he doesn’t have the mental toughness nor the maturity to withstand the rigors of a championship fight. Once again, that was fully on display Sunday when Busch melted down after NASCAR assessed him a one-lap penalty for speeding on pit road.

After being called into his pit box to serve the penalty, Busch proceeded to give the finger to the NASCAR official standing in his pit. And he did so in full view of a national television audience that was witnessing the exchange via an in-car camera inside the 18 car.

NASCAR, upset with the gesture and Busch’s antics in general, black-flagged him another two laps for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” A penalty I’ve only known to exist in the stick-and-ball sports, but a penalty that they were very much justified in handing out.

At some point, Busch needs to grow up and learn that being a winning racecar driver requires more than having a heavy right foot. That being a championship-caliber driver, which Busch strives to be, is as much mental as anything else. If Busch doubts this, he should go and talk to his Joe Gibbs teammate Denny Hamlin, who has learned this lesson well and as a result is in position to win his first Sprint Cup.

Let’s hope that the apology Busch offered in the garage following the race was sincere. Not done only to appease NASCAR and his Joe Gibbs team, which was upset that their driver’s childish antics cost them a possible victory.

If not, Busch’s place in the sport may end up being as a driver who won a lot of races, but wasn’t good enough to win what matters most in NASCAR – championships.
Jeff Gordon has undoubtedly had a difficult season. Seeing numerous potential wins disappear in the closing stages for a variety of reasons, and going winless for the second time in three seasons. So Sunday, when Jeff Burton – either deliberately or inadvertently, depending on your perspective – turned Gordon’s car into the outside retaining wall, Gordon understandably reached his boiling point.

Stalking out of his wrecked machine towards Burton and shoving the Richard Childress driver a couple of times. A fight (if you want to call it that) that will be replayed countless times on SportsCenter and other highlight shows.

Even after Burton had issued an apology for what had transpired, and said he understood why Gordon was as angry as he was, the four-time champion, who’s in the midst of the longest winless streak of his career, was having none of it.

“Of all the people out there, I never thought that would happen with Jeff Burton,” Gordon said in an interview with ESPN. “I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for him, but I certainly lost a lot of respect today.”

What’s ironic is that many as of late have accused Gordon of no longer having the same passion that he had earlier in his career. Ok, if you want to think that, that’s fine. But from what we saw yesterday, that fire has either been rekindled or it was never completely extinguished in the first place.
Having won just two of 34 races and for the second straight year not having a driver with a chance to win the championship, 2010 hasn’t been the best of years for Ford.

This weekend though, the fortunes of the Blue Oval Brigade looked to be rising. As Texas has always been a good track for the manufacturer with a track-best nine victories. On Friday, drivers with a blue oval on their hood took the top three spots in qualifying. Things were so good; I even predicted in my race preview that I thought a Ford driver would windup victorious on Sunday

In the end though, despite Greg Biffle leading a race-high 224 laps and the valiant effort of his Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth, it was more of the same. Good, but not good enough. Biffle had transmission trouble late, which prevented him from getting a good jump on the restarts. While Kenseth wasn’t able to hold off Hamlin and had to settle for a runner-up finish.

Don’t expect much next weekend, as things don’t look too promising at Phoenix, where a Chevrolet driver has won the last 10 races, and 12 out of the last 13.
A bright spot for Ford has to be the performance yesterday of Trevor Bayne. The 19-year-old, making his Sprint Cup Series debut driving for the legendary Wood Brothers team, started in the back after a transmission change before the race and finished an impressive 17th.
Joey Logano continues the fine form he’s shown as of late, as his fourth-place Sunday was his fourth consecutive top-10 finish.
His 37th-place finish was Jeff Gordon’s worst result of ’10 and after crashing out in the spring race was the second time in as many starts that he failed to finish a race at Texas.

AAA Texas 500 Preview

2010-11-06T19:32:00.002-05:00

What: AAA Texas 500
Where: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile quad-oval)
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
When: November 7, 2010
Green Flag: 3:19 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
Defending Winner: Denny Hamlin

Storylines Worth Following

How Aggressive Is Too Aggressive?
Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have each said the same thing – to win the championship it’s likely to take top-five finishes the rest of the way. Knowing this, you can expect each to be a bit more aggressive than usual to race their way to the front.

However, with high speeds being the norm, there’s a fine line in regards to how aggressive a driver can be at a track like Texas. As engine failures and blown right-front tires are common occurrences. Yes, the three drivers need to finish as close to the front as possible. But each must remember that finishing seventh is better than finishing 27th.

Don’t Get Behind
Ask Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart what can happen when you get caught up in a pack of slower cars. In the spring race, both had the two best cars – Stewart started on the pole and led 74 laps, while Gordon led a race-high 124. The problem is, neither driver saw the finish, as both were involved in a nine-car crash after pit strategy put both in the middle of the field.

Simply put, it doesn’t matter how fast your car may be, getting behind is a recipe for disaster and an easy way to see your day end on the back of a wrecker. Something crew chiefs need to keep in mind when contemplating whether to take four tires versus two.

A Ford Romp
Since 1997 when Jeff Burton won the inaugural race, Texas has proven to be a Ford track. Particularly for Jack Roush, who has been to victory lane a track-best seven times. With the Blue Oval Brigade sweeping the top three positions in qualifying, along with Greg Biffle pacing the opening round of practice, it sure looks as if Sunday may produce Ford’s third win of 2010.

Is Qualifying Indicative of What We Might See On Raceday?
In qualifying yesterday, the three championship contenders were a bit off the pace, qualifying 17th (Johnson), 26th (Harvick) and 30th (Hamlin). Is there a reason for concern? For sure, as neither Hamlin nor Harvick showed much speed in final practice earlier this afternoon. However, it’s not something that I would worry too much about. When Hamlin won here in the spring, he started 29th.

But as noted above, bad things can happen in a hurry at Texas; especially, when you’re running in the middle of the pack. While I expect Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick to be strong tomorrow, that comes with a caveat. That caveat is that each doesn’t get involved in something in the process of working their way to the front.

A Texas-Two-Step for Jeff Gordon
The last time Jeff Gordon went to victory lane, it was here at Texas in the spring of 2009. While there have been numerous close calls since then, the win well has dried-up for the four-time champ. Although, he was fast here in April, so a win tomorrow wouldn’t be that farfetched.

Driver Speak
--Jimmie Johnson, comparing the difference between his point lead last year at this time (184 points) to the much smaller lead (14) he has this year heading into Texas:

“It’s a lead – that’s all I’m concerned about is we’re up. It’s an exciting year, there’s no doubt about it. To have three drivers fighting for the championship right now, as close as it is, it’s a good time for our sport. I certainly would like it as I’ve experienced in other years, but that’s not the case and it’s time to go racing.”

Texas Motor Speedway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Carl Edwards (3)

Owner Wins: Roush Fenway Racing (7)

Manufacturer Wins: Ford (9)

Average Finish: Denny Hamlin (9.6)

Laps Led: Jeff Gordon (581)

Top-5s: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson (7)

Top-10s: Mark Martin (11)

Contenders
1. Greg Biffle
Since reconfiguring the frontend of their Ford Taurus mid-summer, the 16 team has consistently rolled off some fast cars, particularly on the intermediate tracks. There was the strong run at Chicagoland before the engine let go; the fourth at Michigan, the win at Kansas and a fifth at Charlotte. What we’ve seen so far in practice, there’s little reason to think that speed won’t be there when the green flag flies on the AAA Texas 500.

2. Carl Edwards
Starting third tomorrow, driving the manufacturer of choice and having won a track-best three times at Texas, it’s easy to figure why Greg Biffle’s teammate deserves to be second on my list of contenders.

3. Jimmie Johnson
One more lap in the spring and it would’ve been Jimmie Johnson and not Denny Hamlin celebrating the victory. This team exudes a quiet confidence, so much so that Johnson actually talked yesterday about how he likes the points being as close as they are because it allows him to be on the offensive. While I don’t necessarily buy that, what I do buy is this is the sixth straight year the 48 bunch has been in a points race. So this is a position they’re more than familiar with, unlike the 11 and 29 teams. Expect that familiarity to payoff.

Sleeper
Joey Logano
Texas has never been a good track for Joey Logano – in four starts he’s never finished better than 19th. However, coming into the weekend on the strength of three consecutive top-10 finishes, the expectation is that the 20-year-old driver will score his best finish ever in the Lone Star State. Not a win mind you, but another good solid finish, much like he’s been producing the last two months.

The Official Racing Geek Pick
The attention Sunday will almost squarely be focused on the three drivers slugging it out for the title. I think each of them will finish somewhere in the top-10, with Johnson and Hamlin having a good shot at the win.

But when it comes down to it, I think when the day is over and done with it, it will be a driver outside of that trifecta that will be wearing the winner’s customary cowboy hat in victory lane. My pick is Carl Edwards, who will win his first Sprint Cup race in nearly two years.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Three Drivers, Three Races, One Championship

2010-11-04T14:13:00.005-05:00

It’s funny how things have a way of working themselves out. I remember being at Chicagoland back in July, and the buzz in the garage was how NASCAR was this close to announcing changes to the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Everything from adding additional participants, to eliminations was on the table. All with the intention of making the Chase more compelling and certainly more competitive than it has been over the last five years, when the championship had been all but decided before a lap has even been turned at Homestead.

Flash-forward four months and the changes that were supposedly imminent, have yet to be announced. Ironically enough, in that same timeframe under the same system that hadn’t produced a climatic finish since 2004, we have a terrific points battle between Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Who, with three races remaining in the season, are separated by a mere 38 points.

But besides the tightness atop the standings, what makes this year’s Chase far more compelling than years past is who the three drivers are fighting it out for the title. As the guy’s sitting first, second and third in the points have far and away proved themselves to be the three best drivers of 2010.

Your championship leader happens to be none other than the same guy who has won the last four Sprint Cups, along with six races on the year. Of course, I’m referring to Jimmie Johnson, who is in the position everyone expected him to be at 11 months ago and the same spot he’s been in the last four years.

The big difference this year being Johnson has a slightly smaller point lead than what he had last year at this time. 12 months ago heading into Texas, Johnson had a 184-point gap between he and then second-place, Mark Martin.

“It’s a little bit more forgiving, or easy, on your team and yourself with a big points lead,” said Johnson following Talladega. “But we don’t have that this year. We’re going to have to race, and we’re ready for it.”

The man who finds himself in the place Mark Martin was in last year is Denny Hamlin. Who, while not having four titles on his résumé like the guy he’s chasing, has been to victory lane seven times in ’10. And at one point this season had won five of 10 races. That includes the Texas spring race, in which just two weeks removed from knee surgery, he rallied in the closing laps and held off a furious charge from the guy behind the wheel of the No.48 for the victory.

Now, with the series making its return trip to the Texas Motor Speedway, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is feeling pretty confident. And he has reason to be. With the three tracks left on the schedule that he typically runs wells on, he’s in the thick of the title hunt.

As noted above, he won at Texas in April, not to mention he is the defending champion of this weekend’s AAA Texas 500. And although he’s never won at Phoenix, it happens to be a place where the FedEx Toyota is always among the fastest cars on the track, with six top-10s in the last eight starts. Also keep in mind the season-ending finale at Homestead happens to be another race where Hamlin will enter as the defending victor.

Any other year if he wasn't trailing the four-time champ and the driver who has won four of the last six Phoenix races on the flat mile oval in the desert, you could make a strong case that he should be considered the favorite.

The person that no one is really making an argument for is Kevin Harvick. Though it’s hard to believe that driver nicknamed “Happy” who has an affinity for speaking his mind is overlooked, it seems to apply in this case. Even taking into consideration he’s third in the standings –merely 24 points behind Hamlin and 38 in arrears of Johnson – and handily amassed the most points in the regular season by a 228-point margin, along with collecting victories at Talladega, Daytona and Michigan.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Harvick has yet to pickup a checkered flag to this point in the Chase. While Johnson and Hamlin have each done so once – Johnson dominated on the Monster Mile at Dover and Hamlin won from the pole on the bullring at Martinsville.

