Tag: Chase for the Sprint Cup

Harvick Takes the Victory at Charlotte but Matt Kenseth Delivers the Final Blow

October 12, 2014
Issue with Helmet Cooling System to Blame for Jimmie Johnson’s Dehydration at Richmond

Jimmie Johnson’s team found a problem with his helmet’s cooling system that led to his dehydration following the race at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night. After an eighth place finish, as Johnson exited his car, he began experiencing leg cramps and dizziness. He was assisted to the infield care center where he received five liters of intravenous fluids.

“This afternoon just before I left for New York for my media obligations for NASCAR, the team found an issue with the cooling system for my helmet,” Johnson explained. “Basically, it was blowing warm air. It’s nice to have a good idea as to what went wrong and why I got so hot in the race car. It’s a newer system that we’ve implemented, so we’re just going back to our old faithful system that’s worked for years and years. We should have the problem rectified.”

The six-time champion is considered one of the fittest drivers in the garage, incorporating exercise and proper nutrition into his training regimen to stay at the top of his game.

“I’m always looking at different ways to adjust my routine and nutrition going into a race and coming out of a race,” he said. “I really felt like everything was in line (at Richmond) and still do after reviewing everything. Now after finding the helmet cooling issue, I’m confident in my plan going into races. We found the issue.”

“I feel much better,” Johnson continued. “I felt a lot better Saturday evening after the infield care center. I attended the triathlon that my foundation put on Sunday morning and then headed down to Charleston for a buddy’s wedding. But I’m doing much better and feeling good.”

He’s already looking ahead to the Chase and the media tour promoting it including appearances on NBC’s “Today” show and NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

“I’m excited to get started with the Chase and head to New York to do all the appearances that I have up