All the while Harvick has gone winless. Although he has come close. Having posted third-place finishes at Kansas and Martinsville, and narrowly missing out on the ‘W’ last Sunday at Talladega. Where his fourth victory of the season eluded him by inches, after getting passed by teammate Clint Bowyer on the final lap just before the caution flag was displayed.

Though he says differently, it’s a race that could come back to haunt Harvick, as the difference between finishing first and second is 15 points.

“Doesn't stress me out at all,” he made clear after his runner-up finish at ‘Dega. “Just part of it. You just go along with the flow. You take the points as you can get them. 15 points is great. But they weren't ours.”

That’s easy to say now when you still have three races to make up the discrepancy. But if he's less than 15 points out when the checkered flag flies at Homestead, I’m sure his attitude will change accordingly.

Right now he needs to focus on Texas, a place where unlike Johnson and Hamlin, Harvick he has yet to win at in his 10-year career. He has however finished in the top-10 in three of the last four races. But if he finishes anywhere close to his average finish of 12.9, it will be a hurdle that he won’t be able to overcome at Phoenix and Homestead.

What is clear is that whoever wins this year’s title will have to be lights-out the rest of the way. A finish anywhere outside the top-10 could spell doom. In fact, with how good each of the three drivers in question are at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, it’s likely going to take three consecutive finishes of fifth or better to win the title.

“I really think … one of the three guys is going to finish in the top five overall over the last three races,” says Harvick. “If you're not able to do that and be in contention to lead laps, you're probably not going to win the championship. You can't be conservative.”

One bobble on the track, one slow pit stop or one ill-timed mechanical failure and you might as well start focusing on 2011, because winning a championship this year isn’t going to happen. Now, with three races to go and the three top drivers of the season chomping at the bit, the time has come to answer the question, who the best driver of 2010 really is.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-11-03T12:11:00.001-05:00

1. (1) Jimmie Johnson
A safe seventh-place finish at Talladega keeps Jimmie Johnson atop both the standings and the Power Poll.

2. (3) Kevin Harvick
The difference between Kevin Harvick finishing first or second at Talladega is 15 points. Call it a hunch, but I have a funny feeling those 15 points could end up being the roadblock to him winning his first series championship.

3. (2) Denny Hamlin
All right Denny Hamlin, the ball is in your court. All year you said how much you wanted to be in this position. Well, here you go. You’re 14 points out with three tracks left, all of which you traditionally have strong performances.

4. (4) Kyle Busch
Busch, my pick to win last weekend, was looking good late in the race. That was until he got shuffled back and then ended up getting a piece of that wreck on the final lap. He should be a factor at Texas where he finished third in the spring and led 232 laps in last year’s fall race.

5. (6) Joey Logano
Over the last six races, Joey Logano’s average finish is 8.1. In those same six races, only Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have scored more points than the reigning Rookie of the Year. This is what we call this an upward trend.

6. (8) Jeff Gordon
The four-time champion did his part to help get the car he co-owns to the front. But as soon as he did, his engine went a bit sour and he quickly fell back in the running order. Although, he did recover to finish eighth.

7. (9) Mark Martin
Was I seeing things, or was that really Mark Martin running up on a restrictor-plate track? For a guy who typically doesn’t like or perform well at Talladega, finishing 11th has to feel almost like a victory.

8. (5) Carl Edwards
There were a lot of strange things that happened last Sunday, but the strangest of them all may have been Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski working together as drafting partners. It reminded me of the saying “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

9. (NR) Clint Bowyer
Good for Clint Bowyer and good for this team, to put Loudon behind them and get a second win before the season was out. And the cherry on top of the sundae is that crew chief, Shane Wilson, returns this week from his four-week suspension.

10. (7) Tony Stewart
Since winning at Fontana, Tony Stewart has finished 21st, 24th and 31st. So much for momentum, and the thought that he should be considered a championship contender.

11. (10) Matt Kenseth
Through most of the early part of the race, it appeared as if Matt Kenseth was the guy to beat. He was leading laps and everyone wanted to work with the driver of the 17 car. Then, he was nailed for speeding on pit road, lost two laps and he was lucky to finish 16th. Sounds about right considering how his year has gone.

12. (12) Jeff Burton
When interviewed in the garage after his day came to an abrupt end after a promising start, Jeff Burton perfectly surmised the season he’s had.

“That is kind of like how our year has gone. Fast race cars. We put ourselves in position to win races and then stuff seems to happen. [It’s] been that way all year.”

13. (13) Jamie McMurray
With nothing really remarkable to say about Jamie McMurray, now seems like a good time to congratulate Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing on their decision to stay with Chevrolet and not switch to Ford. Yes, the Blue Oval was offering more money and the promise of more support, but it would be silly to deviate from a formula that has proved to be widely successful.

14. (NR) Juan Pablo Montoya
The former Formula One pilot has adapted to restrictor-plate racing, with three top-10s in four races. However, this weekend don’t expect much from him in the way of performance. He’s finished 37th and 34th in his last two Texas starts and has just one top-10 in six appearances in the Lone Star State.

15. (14) Ryan Newman
On the bright side of things, at least Ryan Newman didn’t crash Sunday like he has done in his previous two Talladega starts. I’m trying to work on my optimism.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Bowyer Wins; Harvick and Hamlin Survive (Barely)

2010-11-01T23:21:00.001-05:00

With one lap left, Richard Childress Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were side-by-side heading into Turn-One poised to slug it out for the victory in the AMP Energy Juice 500. Then, when chaos broke out behind them, which saw AJ Allmendinger end up on his roof, the race was effectively over. The question then became who won?

Was it Harvick who was leading when the two went across the finish line with the white flag waving? Or, was it Bowyer who had nudged ahead of his RCR counterpart going in the corner before the caution lights came on?

As NASCAR reviewed the tape, the two waited in limbo, each thinking they had claimed the victory. It was then that Bowyer elected to do something that is customary of the race-winner – burn some celebratory donuts. And if it convinced the powers that be to give him the win, so be it.

“Hell, yeah. Claim that baby before somebody else does,” said a laughing Bowyer post-race.

Well, races aren’t decided on claims, and after looking over the video evidence, the Missouri driver was awarded the victory. It was his second victory of the season; both of which came in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

The second win though served as a bit of retribution for the first. As you may recall, his victory at New Hampshire was clouded in a bit of controversy when the rear decklid of his Chevy was discovered a wee bit too high in post-race inspection. Subsequently, NASCAR docked Bowyer 150 driver points and suspended crew chief Shane Wilson four races.

It was after all the hubbub died down following New Hampshire that Bowyer made it known how important it was for him to get a win before the season was out. To show the garage that he could win a race without a car that had been deemed less than legal.

Enter Talladega, where with the help of a potent Earnhardt-Childress engine that has proven unstoppable this season on the restrictor-plate tracks, the fifth-year driver reaffirmed the belief that he’s one of the sports up-and-comers.

The results yesterday makes one wonder, where would Bowyer be in the standings if he hadn’t had 150 points taken away? He certainly would be in the top-five. That’s even taking into consideration the races following Loudon, where this team was clearly rattled by the allegations, penalty and the subsequent appeals process.

Assuming the 33 team would have been more focused on what was taking place on the track as opposed to off of it, it’s not unrealistic to think they would be battling right along side Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick and would be in the thick of the championship battle.

“I'm still frustrated,” said the driver who won for the fourth time in his career. “Took the wind out of my sails. The two races after that whole mess, it was a disaster. If we had that back, we were along our normal routine, I don't think we would have had those bad runs that we've had. It's pretty uncharacteristic of our race team to have those two wins here in the Chase and then three really bad races.”

What you can’t do is change the past. But if Bowyer needs help easing the pain over what occurred, looking at the newest addition to his trophy case should take away some of the discomfort.

###

Trailing Jimmie Johnson by six points coming in, Denny Hamlin’s plan was to follow the 48 around until the latter stages when he would then make his move towards the front. Somewhere along the way though, the plan must have been altered.

His troubles begin when he lost the draft, which at Talladega can quickly spell doom. As is typical when one loses touch with a pack of cars, Hamlin was running close to four seconds slower than the leaders. In the midst a long green flag run, it wasn’t long before the No. 11 Toyota Camry fell a lap down and in doing so, was poised to suffer a big hit in the points.

But thanks to the Lucky Dog, Hamlin eventually found his way back onto the lead lap. And with a fast machine underneath him, worked his way through the field and put himself in contention for the win late, until getting shuffled back to ninth at the finish.

“It was an up and down day,” Hamlin said. “It looked like everyone broke even. I lost a little to the 48 (Jimmie Johnson), lost to the 29 (Kevin Harvick), but still it wasn’t anything detrimental today.”

14 points out of first, with three races still to go; it’s now on to Texas, a track where Hamlin won at in the spring. Followed by races at Phoenix and Homestead, both of which are places where he’ll be expected to contend for the win.
Coming in, Talladega was supposed to be the place where, due to his prowess on the restrictor-plate tracks, Kevin Harvick had a sizeable advantage over the two guys above him in the standings.

While that did indeed prove to be the case, it was in no way easy. Thanks to a bump from Harvick’s RCR teammate Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose was sent spinning coming out of Turn-Two. The problem being, he was directly in the path of Harvick, who in the ensuing contact between the two, suffered front-end damage. Thankfully for Harvick, the damage was somewhat minimal. Or, as minimal as it can be when you hit a guy with the nose of your car running 190mph.

“He just kind of rolled across the nose,” Harvick explained following the race. “I was able to just kind of not keep hitting him. I was able to just kind of go back on the gas and push him off of me. That was the best way I knew at that point to minimize the damage on the nose.”

Thanks to an efficient pit crew who effectively repaired the No. 29 car to where it was earlier in the race, the regular season points leader never missed a beat. When racing resumed he quickly picked his way through the field like a hot knife through butter. If it weren’t for an untimely yellow flag, it very easily could have been Harvick in victory lane celebrating his fourth win of the season.

Instead, he settled for second and in the process trimmed 24 points off of Johnson’s lead, and sits just 38 back heading into the final three weeks of the season.

“We've gone through seven races, and you can throw a blanket over the three of us. It's really going to just come down to dotting the I’s, crossing the T’s, keeping that performance level where it needs to be. If you go to one of those three tracks, if it's your off week, you're in trouble.”
Jimmie Johnson’s Talladega plan is well-known. Be cautious early on, tiptoe through any potential pratfalls that may arise and then, make a move towards the front in the final 15-20 laps. Once again, the plan worked to perfection as the four-time defending series champion and current points leader left with a solid seventh-place finish.

“All in all, great day,” said Johnson. “I mean, we had a strategy; stuck to our game plan. In the end, I had a shot at winning the race, which is what we were after.”

However, unlike last year when he had a 184-point lead leaving ‘Dega, Johnson doesn’t have the same comfort level in the standings. As he is up just 14 markers on second-place Denny Hamlin and 39 on Kevin Harvick heading into the Lone Star State for Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500.

No matter how compact the top three drivers are, Johnson isn’t going to change his approach entering the final three races of the year. He’ll head into Texas with the same mentality that he carries into every races, and that’s to win.

“It's really the same mentality. We need maximum points. Of course, it's a little bit more forgiving or easy on your team and yourself with a big points lead. But we don't have that this year. We're going to have to race, and we're ready for it.”
With all of the drama and storylines coming in, there hadn't been a race in a long time that I looked forward to more than Sunday’s race in a long time. On a track where the unpredictable has become the expected and where excitement has been redefined, Sunday’s race unquestionably lived up to everyone’s expectations.

From a finish under a yellow that took NASCAR minutes to decipher, to Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick staging improbable comebacks, to Jimmie Johnson once again escaping with a top-10 finish in the closing laps, there wasn’t a lack of things to get excited about.

Oh, did I mention that were 83 passes for the lead between 26 different drivers?

If you’re a NASCAR fan – casual or diehard – you had to have to walked away feeling as though you’ve witnessed a race that will have people talking for years.

AMP Energy Juice 500 Preview

2010-10-30T09:52:00.006-05:00

What: AMP Energy Juice 500
Where: Talladega SuperSpeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval)
Distance: 188 laps/500 miles
When: October 31, 2010
Green Flag: 1:19 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
Defending Winner: Jamie McMurray

Storylines Worth Following

A Junior Revival
Coming off a great run at Martinsville, where he led 90 laps and finished seventh, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has high hopes that tomorrow will be the day when he snaps his 89-race losing streak.

And you know what, why not? Talladega has always been an extremely good track for Junior, with five victories and three runner-up finishes, easily making this his most successful track. Who’s to say the much maligned driver doesn’t have some restrictor-plate magic tucked in his back pocket?

This Race and its Impact on the Chase
There’s no debate that the AMP Energy Juice 500 is a complete wildcard. There’s not a more unpredictable race on the circuit than this one. How Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick finish Sunday, will go a very long way in dictating their championship hopes in the remaining three races.

For Johnson, if he can add to his point lead over Hamlin and Harvick, it will make it very difficult for the two drivers sitting second and third in the standings to overtake him without some serious help. It would take a mechanical failure, accident or unfortunate mishap befalling Johnson for them to advance past his position.

Hamlin’s plan of attack is to just maintain. He hopes to leave Talladega just like he is now: six points behind and nipping at the 48’s heels like a Chihuahua attacking a delivery man.

As for Harvick, he needs to trim off some of the 62-point deficit that separates him and Johnson. If he can’t do that this weekend, it’s tough to envision him winning his first title, an unlikely proposition.

This brings us to our next storyline to follow.

How Will Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick Each Approach Raceday?
I went into greater detail on this on Thursday, but the quick synopsis is Jimmie Johnson plans to stay in the back of the pack for the majority of the day, hopefully avoiding trouble. Then, in the closing stages he'll attempt drive his way towards the front and leave ‘Dega with a respectable finish that allows him to keep his championship lead.

Again, that’s his gameplan and not necessarily how things will play out. But I guess that’s why they call it a plan.

Denny Hamlin is non-committal on what his race strategy will be Sunday. Though he did joke last week, that whatever the 48 does, he will do so the same so as not to lose any ground.

That’s not the approach Kevin Harvick will be employing on tomorrow. Harvick is a firm believer that running in the back only increases ones chances of being caught up in the “Big One.” Up front is where you can expect to find the driver who won here in Apri.

The Big One
It’s inevitable that the “Big One” will occur. The question is, who will it consume in its path and what will the implications be on the championship?

Another First-Time Winner?
From Richard Brickhouse winning the very first race here in 1969, to Brad Keselowski winning the spring race a year ago, Talladega has had an uncanny way of producing first-time winners. Among those who got their inaugural Sprint Cup victory on the 2.6-mile oval include: Richard Brickhouse, Dick Brooks, Lennie Pond, Ron Bouchard, Bobby Hillin Jr., Phil Parsons, Ken Schrader, Brian Vickers and Brad Keselowski.

If we are to see another first-time winner, look for it to be AJ Allmendinger, who has quickly figured out the nuances of drafting after moving over from open-wheel racing. Or, David Ragan, who for some reason has a knack for finishing in the top-10 at ‘Dega, having done so in three out of the last five races.

Driver Speak
--Clint Bowyer describes what it’s like being in the middle of the “Big One.”

“That is the exact moment when you don’t want to be in the car anymore. It sucks. All hell breaks loose. You just cringe and hold on and it hurts. You hit hard and you bounce around and finally come to a stop and think like what the hell just happened.”

Talladega SuperSpeedway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Jeff Gordon (6)

Owner Wins: Hendrick Motorsports (10)

Manufacturer Wins: Chevrolet (35)

Average Finish: Kurt Busch (12.8)

Laps Led: Jeff Gordon (821)

Top-5s: Terry Labonte (14)

Top-10s: Mark Martin, Terry Labonte (23)

Contenders
1. Kevin Harvick
In three restrictor-plate starts this season, Kevin Harvick has two wins. In the one race he didn’t win, the Daytona 500, he led more laps than anyone else, and was leading with two laps to go before slipping back to seventh. When it comes to plate tracks, the Childress horsepower is simply unmatched.

2. Jamie McMurray
This happens to be the guy who passed the 29 car with two laps left at Daytona for the win. In April, Jamie McMurray narrowly missed out on the victory, getting passed by Harvick just feet before the finish line. And like the guy above him on the contenders list, he too, has Childress horsepower underneath his hood.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
It’s been six years since Dale Earnhardt Jr. last won at Talladega. Regardless, few drivers know their way around the high-banks like the driver who’s won here five times and who many think can see the air like his famous father.

Sleeper
Jeff Burton
Picking a sleeper at Talladega is like trying to play darts blindfolded. That being said, for this week, we’ll go with the driver who led the most laps here in April before getting caught up in a wreck not of his doing, Jeff Burton.

The Official Racing Geek Pick
Pick any one of 20 drivers, and you could make a pretty good case for any of them winning Sunday. This race is an unpredictable one, and it’s tricky trying to pinpoint a victor. To make things a bit easier, let’s try sorting through some of the likely contenders.

I don’t feel comfortable picking Kevin Harvick to pull off the Talladega sweep. Too many things have to go his way for that to happen, although, I expect him finish at the front of the pack in the end.

This is one of two races where I have zero faith in Jimmie Johnson snagging the ‘W.’ (If you’re wondering, Watkins Glen is the other.) The 48 team could care less about picking up the checkered flag. Their only goal tomorrow is to stay out of trouble and leave here with a top-10 finish.

Like Johnson, Denny Hamlin will also be in conservation mode so not to diminish his title aspirations.

There’s a reason Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t won a race in over two years, and that isn’t going to change this weekend.

Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon have this innate ability to turn a potentially great run into a so-so finish.

So give me the guy who’s proven this season that he can win. The guy who runs extremely well on the restrictor-plate tracks, and needs a victory to keep his slim championship hopes alive.

The driver who fits this profile is of course, Kyle Busch.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

NASCAR’s Haunted House Awaits

2010-10-28T10:59:00.005-05:00

It’s big, it’s bad, it’s scary fast and it’s intimidating. It’s Talladega Super Speedway. The place where anything can, and usually does, happen. Talladega has become synonymous with running three-wide, wide-open with the pedal stuck to the floorboard. Multi-car crashes are the norm, and where you only touch the brakes when you’re on pit road.

To top off the madness that is restrictor-plate racing on NASCAR’s longest oval, Sunday’s race, the AMP Energy Juice 500, will be held on Halloween.

Amid some of the tracks shall we say, unique history, having a race date on the holiday that celebrates goblins, ghosts, creepy creatures and other odd peculiarities seems more than appropriate.

Consider the following:

*According to legend, the track was built on the site of an ancient Indian burial ground.

*The inaugural race here in 1969, was boycotted by some of the sports biggest names including Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson over safety concerns regarding tires that they felt wouldn’t hold up to the high speeds that the 2.6-mile track produced.

*In 1973, reigning Rookie of the Year Larry Smith was killed in what has been described as a minor accident when his Mercury hit the Turn-1 wall.

*In that same race, series champion Bobby Isaac retired mid-race claiming a strange voice in the car told him to get out otherwise he would be killed.

*Former Daytona 500 winner and one of NASCAR’s all-time good guys, Tiny Lund died in a wreck in the ‘75 running of the Talladega 500.

*The two races here in 1984 featured a combined 143 lead changes. No, that is not a misprint.

*Without the aid of a caution, Bill Elliott made-up two full laps and won the 1985 edition of the Winston 500 handily over Kyle Petty.

*In one of the all-time violent wrecks in NASCAR history, Bobby Allison, while running 200mph-plus on the front stretch, cuts a tire and is launched into the catchfence. His car then came back down on the track and was T-boned by a spinning car. Thankfully, neither Allison nor any spectators suffered any major injuries.

*In that same race, Allison’s son Davey went on to win his first Sprint Cup race. Dad wrecks and goes to the hospital, while his son goes to victory lane. Only on a track like Talladega would that ever happen.

*Five years later, Davey Allison would perish as a result of injuries he suffered when he crashed his helicopter while attempting to land on the Talladega infield.

*Two weeks following Allison’s untimely death, NASCAR returned to the superspeedway for the ill named, Diehard 500. That afternoon saw driver Jimmy Horton completely flip over the Turn-1 wall and land safely outside the track. On a side note, a fan with a beer in hand (of course), reached him before any medical personnel arrived.

*In 2000, Dale Earnhardt would win his 76th and final Sprint Cup race with an improbable charge from 18th to first in the final four laps.

*This track is notorious for producing unlikely first-time winners. Some of these winners include: Richard Brickhouse, Dick Brooks, Lennie Pond, Ron Bouchard, Bobby Hillin Jr., Phil Parsons and Brad Keselowski.

What does this weekend’s race have in store for us? Who knows? There is one thing that we know for certain, and that is, Sunday’s race is the proverbial wildcard of the four remaining races left in the season.

With Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick separated by only 62 points with four races to go, whoever can get through the weekend with their car in one piece, will have a leg up on the competition. That is assuming, of course, that any of the three drivers escape unscathed and in one piece. Which as anyone who’s seen a lap turned at Talladega knows, is not a given.

Not surprisingly, Jimmie Johnson is expected to use the same gameplan that worked out so well for him a year ago when he came into this race as the points leader.

On day that, Johnson rode around in the back for the greater part of the afternoon, avoided the “Big One” that consumed 13 of his competitors, including the two drivers closest to him in points, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, and somehow escaped with a remarkable sixth-place finish. This left the garage shaking their collective heads at Johnson’s Houdini-like escape. Not only because he left with a respectable finish, but because he left the track with a nearly insurmountable points lead.

“I'm still in shock. I can't believe that it worked out, said a still in disbelief Johnson, following the race when asked about his strategy.

If on Sunday Johnson again decides to go the route that has him running in the back of the pack, he should expect some company from the guy who he leads by six points in the standings.

Last week when he spoke with reporters via a teleconference, Denny Hamlin made it well-known what his approach to Sunday was going to be.

“I'm going to keep him right in front of me for the entire Talladega race. If I'm going to get in a wreck, I'm going to make sure he's in it as well. We've got to just make sure that we keep him in our sights.”

While he may have had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek when he uttered the above quote, there seems to be some truth in what he said.

If you’re a Denny Hamlin fan, you can anticipate your driver running somewhere towards the tailend of the field until the final 20 or 30 laps.

But when its time to go, look for the FedEx Toyota somewhere near the front, as Hamlin has a pretty good track-record on the superspeedway despite never having picked up a victory. In all nine of his Talladega starts he’s led at least one lap, including 17 circuits in April, which cumulated with him finishing in fourth.

In a sport where momentum can be everything, Hamlin has a ton of propelling him into the state of Alabama. Last week, he predicted that he was going to win the race at Martinsville, and then his prediction actually came true.

The guy who won here back in April is Kevin Harvick. He not only happens to be the third guy in our championship threesome, but also enters the weekend as the pre-race favorite.

When it comes to Daytona and Talladega, few are as good as Harvick. Whose prowess on the restrictor-plate tracks is matched by a few, but surpassed by none.

His plan to make it through Talladega is simple; run up front and try and stay there throughout the duration of the 500-mile race. A plan he’s had great success in implementing this year in the other plate races.

In February at Daytona, Harvick kicked off the year in grand style by winning the Budweiser Shootout, an exhibition race designed to feature some of the sports biggest names. The following week in the Daytona 500, the 2007 winner looked to be in position for win number two as he led a total of 41 laps and was leading with two laps to go, before sliding back to finish seventh.

Then in the annual April pilgrimage to Talladega, Harvick won a points-paying race for the first time in 115 starts, squeezing to the inside of Jamie McMurray just a few feet from the finish line.

When the series returned to Daytona on Fourth of July weekend, Harvick again was victorious. Winning for the third time in four chances this season on a plate track and cemented himself as the guy to beat when the series returned to Talladega in the fall.

This brings us to where we are today; three drivers, each with varying strategies, in a tightly contested fight for the championship trophy. Competing on a track where the unexpected is the expected.

Which means this Sunday, grab some Halloween candy and pull-up a seat, because the odds are high we’re going to see something that would only occur on a track like Talladega.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-10-27T12:53:00.002-05:00

The final short track race of the season is behind us and now it’s onto the biggest track on the schedule. But before we start focusing our attention on Talladega and what should be an exciting event that will go along way in dictating this year’s championship, let’s sort through the aftermath of Martinsville and figure out this week’s rankings.

1. (1) Jimmie Johnson
It’s hard to penalize Jimmie Johnson for finishing in the top-five for the fourth straight week. Though, like his lead in the points, the margin over second-place Denny Hamlin has diminished significantly.

2. (2) Denny Hamlin
It doesn’t quite have the same ring as Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series or Joe Namath prior to Super Bowl III, but Denny Hamlin can add his name besides those above with his called shot at Martinsville. Let’s see what he has in store for this week’s trek to ‘Dega, where last week he pledged to shadow the 48 like the two were attached at the hip.

3. (3) Kevin Harvick
I hate to keep harping on this, but Kevin Harvick needs to start qualifying a lot better if he wants a shot to win the championship. In each of the six Chase races, he’s started no better than 21st. While the finishes have been there, including an impressive drive last Sunday that netted him a third-place finish, you can’t count on being able to pass that many cars each week. Eventually, sometime over the next four weeks this will come back to bite him.

4. (4) Kyle Busch
If Kyle Busch can survive Talladega and leave there with a top-five finish, and if the three guys above him in the standings have troubles – not completely unrealistic – he could find himself back on the fringes of being in the title picture.

5. (6) Carl Edwards
It’s hard to have a quiet day at Martinsville. It’s even tougher to do so and finish in the top-10. But somehow, someway Carl Edwards found a way to do that and leave with an eighth-place finish.

6. (15) Joey Logano
A dramatic jump up the Power Poll for the sophomore driver, but with five consecutive finishes of 17th or better, including back-to-back top-10s, it feels justified. Pay attention to Logano this weekend, as he has quickly figured out the nuances of restrictor-plate racing, with two top-10s in three career starts.

7. (7) Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart was in contention for a place in the top-10 in the closing laps until a flat tire forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop. This summarizes the kind of Chase the owner-driver has had; good cars, just not the luck or the finishes to match.

8. (8) Jeff Gordon
It will be announced today that AARP will be replacing DuPont as Jeff Gordon’s main sponsor in 2011. I cannot describe to you how old this makes me feel. I long for the days when Gordon rocked the mullet, and the wispy mustache.

9. (13) Mark Martin
At one point Sunday, Mark Martin was 32nd and two laps down. But looking more like a young hotshoe than the 50-year-old that he is, Martin deftly drove his way through the field and finished in the runner-up position. His best finish of ’10, and his smile and excitement afterwards will go down for me as one of the coolest moments of the year.

10. (10) Matt Kenseth
For every two steps forward Matt Kenseth takes one week, he takes one step back the next. I would love to see some prolonged consistency out of this team before the end of the season. Although I feel that would be expecting too much.

11. (5) Greg Biffle
After a strong qualifying effort that saw him lineup third Sunday, it appeared as if Greg Biffle was going to be a threat at Martinsville. That was until a right right-front tire went down and crippled his suspension and left him in the 33rd position. Like his Roush teammate, two steps forward, one step back.

12. (11) Jamie McMurray
Success if a fickle thing and there is no one who knows that better than Jamie McMurray, who a week after each of his three victories this season, has followed up with finishes of 17th, 22nd and 11th.

13. (NR) Jeff Burton
Led a race-high 109 laps and looked like he might return to victory lane after a two-year absence. Ultimately though, Jeff Burton faded back to ninth, which sounds about right considering how his year has played out.

14. (9) Ryan Newman
After seven weeks of finishing11th or better, Ryan Newman has come back down to earth with a resounding thud, posting back-to-back finishes in the 30s. The Martinsville disappointment is particularly a bitter pill to swallow considering the 39 Chevy was among the fastest cars on the track early on, even taking the point for 39 laps. On the plus side, Newman’s favorite track is up next. Oh, wait, that’s right, he despises Talladega with every fiber of his being. Never mind.

15. (14) Kurt Busch
“Have at it, boys” doesn’t apply to what Kurt Busch did to Jeff Gordon. Busch dumped him plain and simple after the 24 got into the back of his car heading into Turn-3. Then for Busch to stand there post-race and say that the two weren’t square is ludicrous. Maybe Kyle’s older brother should concern himself with why his team has laid an egg in the Chase and why he has just one top-10 in the last seven races rather than playing Wyatt Earp.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Monday’s Thoughts: With Win, Hamlin Makes Point(s)

2010-10-25T11:11:00.007-05:00

There are statement races, and then are races like the Tums Fast Relief 500 that will reverberate throughout the remainder of the year.

Denny Hamlin’s victory yesterday will have a lasting impact besides just what appears in the boxscore. As this win was more than him moving to within six points of championship leader Jimmie Johnson.

No, this was about sending a message. The message being that, Denny Hamlin and not Jimmie Johnson, is the guy to beat for the championship, and with four races left in the season, this is Hamlin’s title to win and not Johnson’s to lose. This despite Johnson having won the last four titles and despite being 41 points up on Hamlin in the standings coming into this weekend.

“This is probably the most gratifying win I've had so far, simply because we didn't have the best car all day, said an exuberant Hamlin. “We just fought and fought and fought and kept working on it. I kept trying to be patient.

“For me, it was a great day. Obviously [this] is what we came out and set out to do.”

What Hamlin set out to do and what he made no secret about, was how he was going to win Sunday. This was going to be the race where his push towards his first championship was to begin.

Although for a majority of the race, it didn’t appear as if Hamlin was going to fulfill his decree, due to a car that was too loose and couldn’t get off the corners. But when it mattered most, he had enough to muster his way around Kevin Harvick with 29 laps to go and cruise home for his seventh win on the year and his third straight on the historic half-mile oval.

As the series makes its way to the unpredictable, chaotic spectacle known as restrictor-plate racing at Talladega, it no longer seems like a foregone conclusion that Johnson is going to roll to his fifth straight title.

Not with Hamlin nipping at Johnson’s heels and not with Harvick, who overcame a dreadful qualifying effort that saw him starting 36th, and yet still finished third to Hamlin yesterday, a scant 62 points out of the lead.

“Right now I feel like we're in a great position going to Talladega,” said Hamlin, who won for the 15th time in his career. “I know we've been extremely strong at Talladega for the last two to three years. So I'm pretty confident.”

###

Confidence wasn’t something Jimmie Johnson was exuding post-race. It was more of a combination of frustration mixed with disappointment over the fact his Lowes Chevy failed to lead a single lap and that he was lucky to finish fifth.

The frustration comes from what might have been.

With 15 yellow flags through the first 400 laps of racing, and with a car setup for the shorter runs that are usually associated with racing on the tight bullring, it appeared as if Johnson was in position to win his seventh Grandfather Clock and more importantly, extend his point lead.

Inexplicably though, and very much atypical of what we had seen throughout the day, the final 98 laps were run without the interruption of a caution. And with it, Johnson’s chance of victory went by the wayside.

“Good top-five finish today,” said Johnson when he spoke with reporters in the media center. “We certainly wanted to finish higher. But it's over and done with. It is what it is. We're rolling into Talladega. We all know what can happen there.”

The disappointment and what has to eat at the four-time defending champ, is this used to be a racetrack where he did what Hamlin did Sunday. Finding a way to win no matter the circumstances. Save for the fact that in the last three races here, Johnson has zero wins while his chief rival has three and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.

Although Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus won’t admit it publicly, what happened this weekend with Hamlin saying he was going to win and then going out and doing so from the pole, has to be a punch to their collective stomachs.

When has a team ever been able to call their shot during the Johnson Era, then gone out and backed it up? And it’s certainly never happened at a track like Martinsville, where the 48 has dominated like no other in recent years.

Will we look back at this race as the beginning of the end of what has been an unprecedented run? Or is this just another race in a long line of them, where Johnson looked vulnerable only to come back the following week to remind everyone that it’s never a wise idea to tug on Superman’s cape.
It’s no secret that this season has been a disappointing one for Mark Martin. A season that was once filled with so much promise and potential has evaporated into the very definition of a lost season.

There is no question however, about the fight that Martin still possesses. That was on display Sunday, when Martin overcame brake problems, a wreck and being two laps down, to post his best finish of 2010 – a stirring runner-up finish that felt like a win to the driver who finished second in points a year ago.

“With a hundred to go, we were 20th or something like that,” Martin said. “We drove to second. Why wouldn't that be fun? I'm used to people passing me. I was passing good cars the way they usually do me here. I never could figure out how they did that. Now I know. When the car was working like mine was working today, that was really fun. We had a spectacular racecar at the end.”

It was a gritty display of driving and gumption that you hope leads to more days like this, for a guy whose future in the sport always seems to be in question.
After yesterday when Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton each expressed their displeasure with the other, today could be an interesting day at Richard Childress Racing.

It started with Harvick, upset that Burton was brake-checking him on the restarts, radioed his crew and let them know where his teammate stood with him: “He's (Burton) out of mulligans. That's the third time now. He did it at Indy, he did it at Loudon, [and] he did it here.”

That was followed by Burton informing his crew that he wasn’t going to accept Harvick’s behavior.

“I will not tolerate it. I have done nothing wrong. I am a good teammate and I'm not going to take him running into me.”

Post-race Harvick brushed off the incident, simply saying “We were just racing.”

However, Burton didn’t shrug off the exchange quite as easily, and even took things a step further.

“I don’t understand what he is mad at. I cleared him on the front straightaway and beat him off turn four and cleared him on the front straightaway and turned to the bottom. The same thing he did to me on the restart is the same thing that happens every restart at Martinsville. I didn’t do anything wrong, I think he is just wound up and racing for a championship. I can assure you I didn’t do anything wrong and I would do it again a thousand times. Because if what I did was wrong, then I will just quit racing.

“There will come a point when he realizes that everybody in the world is not against him. And every time it’s a conflict he is involved. And you would think over the amount of years that he has done it, that he would get the hint that he is always in the middle of it and maybe sometimes if he just backed up a little bit and caught his breath, he would be okay. I’m not out to harm him. I am a teammate of his and I am trying to help him and there comes a point where he needs to just catch his breath and realize that it’s my racetrack too. And I didn’t do anything wrong. If he thinks I did anything wrong, then we can’t race and there is nothing that I did that I regret and there is nothing I won’t do next week.”

Why do I have this feeling that RCR’s Monday meeting to recap the weekend will be as entertaining as Saturday night’s UFC fight featuring Brock Lesnar getting the crap kicked out of him? Does anyone know of a way to order this on pay-per-view? Because I would sure like to watch.
You don’t think of Martinsville Speedway as a track where Dale Earnhardt Jr. can have success. The reality however, is Martinsville is a place where Junior has led more laps than any other track. On Sunday, once again the series most maligned driver found his way to the front. Leading a total of 90 laps, and at one point looking like he was going to snap his 88-race losing streak.

Changing track conditions prevented that from happening, but a seventh-place finish – only his second top-10 in the last 14 races – gives something for this team to build on going forward.

First and foremost, they led more laps in a single race than they had led in the previous 31 races combined. Secondly, with Talladega next on the schedule, a track where Earnhardt is always among the contenders, back-to-back good finishes, something this team desperately, desperately needs, is a real possibility.

Dare I say Junior Nation has a reason to be hopeful?

(Insert lightning strike here)
After a tumultuous week that saw him leave the only Sprint Cup team he’s ever driven for, Kasey Kahne finished a solid 14th in his first start with Team Red Bull Racing.

Kahne’s replacement at Richard Petty Motorsports, Aric Almirola, with the exception of getting into the back of teammate Paul Menard and sending him into the spin cycle, had a fairly non-descript day in finishing 21st.
Jeff Gordon’s streak of 11 consecutive finishes inside the top-10 came to a halt in an abrupt manner thanks to Kurt Busch. After the seven-time Martinsville winner bumped Busch going into Turn-3, the Miller Lite driver took exception to how Gordon went about passing him and showed his displeasure by intentionally turning his car into the No. 24 Chevy and consequently spinning him into the inside retaining wall.

Post-race Busch attempted to explain his rationale for dumping Gordon. Though, he didn’t try very hard.

“(He) was on the outside lane on restarts and so yeah, he shoved me in there and I shoved him back in Turn 4. I didn’t mean to get into him that hard.

“His chicken move afterward wasn’t called for, but that shows the game we’re gonna play. One bump versus another bump, it still seems like the scorecard isn’t even.”

As you can image, Gordon wasn’t too pleased with Busch’s tactics and wasn’t buying whatever the Penske driver was trying to sell.

“I think if you look at the video it’s pretty self-explanatory. I ran him down and was quite a bit faster than him. I said it here, more than once, that I probably made the move a little late. I was going to get into him. It wasn’t much. But I gave him enough of a reason that whatever things he has from past history or whatever thoughts he has in there, it sparked it, you know? At that point, he was determined to wreck us.”
Although he’s had a stellar season in the Nationwide Series that includes six trips to victory lane and has him on the verge of clinching the drivers championship, Brad Keselowski has had a tough go of it in his first full season in Sprint Cup. On Sunday though, for the first time this season, he finished a race in the top-10. And his 10th-place finish also marks the first time the No. 12 Penske team has finished inside the top-10 since the 2008 fall Phoenix race.
Veteran Ken Schrader made his first Sprint Cup start of the season and finished a respectable 18th.
For the second time in as many weeks, Joe Gibbs Racing placed all three of its cars in the top-10. As noted above, Denny Hamlin won his seventh race of ’10, with teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

Tums Fast Relief 500 Preview

2010-10-23T11:42:00.004-05:00

What: Tums Fast Relief 500
Where: Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Distance: 500 laps/263 miles
When: October 24, 2010
Green Flag: 1:13 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
Defending Winner: Denny Hamlin

Storylines Worth Following

Johnson vs. Hamlin, Hamlin vs. Johnson
Between the two of them, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin – who just happen to be first and second in the standings – have won the last eight races at Martinsville Speedway. The odds are pretty high that Sunday’s race will come down to these two.

As I wrote earlier this week, what happens this weekend will have a dramatic effect on the championship and the remaining four races of the year. If Johnson outruns Hamlin, it could knock the wind out the sails of the FedEx driver. If it’s the other way around, Johnson may be in for the title fight of his life.

Can Harvick Keep Pace Both on the Track and In the Standings?
Sitting third in the standings, a mere 77 points behind Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick is very much in the championship picture. But starting 36th tomorrow, he has his work cutout for him just to salvage a decent finish. With both Johnson and Denny Hamlin expected to finish at or near the front, a decent finish tomorrow won’t cut it for the driver who finished the regular season with the most points.

Is Eight Jeff Gordon’s Lucky Number?
It’s been five years since Jeff Gordon won a short track race. Not to mention 60 races since he won a race on any kind of a track. However, with a remarkable 15 straight top-10 finishes on the track shaped like a giant paperclip, it would be unwise to discount the prospects the four-time champ and seven-time Martinsville winner has of returning to victory lane. Let’s not forget, he did lead 92 laps in the spring race and was leading with three laps to go before a shoving match with Matt Kenseth resulted in him sliding back to third.

To Pit Late or Not To Pit Late, That Is The Question?
As is the case every weekend, the debate on whether to pit in the closing laps of a race is a decision every crew chief wrestles with. None more so than on the shortest track on the circuit, where passing and getting through traffic is no easy proposition.

But after Denny Hamlin went from ninth to first within four laps here in the spring, drivers and crew chiefs are rethinking their strategy. Whether they actually elect to pit with less than 20 laps, remains to be seen; but it’s no longer a foregone conclusion that they won’t.

Will We See A New Name In Victory Lane?
A driver without the surname of Hamlin, Johnson, Gordon or Stewart hasn’t won here since 2004 when some guy named Rusty Wallace took the checkered flag. Is there a surprise winner lurking out there tomorrow? It sure doesn’t look that way, as no driver outside of the four above look like they have a genuine chance at picking up the ‘W.’ But you know what? The beauty of racing is, you never know.

Driver Speak
--Denny Hamlin, on why he’s had so much success at Martinsville:

“I seem to think that Martinsville is a little bit more of a driver's track. But I have been blessed with really good cars there during the course of my career. Whether it's been the new car or the old car or anything like that, we've always had success. I feel like I have a knack for that racetrack, and I feel like we always seem to prepare really good race cars for that track.”

Martinsville Speedway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Jeff Gordon (7)

Owner Wins: Richard Petty Motorsports (19)

Manufacturer Wins: Chevrolet (46)

Average Finish: Jimmie Johnson (5.4)

Laps Led: Jeff Gordon (2,888)

Top-5s: Jeff Gordon (23)

Top-10s: Jeff Gordon (29)

Contenders
1. Denny Hamlin
With two consecutive wins on the half-mile bullring and having led 37 percent of the laps run here in that same span, Denny Hamlin is unquestionably the guy to beat come Sunday. Oh yeah, one more thing; he’ll be starting first tomorrow and was among the fastest in practice.

2. Jimmie Johnson
Though Jimmie Johnson seems to have lost a bit of his Martinsville magic – I mean after all, all he did was finish ninth here in the spring, albeit running an experimental setup – there’s no reason to discount his chances on raceday. In total he’s won five of the last eight races here, has an average finish of 5.4, and hasn’t finished outside the top-10 in eight years.

3. Tony Stewart
Despite Jeff Gordon’s sterling record here (see above), Tony Stewart edges him for the final spot on the contenders spot for two reasons. One, Stewart, unlike Gordon, has actually won a race – six of them actually – in the last 18 months. Two, in Friday’s lone practice session, the 14 car was the fastest car on the track.

Sleeper
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This may be surprising, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. has led more laps at Martinsville than at any other track. Though he’s never won here, he has come close, including a runner-up finish in this race two years ago.

Then again, it’s hard to get behind a guy who hasn’t finished better than 16th in the last four weeks and has just one top-10 in his last 13 starts.

The Official Racing Geek Pick
In a race that’s shaping up as a showdown between Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, Hamlin struck first by setting quick time in qualifying, while Johnson posted just the 19th fastest speed. Although that doesn’t mean Johnson doesn’t have a shot at the victory tomorrow. As coincidence has it, he’ll be starting in the same position Hamlin started in when he won here in the spring.

But Johnson is not my pick to win. This is a race Denny Hamlin has had circled on his calendar all season. For him, the Tums Fast Relief 500 represents the start of his Chase for the Sprint Cup. And a win will go along way towards his goal of winning his first series title.

With how dominant he’s been here over the last couple of years, and with him having the advantage of starting up front as well as having first choice of pit stalls, the stars are aligning for Hamlin to make it three victories in a row on one of NASCAR’s more legendary tracks

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

A Battle Is Looming At Martinsville

2010-10-20T17:31:00.007-05:00

Sunday’s race at Martinsville, the Tums 500, is set up to be a race unlike any we’ve seen in recent memory. With two drivers at the top of their profession, neck-and-neck in the championship, competing on a track where each has the credentials to refer to it as “their own personal playground”.

To even call it a race might be a misnomer, as it’s more along the lines of a heavyweight fight. NASCAR’s very own version of a title fight.

(Insert sound of a ring bell)

Ladies and gentlemen. In this corner, wearing the blue, white and yellow firesuit, out of El Cajon, California, the champion Jimmie Johnson.

For the driver with the big bull’s-eye on his back, this weekend represents as unique a challenge as any he’s encountered in his four year reign.

Like a lot of tracks on the schedule, Martinsville is where Johnson has tasted success. Many times over in fact. Having racked up six wins, 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s in 17 career starts. Even more impressive is his average finish, which is an extraordinary 5.4.

If Johnson can repeat what he has done in the past, and lead the most laps and pickup the win, it will be a body blow to the guy who he leads the championship battle by 41 points. A shot that when the season is all said and done, could be looked back on as being the knockout punch on the way to yet another series crown.

The thing is however, as great as the four-time champ is on the half-mile bullring – and he’s phenomenal – Denny Hamlin is just as good, perhaps even better.

“We are going out there to be on the offense,” said Hamlin when asked Tuesday when he spoke with the media, about how he’s going to approach this weekend. “He’s [Johnson] going to try to go out there and win the race as well. But for me, he's going to have to beat us to do it. I feel like we're going to be strong when we get there. It's going to take a lot to beat us there.

Ladies and gentlemen. In this corner, wearing the black, purple and orange firesuit, out of Midlothian, Virginia, Denny Hamlin.

Since the spring of 2008, when he won his first Grandfather Clock that every Martinsville race winner receives in victory lane, Hamlin has added two more clocks to his collection. In the two races he didn’t win, he scored finishes of fifth and second.

It isn’t just that he has won three of the last four races here, and has possibly overtaken Johnson as the King of Martinsville. It’s how he’s gone about doing it.

Last year in this race, he utterly dominated the field. Leading a total of 206 laps, and beating Johnson, who finished second, straight-up for the win.

While this spring, driving with a knee that was so severely injured that it would require surgery just two days later, Hamlin staged a late-race rally that was one for the ages. As he charged from ninth to first in only four laps for his second consecutive victory on the paperclip-shaped oval.

But despite being the driver who’s had the most recent success at Martinsville, you could argue that Hamlin comes into this weekend with all the pressure.

Halfway through the Chase, he’s the one who’s trailing Johnson in the standings. He is also the only driver between the two who has yet to win in the Chase (Johnson picked up the checkered flag at Dover.) Not to mention that the Joe Gibbs driver has led just one lap, five races into NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. This is a statistic that has to quickly change if the Virginia native is to win his first championship trophy.

Although, his rebuttal is that this is the exact position he says he wants to be in. He contends that his goal coming into the Chase was to be less than 80 points behind Johnson at the halfway point. And that as long as he’s within arms reach of Johnson, with Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, all tracks Hamlin excels on still to come, it is his championship, and not Johnson’s to lose.

“I'm not going to give it to the 48 by any means because I know our potential,” said Hamlin.

If on Sunday, he can repeat what he did a year ago and topple the 48 juggernaut, it would be the equivalent of hitting Johnson with a right cross unlike any he’s ever felt. A blow that could end up leaving the champ woozy and dazed with four rounds of the fight still to go.

Then again, if there’s a driver in the garage who knows how to absorb punishment and doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit, it’s Jimmie Johnson.

Who despite being thought of by many fans as a “pretty boy who’s just a corporate drone”, he has made his mark by turning in gritty, tenacious performances that have left his rivals deflated. The latest example occurring just last weekend; when he overcome an early race spin to finish third, one spot ahead of Hamlin. In doing so, added five more points to his lead.

Going toe-to-toe with Hamlin, not just at Martinsville, but at the five remaining tracks on the schedule is a challenge that Johnson almost seems to be looking forward to.

“Martinsville is such a fun racetrack,” said Johnson following the Bank of America 500. “I really think, kind of the way it looks right now, he's good at Martinsville, we are [too]. Talladega is a crapshoot. Texas, I think he finished first there and I was second in the spring. Go to Phoenix, it's a great track for both of us. Go to Homestead, I think he won there last year. We ran really strong all night long and then came home, Top-5 or something if I remember right.

“So I think both teams are going to have speed and I think it's going to boil down to mistakes at this point. Those guys are doing a great job, solid on pit road, solid on equipment and so on. I think it's going to boil down to mistakes.”

Of course, what brawl wouldn’t be complete without some pre-fight smack talk. This, not surprisingly, comes from the challenger.

“I'm not nervous at all going into Martinsville,” stated Hamlin. “For me, I would be more nervous if I was the 48 car going into Martinsville … because we won the last two races there. He didn't have the spring race he was hoping for.”

The good news for everyone involved, is this heavyweight title fight is just days away from commencing. My only question is can we get Mike Tyson to wave the green flag Sunday? It would only seem appropriate.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-10-20T09:12:00.003-05:00

With Charlotte marking the halfway point in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, there is no surprise which driver sits atop this week’s NASCAR Power Poll. Let’s just say it’s a position he’s more than familiar with as he’s been in it on more than one occasion. That being said, here are this week’s rankings.

1. (1) Jimmie Johnson
It’s just a thought, but do you think perhaps Jimmie Johnson intentionally spun himself out only because he was bored and was looking for some excitement?

2. (4) Denny Hamlin
The good news for Denny Hamlin is that his fourth-place finish Saturday night was the first time he finished a race at Charlotte inside the top-five. The bad news is he lost five points to Jimmie Johnson.

3. (2) Kevin Harvick
In finishing eighth, Kevin Harvick scored his best finish on the “Beast of the Southeast” since his rookie year, when he came home second. If you’re counting at home, that’s a span of nine years and 19 Charlotte starts.

4. (7) Kyle Busch
You get the feeling this is going to be a should’ve, would’ve, could’ve Chase for Kyle Busch. He shouldn’t have wrecked David Reutimann at Kansas. He would’ve been higher in points had his engine not expired at Fontana. And he could’ve won Saturday had it not been for a late race caution.

5. (10) Greg Biffle
Greg Biffle is a little like an elevator. One week he’s up (winning at Kansas), the next he’s down (finishing 41st at Fontana), and then he’s up again (fifth at Charlotte.) Using deductive reasoning, it appears Martinsville won’t be a good race for the Roush Fenway driver.

6. (8) Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards said crew chief Bob Osbourne made good adjustments throughout the evening and had a good strategy in place. So why didn’t Edwards run and finish better? It’s simple. His Ford Fusion simply didn’t have any speed. I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but that sounds like it might be a pretty big hurdle to overcome.

7. (3) Tony Stewart
Racing can be a cruel sport. One week, you’re in victory lane celebrating your second win of the season and the fact you’re back in the title hunt. The next week “a comedy of errors” results in you finishing 21st and all but eliminates you from the championship.

8. (5) Jeff Gordon
I know it seems like eons ago, but there was actually a time when Jeff Gordon used to win races and championships on a semi-regular basis.

9. (6) Ryan Newman
Crashing on Lap 3 is a tough way to snap your seven-race streak of finishing 11th or better. On the plus side of things, he did finish fourth at Martinsville in the spring, and should have another upper-echelon finish on Sunday.

10. (14) Matt Kenseth
In the last three weeks Matt Kenseth has certainly started to find his form. He led 26 laps at Kansas and finished seventh. At Fontana, before dropping a cylinder, he was on the point for 29 laps and ran up front all afternoon. While he only paced the field for a single lap at Charlotte, he still managed to take the checkered flag in the sixth spot.

11. (NR) Jamie McMurray
For those who say Jamie McMurray lacks consistency, I say this. Who needs consistency if you’re fast enough to win three races including the sports two biggest events? Championships are overrated I say. Ok, not really. But it sure sounded good didn’t it?

12. (9) Clint Bowyer
I really don’t have anything to say about Clint Bowyer, so I’ll just say this: At least his car passed inspection this week. And did you know that he has five top-10s in his last six Martinsville starts?

13. (11) Mark Martin
Four consecutive finishes of 14th or better shows this team is still working valiantly to get back to the level they were at a year ago. On the other hand, not having posted back-to-back top-10s since April shows just how far this team still has to go.

14. (12) Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch’s quest to become the first driver to win all three Charlotte races in a single season was frankly, a dud. His Dodge was either too loose or too tight all night and despite throwing everything in but the kitchen sink, it was to no avail as he went home in 30th-place, three laps off the pace.

15. (NR) Joey Logano
Ana average finish of 9.5 over the last four races is a positive sign for the sophomore driver who’s still trying to find his way in Sprint Cup.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Monday's Thoughts: McMurray Does It Again and So Does Jimmie

2010-10-18T09:01:00.011-05:00

This season, Jamie McMurray has made it a habit of snagging the headlines away from some of the sports marquee names.

In February during the sports biggest race, the Daytona 500, it was he who held off a determined charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take the win. Six months later, he found his name in the news as he won NASCAR’s second major the Brickyard 400, over then-points leader Kevin Harvick.

Saturday it was more of the same. On a night when the majority of the attention was focused on Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and the other nine drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, it was once again the driver who had the uncertain future coming into the season, who everyone was talking about at the end of the night.

Unlike in May, when McMurray couldn’t find his away around Kurt Busch and had to settle for second in the Coca-Cola 600, this time he finished the deal.

“After coming so close in the 600 earlier in the season, I really felt like anything less than winning this weekend would have been disappointing. We had such a great car in the spring, and it just wasn't good enough on the short run.

“Tonight it was very similar to that, and as I was catching Kyle towards the end of the race, I thought, ‘As long as the caution came out, I could catch him.

“But I wasn't sure if I was going to have enough speed to outrun him in 25 or 30 laps. But man, it was just our night. Our car was unbelievable those last like 25 or 30 laps. It was effortless to drive and it had a lot of speed in it. It was just a really good night for us.”

With three wins on the year, including victories in the two most prestigious events on the schedule, it’s a strange position to be in for a driver who a year ago at this time was scrambling to find a ride.

But with fame and triumph comes the rewards, as his newfound success has brought something else he isn’t accustomed to, job security. As he and Earnhardt-Ganassi principle Chip Ganassi are close to inking an extension that will keep him with the team long-term.

Though the future isn’t something McMurray wants to start thinking about, because after all, there is a race next Sunday at Martinsville.

“I really haven’t thought about next year. You know, just working on the remainder of this season, and I don’t know … I don’t think you should put the cart in front of the horse. You take this one week at a time.”

An approach that's hard to argue with, considering all the publicity, not to mention success, it’s brought him this season.

###

The one trait I’ve always admired about Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, more than any other, is their ability to turn a potentially bad day into a great day. Once again, that characteristic was very much on display Saturday night. When on Lap 35, Johnson looped his Lowes Chevy coming off of Turn-2. Luckily for him and his championship aspirations, he kept it off the wall and was able to avoid contact with another car. The only damage he suffered was some flat-spotted Goodyear’s.

Keeping their cool, Johnson and Knaus then went about salvaging their night by recapturing the track position they lost. This was no easy task, on a night when passing was difficult to say the least, they would be restarting 32nd.

Nevertheless, not only did they get back all the spots they lost, they made their car good enough where Johnson was running laps faster than the leaders in the latter stages of the race. When the checkered flag flew, the 48 car crossed the line in the third position. With this finish, he expanded his lead from 36 points to 41 over second-place Denny Hamlin, who ended the day one spot behind Johnson in fourth.

“Tonight is a night that reminds me of the last four years and what made this team champions,” said a relived Johnson when he met with the media post-race. “I hope that tonight's performance leads us to a championship.

“There's obviously a lot of racing left. No telling what's going to happen. But when we looked back, I hope we are the champions and I hope we look back and say that Charlotte was the key point for us in the championship battle. We kept our composure.”

What exactly was the four-time defending champion thinking as he was sliding sideways down the backstretch?

“It's amazing what goes through your mind when you're sliding sideways on the back straightaway. I saw my hard work for the year and dreams of being a five-time champion go away, and fortunately I got the car turned away from the inside wall.

“At that point [it] kind of scared me straight. Like, okay, just stay smooth, we can salvage a decent finish out of today. Maybe we don't win, maybe we don't be in the Top-5, but I know we can get a good finish out of this if we can keep our composure and we did.

Fans can bemoan all they want on how boring Jimmie Johnson is, and how sick they are of Team 48 winning all the time. While that’s their prerogative, at the very least, don’t you have to respect their unmatched tenacity and never say die attitude in the face of adversity?
A week ago, a victory at Auto Club Speedway had moved Tony Stewart back onto the fringes of being a championship contender. However, following what crew chief Darian Grubb referred to as “a comedy of errors,” that cumulated with the Old Spice Chevrolet finishing in 21st, we can officially cross off Tony Stewart’s name as a challenger to Jimmie Johnson.
Faulty brakes led to Kasey Kahne wrecking on the front stretch. But depending on whom you want to believe, it was either Kahne feeling ill or his frustration with the repeated mechanical troubles he’s dealt with this season that led to him leaving the track early. Whatever the reason, when his car was repaired and ready to return to the track, he wasn’t driving it. Instead, it was J.J. Yeley behind the wheel.

With Kahne leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at season’s end, it will be fascinating to see how this little soap opera plays itself out over the final five races of the year. Will he finish the season with the only team he’s ever driven for? Or, will he cut bait and take his services to Red Bull Racing early in order to get a jumpstart on 2011?

It’s a rare day when Kyle Busch apologizes to his team after a race. Especially after a night when there were numerous times that Busch was venting over the radio to his crew, using words that would have made Chris Rock blush. But apologize is exactly what Kyle Busch did following the Bank of America 500, after letting a race in which he dominated by leading a race-high 217 slip away in the final 20 circuits.

“I can't say enough about all of my guys and everybody that works, as hard as they work and do such a great job that they do,” said the runner-up finisher. “It's just very, very frustrating and you know, I apologize to everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing for just not being able to bring it home tonight. Apparently didn't have the right adjustment in the car at the end.”

Though it’s understandable for Busch to be frustrated in not winning, but in truth, he had little to apologize for. He drove a fantastic race Saturday night.

In taking the lead on Lap 9, he quickly asserted his superiority, and on a night when changing track conditions made it difficult to keep up with the 1.5-mile track, the No.18 Toyota was never far from the front. Yes, the result could have been better, but you know what, it also could have been worse.
A week after mechanical failures crippled the cars of Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing rebounded nicely. As the organization had all four of its Fords finish inside the top-12, with Biffle coming home fifth, Kenseth sixth, David Ragan 10th and Edwards 12th.

Bank of America 500 Preview

2010-10-15T18:43:00.001-05:00

What: Bank of America 500
Where: Auto Club Speedway (1.5-mile quad-oval)
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
When: October 16, 2010
Green Flag: 7:46 PM (ET)
TV: ABC
Defending Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Storylines Worth Following

Jimmie Johnson and the Sense of Inevitability
Finishes of first, second and third the last three weeks has created a sense of inevitability in the garage. Heading into what will be, after tomorrow night, the halfway point of the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson is sitting in the spot most everyone expected him to be. Atop the standings, leading by a 36-point margin over second-place Denny Hamlin.

With the schedule taking us to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank America 500, where Johnson just happens to be the defending winner, and on a track he’s won on six times overall, it’s created a sense of “here we go again” in the garage.

Can you image what were to happen if Johnson were to replicate what he did a week ago and add another 28 points to his lead? I am pretty sure we’d see the garage collectively wave a giant white flag next week at Martinsville.

Resiliency or Complete Indifference?
Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton each suffered through a miserable trip to Southern California. With their Chase hopes either over or severely hampered, it will be interesting to see how each approaches raceday. With nothing to lose, will they go for broke and shoot for the win? Or, with the championship out of their reach, do they put a giant postage stamp on their season and mail it in from here on out?

Kurt Busch and The Charlotte Trifecta
No driver has won the All-Star Race, the Coca-Cola 600 and the fall Charlotte race in a single season. Saturday night, Kurt Busch has the opportunity to become the first to do so. From what we’ve seen in final practice, where the Blue Deuce was third on the speed charts, history has a chance to be made tomorrow.

Ford and Their Engine Woes
After Fontana, where three drivers suffered through problems with their Ford FR9 engines, reliability will be a concern for those with a blue oval on their hoods. Was last Sunday an aberration or is there something more serious going on with the Ford power plants?

A Final Win for Kahne Before He Heads Out the Door
Kasey Kahne has just six races left before his seven-year tenure with Richard Petty comes to an end. If he’s to get one final win before taking his services to Red Bull Racing for 2011, Charlotte would seem the likeliest place for it to happen. It’s a track where he has been to victory lane three times, and in this race last year, he led 67 laps before settling for third.

59 and Counting For Jeff Gordon
April 5, 2009 was the last time Jeff Gordon won a race. Starting first tomorrow – his first pole of ‘10 – the four-time champion is in prime position to snap his 59-race winless streak. If he can close the deal in the final stages in the race is another question altogether.

Driver Speak
--Jeff Burton, who trails Jimmie Johnson by 177 points, on whether he still has a shot at winning his first series title:

“We haven’t run the white flag up just yet. This is an interesting sport. As I said, we are certainly not a position that we want to be in, we’re certainly not is a position that I thought we would be in, but we’re in the position that we are in.”

Charlotte Motor Speedway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Jimmie Johnson (6)

Owner Wins: Hendrick Motorsports (16)

Manufacturer Wins: Chevrolet (37)

Average Finish: Joey Logano (9.0)

Laps Led: Jimmie Johnson (1,370)

Top-5s: Mark Martin (18)

Top-10s: Mark Martin (23)

Contenders
1. Jimmie Johnson
In this race last year, Jimmie Johnson started on the pole, led the most laps and convincingly won the race. While he didn’t set the fastest time in qualifying yesterday, there’s little reason to think the six-time Charlotte winner, and the guy who lines up 10th tomorrow night, still isn’t the guy to beat.

2. Carl Edwards
Somewhat surprising, Carl Edwards has never won at Charlotte. Ok, I guess it can’t be that big of a shock considering Edwards hasn’t won much of anything in the last two years, but that’s beside the point.

So what is the point you’re asking? It’s that on the intermediate tracks, the guy with the duck on his hood, is generally in contention for the win. With his engine woes last Sunday at Fontana notwithstanding, he’s been particularly good as of late on the mile-and-a-half to two-mile tracks; finishing sixth at Kansas, second at Atlanta, third at Michigan and second at Chicagoland.

3. Ryan Newman
The hottest driver in NASCAR (on-track performance mind you, not looks) is not Jimmie Johnson or last week’s winner Tony Stewart. It’s actually the guy who drives for Stewart, “No Neck” Ryan Newman.

He comes in having finished fifth at Fontana and hasn’t finished worse than 11th in his last seven starts. And he’ll be driving the same chassis that he drove in May in the 600. In that race, he sat on the pole and wheeled to a ninth-place finish.

Sleeper
Joey Logano
In three career starts at Charlotte, 20-year-old Joey Logano has twice finished in the top-10, including a fifth in this race a year ago. Knowing this, I see little reason not to like the sophomore driver’s chances of finishing in the top-10 tomorrow evening.

The Official Racing Geek Pick
At first blush, the Bank of America 500 feels like a fairly wide-open race, where a number of drivers will be in contention for the win. Those likely to be in the mix include, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kurt and Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray.

All that being said, and I hate to be redundant and repeat what I said last weekend, but this is Jimmie Johnson’s race to win, or lose.

Although I don’t expect him to do what he did last year, when he led a race-high 92 laps and won rather easily. I think the end result will be the same. With the 48 team celebrating in victory lane and the rest of the garage wondering if they’re ever going to find a way beat Superman.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

If I Had a Ballot, Here’s What It Would Look Like

2010-10-13T12:13:00.010-05:00

Later this afternoon, a voting panel will sort through the credentials of 25 worthy nominees and try and determine which five candidates will make up the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Unlike last year when it was a given that Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Bill France Sr. would be included in the inaugural class, there are few guarantees this go around. With the only exception of course being “The Silver Fox” David Pearson – who should have been inducted last year – the other four spots are very much up for debate.

So who will be joining Pearson on the stage next May when the second class is formally inducted? The consensus seems to be that the other four honorees will be some combination of Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Red Byron, Dale Inman, Raymond Parks or Lee Petty.

But who should get the call? Here’s how my ballot would look if I were voting.

David Pearson
There are many, including Richard Petty, who are of the opinion that David Pearson is the greatest driver who’s ever sat behind the wheel of a stockcar. There are just as many people, including myself, who are still in disbelief that Pearson’s name wasn’t called last year.

Let’s all put aside our feelings over what happened last year and formally honor the illustrious career of David Pearson. If you’re unfamiliar with his credentials, all you need to know is that the man is a three-time series champion, whose 105 career wins ranks second on the all-time list. If that’s not Hall of Fame worthy, I don’t know what is.

Cale Yarborough
One of the toughest drivers in the annals of NASCAR, who willed his way to 83 wins, including four Daytona 500s and five Southern 500s. Along with Jimmie Johnson, Yarborough shares the distinction of being the only drivers to have won three consecutive championships. It feels like a certainty that the first NASCAR driver to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated will hear his named called this afternoon.

Red Byron
It’s the sports bigger names that get all the attention, but the truth of the matter is, if it weren’t for drivers like Red Byron, NASCAR wouldn’t be what it is today. I believe that if the Hall of Fame is to accurately reflect the sports roots, electing the first champion that the sanctioning body crowned would go along way in doing so.

Lee Petty
Much in the same vain of Byron, Lee Petty is one of the sports pioneers who helped lay the foundation for the generations that were to follow. Because he is the father of Richard Petty, Lee’s accomplishments tend to get overlooked. But dad was every bit the driver as his son, a three-time champion, with 54 career victories (ninth all-time) and the first winner of the Daytona 500.

Dale Inman
Almost all the attention is focused on the drivers, and that certainly will be reflected in who makes up the bulk of the inductees. However, there are a number of deserving candidates who never turned a wheel. Instead they were the ones who turned the wrenches.

Among the best was Dale Inman, the man chiefly responsible for helping Richard Petty to all those wins and championships. If you think Inman simply was the benefactor of being the crew chief for “The King,” it was Inman, and not Petty, who was able to win the only championship between the two that the other wasn’t involved in. Having guided Terry Labonte to the 1984 series title.

Going over the list of the 25 nominees, the toughest omissions were obviously Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip. Both of whom deserve the nod. Although as stated above, I think it’s important for the Hall to recognize some of the sports forefathers before its modern-day superstars. Which means some deserving nominees, will have to wait a bit longer before receiving their just due.

Unfortunately in this case, that applies to Allison and Waltrip. That being said, both should headline next year's Hall of Fame class. As it would be more than fitting in 2012 to see the two longtime bitter rivals inducted side-by-side.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images/NASCAR Media

NASCAR Power Poll

2010-10-12T22:37:00.004-05:00

Before we commence with this week’s NASCAR Power Poll, we need to give credit where credit is due.

Over the years, Auto Club Speedway has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism. Some of these include: A track layout that isn’t conducive to producing exciting side-by-side racing and its inability to regularly draw a respectable crowd.

Make no mistake that some of the criticism is fair and warranted.

There are times however, when making fun of the beleaguered track becomes too easy. Some the complaints about it are hammered home a little too much by the media; including me.

We’ve tended to focus on the negatives, instead of looking at some of the positives.

(Yes, I know it’s shocking that the media would ever do such a thing.)

This weekend though, there were a lot of positives with what was the final fall visit to the greater Los Angeles area.

We saw a great race with plenty of action throughout the field. Mark Martin freely swapped the point with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in the middle portions of the race. Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Johnson had a spirited battle for the lead late. And I can’t count how many times there were cars fanned out three-wide through the corners.

Furthermore, though it wasn’t an easy decision, the track’s call to reduce this race from 500 to 400 miles was absolutely the right one to make.

Because of this change, we saw hard-driving all afternoon and zero complacency from the drivers who were only interested in logging laps.

Here’s hoping shorter races is a trend that other tracks start to follow.

(Pocono are you listening?)

With there being just one race in Southern California next season, let’s hope that creates a sense of urgency for the NASCAR fans in that area to come out in droves. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like watching a race from Fontana and seeing a barren grandstand on my television. I think it reflects poorly on our sport.

So a Big Gold Star to Auto Club Speedway for all that they accomplished this past weekend. With that out of the way, let’s move on to this week’s Power Poll.

1. (1) Jimmie Johnson
A 36-point lead with Charlotte, Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix – all tracks Jimmie Johnson wins on regularly – still to come, means this is the 48’s championship to win or lose.

2. (2) Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick has had no problem maintaining the consistency he had throughout the regular season. But it’s going to take more than running in the top-10 every week to win the championship. At some point over the next six weeks, this team is going to need to win a race.

Just don’t expect that to happen this weekend at Charlotte, where Harvick hasn’t recorded a top-10 since 2003. In his career, he has an average finish of 20.7 on the track referred to as “The Beast of the Southeast.”

3. (6) Tony Stewart
Since the green flag dropped at New Hampshire, you could say that Tony Stewart has been the driver to beat each week. The problem isn’t that anyone has necessarily beaten him; it’s more along the lines of he’s beaten himself. Running out of fuel at Loudon and speeding on pit road at Dover have resulted in him being 107 points in arrears of Jimmie Johnson.

4. (5) Denny Hamlin
At only 36 points out of first, Denny Hamlin has to feel really good about where he’s at points wise after four races. He’s yet to have led a lap, hasn’t finished worse than 12th and is coming up on some tracks where there’s going to be some mega (yeah, I’m using the word mega) opportunities to collect bonus points and race wins. Now, all he has to do is go out and get the job done on the track. No easy task.

5. (8) Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon finished ninth Sunday, but it could of and should have been better. All day the 24 car ran in or around the top-five. But when it mattered the most, on his final pit stop of the day, he went a little too fast and was subsequently penalized. You’d think a driver who’s won just a single race in the last 30 months would be a little more careful. I guess not.

6. (7) Ryan Newman
Over the last seven races, Ryan Newman’s average finish is a remarkable 7.85. This reminds me of the Childress cars a year ago, who after missing the Chase used the last part of the season to gear-up for 2010. You have to think if Newman can maintain this pace for the rest of the year; it could pay dividends in ’11.

7. (3) Kyle Busch
Had a surefire top-10 at Kansas and was wrecked. Had a surefire top-10 at Fontana and his engine went up in a plume of smoke. Some years things go your way, and other years they don’t. I’ll let you figure which kind of year Kyle Busch is having.

8. (4) Carl Edwards
I really thought Carl Edwards was going to have a good race at Fontana, which would have then propelled him into the thick of the title fight. That idea though, along with Edwards’ Ford Fusion, stalled out Sunday somewhere in Turn-4.

9. (14) Clint Bowyer
NASCAR has twice fined drivers this season for making comments that strongly suggested the sanctioning body wasn’t operating on the up-and-up. With Clint Bowyer publically questioning the validity of a caution that was thrown for debris late in the race, you have to think he’ll be receiving some sort of reprimand. Or, maybe NASCAR will feel that they’ve dealt enough to Bowyer lately and will give him a free pass.

10. (9) Greg Biffle
Like his Roush mate Carl Edwards, I figured Fontana was going to launch Greg Biffle up the standings. Instead, it did the exact opposite. As his 41st-place finish Sunday, due to a faulty power plant, put a final nail in his championship aspirations.

11. (NR) Mark Martin
It only took eight months, but Mark Martin is starting to show the form that won him five races a year ago. Better late than never I guess.

12. (10) Kurt Busch
It was a lost weekend all the way around for Kurt Busch. He lined up a seasons-worst, 38th Sunday, and in the race, he and his Miller crew could never tighten up his car enough to make it drivable. Not to mention he and David Ragan got together five laps from the finish. As I said, this is the epitome of a lost weekend.

13. (11) Jeff Burton
After a runner-up finish on the Monster Mile, it looked as if Jeff Burton was going to be this year’s Cinderella story. Well apparently the clock struck midnight the Monday after Dover, because since then, the driver nicknamed The Mayor has finished 18th and 23rd.

14. (12) Matt Kenseth
Sorry Matt Kenseth fans, it doesn’t look like your driver is going to win a race this season. Auto Club Speedway was his best chance to do so. He was competitive for a while, but you can’t win in NASCAR running on seven cylinders.

15. (NR) Kasey Kahne
In finishing fourth, we saw some signs of life from Kasey Kahne this past weekend. We’ll see if that continues to be the case Saturday night, on a track where’s won three times previously and hasn’t finished worse than 12th in his last six starts.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Monday’s Thoughts: Stewart Revives His Title Hopes With a Win

2010-10-11T12:06:00.009-05:00

For Tony Stewart, it wasn’t so much that he won the Pepsi Max 500, it was more that he survived on a day when so many didn’t.

With Chase drivers Greg Biffle (engine), Carl Edwards (distributor), Kyle Busch (engine), Matt Kenseth (engine), Kurt Busch (accident), Kevin Harvick (speeding penalty), Jeff Gordon (speeding penalty), Jeff Burton (ill-handling car) and Denny Hamlin (poor starting position) all self-destructing in various forms, it allowed Stewart to not only win for the 39th time in his career, but also opened the door for him to make a significant move up the championship points ladder.

Moving up from 10th in the standings to fifth, Stewart heads into Round 5 of the Chase a mere 107 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. A discrepancy that doesn’t seem so daunting when you consider in the last two weeks Stewart has been able to trim 55 points off the deficit between himself and the championship leader.

“You know, it's a situation where we were at and as many points as we were out and have been out since day one, we have the flexibility to just look forward and not worry about if we take a gamble and it doesn't work, said the Stewart”. “We still have to be mindful of it, obviously. But the penalty for us isn't that great when you're 10th in points. You can take a chance, and if it doesn't work out, what are you losing, two spots?”

But it wasn’t just having a big points day, in what was the final Chase race at Auto Club Speedway, that made the victory a special one for the owner-driver.

On a track that Jimmie Johnson has owned as of late Stewart was able to out run the driver who, coming in had won four of the past six races held on the 2-mile track located just outside of Los Angeles. Pulling away from Johnson and Clint Bowyer on the final restart with two laps to go and cruising home for his second win of 2010.

Although there was something bittersweet about yesterday’s result. Where would Tony Stewart be in the standings if he hadn’t run out of fuel while leading in the closing laps of the opening race of the Chase at New Hampshire?

On that day, the two-time series titlist had the fastest car. But coming to the white flag, his Chevrolet ran dry, and sent him plummeting all the way down to 24th in the final running order. In the process, he cost himself 99 valuable points. Points that could prove to be the difference between him winning his third Sprint Cup championship.

“You’re always going to think about what could have been,” explained Stewart’s crew chief Darian Grubb. “But we've got to go into every week planning to get maximum points, lead every lap and win the race, and after that we'll just see what else happens. If we do our job and execute, that's all we can ask for.”

With how fast the Office Depot/Old Spice car has been since the beginning of the Chase, and if the drivers who are in the Chase continue to shoot themselves in the foot like they did on Sunday, who knows, maybe those 99 points won’t come back to bite Stewart after all.

Except for one thing; counting on over half the Chase field to shoot themselves in the proverbial foot over the next six weeks is a no-win proposition.

###

For a track that has been much-maligned for its lack of excitement (and sparse attendance) – so much so, that it was shortened by 100 miles and had one of its two dates shifted to another facility – Sunday’s race was anything but dull.

Throughout the afternoon, we frequently saw drivers racing two and three-wide. In the closing laps on restarts, it wasn’t uncommon to see drivers fanned out four-wide heading into the corner. Similar to what we see at Talladega, where drivers run three-abreast for the majority of the afternoon.

So what made this race the best Fontana one yet, and why did we see so much side-by-side racing compared to years past?

The easy answer is with this race being 400 miles compared to its typical 500 miles; the field couldn’t be complacent Sunday.

Add in to the equation that this was the closest the Chase field had been after three races, and being conservative wasn’t an option for many of the sports bigger names.

It almost makes one wish that NASCAR hadn’t taken away one of Auto Club Speedway’s two races. The key word there of course, is, almost.
During his session with the media on Friday, Clint Bowyer explained how important it was for him to win another race before the season was out. He desperately wants to prove that his win at New Hampshire was legitimate and wasn’t a fluke that only happened because his Chevrolet Impala was cheated-up.

Well, that victory almost happened yesterday. If it weren’t for late yellow for debris, that he referred to as “mysterious” when he was interviewed by ESPN post-race, it would have been Bowyer, and not Stewart, who was celebrating his second win of the season.

Nonetheless, a runner-up finish that included him leading 40 laps, just one less than Mark Martin, who got the five bonus points for leading the most circuits, goes a long way in reestablishing Bowyer’s credibility.

Now about that debris caution Bowyer referred to.

“I saw it for a long time (referring to the debris that ultimately caused the caution on Lap 184 while Bowyer had a substantial lead). “The biggest one, though, was like a whole rear of a car laying down in 1 and 2 the first run. I guess they never saw that one. You know, I mean, hell, its part of it. What do you say? You know, I got one from Tony Stewart when he ran out of gas, and I felt like we had that race won until the caution came out, and he got one.”

Fair enough, but despite what he said in his post-race presser, and judging by his comments over the radio and what he said immediately following the race to ESPN, there’s little doubt that Clint Bowyer feels as if he’s been robbed by NASCAR twice in the past four weeks.

And it’s just a guess, but I think NASCAR might have a word or two with the Richard Childress driver for using the term “mystery caution.”
When does a third-place finish feel disappointing? When you’re Jimmie Johnson and you’re racing on a track where you’ve won four of the past six races.

That being said, on a day when numerous Chasers had a myriad of problems, finishing third and adding 28 points to your lead, should be looked at as a successful day.

One area of concern however, and the secret Achilles Heel of the 48 team, is their frequently slow pit stops. It happened last week at Kansas and again yesterday, where Johnson would hit pit road and leave four or five spots lower than where he came in.

As competitive as Sprint Cup racing is nowadays, and as hard as it is to pass cars on the track, a shoddy pit crew isn’t going to win Johnson his fifth straight title.

My guess: Chad Knaus will make it a point this week to schedule more practice time for a pit crew that has been dropping the ball with far too much regularity as of late.
A 21st-place finish at Kansas, followed by 35th-place finish yesterday as a result of a motor letting go, has left Kyle Busch, who was once regarded as a serious championship contender, ninth in points, 187 behind Jimmie Johnson.

The back-to-back disappointing finishes had Busch acknowledging the obvious as he drove his car back to the garage.

“There you have it. If anyone wasn't sure the championship is over, it certainly is now.”

Yes, yes, it is indeed over Kyle.
Sunday was a very good day for Chevrolet. Not only did they place seven cars inside the top-10, including the top-three finishers, but they also secured the 2010 Manufacture’s Cup. The 30th time the Bowtie Brigade has done so since the inception of the award in 1950.
On the other end of the spectrum, Sunday wasn’t as kind to Ford, which saw its FR9 engine go boom in a big way. A faulty engine ended a potential good run for Greg Biffle, and severely hampered the chances of Carl Edwards, who ended the day 13 laps down, and Matt Kenseth, who limped to the finish line on seven cylinders.
His fourth-place finish Sunday was the first time since Bristol, a span of six races, that Kasey Kahne recorded a top-five finish.
Though he came into the weekend with a six race stretch of finishing 11th or better, Ryan Newman’s fifth-place finish was his first top-five since his win at Phoenix in April.
Now that he has won his first race at Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas and Darlington are the only two tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule where Tony Stewart hasn’t picked up the checkered flag.

Pepsi Max 400 Preview

2010-10-09T15:52:00.007-05:00

What: Pepsi Max 400
Where: Auto Club Speedway (2-mile D-shaped oval)
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
When: October 10, 2010
Green Flag: 3:16 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
Defending Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Storylines Worth Following

Number of Fans in the Stands
This doesn’t have anything to do with what unfolds on the track, but one of the most talked about stories this weekend will be how many fans turn out for what will be NASCAR’s final fall stop to Southern California.

It’s no secret that the sparse crowd has been a significant issue in the last few years. So much so, for 2011 NASCAR has shifted one of Auto Club Speedway’s two dates to Kansas. It’s also no secret that if attendance continues to remain flat, NASCAR will almost be forced to consider removing the track from the Sprint Cup schedule all together.

Can Jack Roush Win Again at Fontana?
On the intermediate tracks, the Roush Fenway cars are always among the fastest. Particularly at Fontana, where since 2005, a Roush owned car has been to victory lane at least one race per year.

Coming off a win at Kansas (another intermediate track), and with a far superior aero package than they had when the series raced here in February, the Roush cars, namely Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, are going to be on the short list of contenders for the win Sunday.

How Quickly Can Kyle Forget Kansas?
Last weekend was a rough one for Kyle Busch. With a top-five car, it appeared as if it was going to be a good points day for the Joe Gibbs driver. That was until David Reuitmann got a little payback and sent Busch into wall and 21st-place finish.

Judging by his comments yesterday, when he said Reutimann “races him like an asshole every week” it’s apparent that Busch hasn’t forgotten what went down last Sunday in Kansas.

Although for the sake of his championship hopes, Busch might want to develop temporary memory loss. The 60-some points he lost in Kansas are gone, and the only way he can go about making up the ground he lost in the standings, is go out Sunday and have a solid day.

A Shorter Race = A Different Strategy
At Fontana, cautions tend to be few and far between; so expect to see a lot of long green-flag runs tomorrow. The number one key to winning will be maximizing your fuel mileage, and making as few a stops on pit road as possible. With the shortened race 100 miles, from 500 to 400, how this will affect pit strategy is yet to be determined.

Driver Speak
--Jeff Gordon on what it takes to win at Auto Club Speedway:

“Its slick, the grooves move around during the race and we haven’t had the success here recently that we’ve had in the past. Sometimes it takes fuel mileage. Sometimes it takes having a good car on the restarts. Sometimes pit strategy, but a lot of different things. I’ll take a fast car anywhere we go, that always helps. It’s going to be interesting this weekend being 400 miles instead of 500. How that’s going to change things, of course it always depends on when the cautions fall and how they fall. Being a little bit shorter race I think it always more exciting.”

Auto Club Speedway Track Records (Active)

Driver Wins: Jimmie Johnson (5)

Owner Wins: Hendrick Motorsports (9)

Manufacturer Wins: Ford (10)

Average Finish: Jimmie Johnson (5.5)

Laps Led: Jimmie Johnson (824)

Top-5s: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson (10)

Top-10s: Matt Kenseth (12)

Contenders
1. Jimmie Johnson
Without question, with four wins in the last six Fontana races, and an average finish of 5.5, Jimmie Johnson, who qualified eighth and was fastest in final practice, is the obvious, clear-cut favorite tomorrow.

2. Greg Biffle
There was a time when Greg Biffle dominated Fontana much in the same vain as Jimmie Johnson. While that time has come and gone, starting seventh tomorrow and coming off a win in Kansas, there’s no reason to think that the Roush Fenway driver can’t make it two wins in a row.

3. Carl Edwards
Jimmie Johnson may get most of the attention for his success on the two-mile track – and justifiably so -- but Carl Edwards’ record here isn’t one to sneeze at. In 12 career starts, the teammate of Greg Biffle has one win, six top-fives, 10 top-10s, and an average finish of 7.2.

Sleeper
Matt Kenseth
In his three victories at Auto Club Speedway, the 2003 Sprint Cup champion started 31st, 25th and 24th. Sunday he'll lineup third. When Matt Kenseth, a notorious poor qualifier, qualifies well, it makes everyone in the garage take notice that the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford is someone to pay attention to on raceday.

The Official Racing Geek Pick
There are some weeks you labor over who to pick; going back and forth numerous times, between a handful of drivers, trying to decipher why one driver has the advantage over another.

Other weeks, it's a little more easier as the favorite is fairly obvious and there’s little reason to pick anyone else.

Thankfully for me, this just so happens to be one of those weeks.

Jimmie Johnson owns Auto Club Speedway. In the last six races, four of which he’s won, he’s led 46 percent of the laps run. An absolutely staggering statistic in what is the most competitive era in NASCAR history. At this point, I’m surprised they haven’t changed the name of the track to Jimmie Johnson Speedway.

Maybe they will after his win tomorrow? Because I’m a lot of things, but I’m no dummy. There’s no way I’m picking against Johnson. I’m just not going to do it.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.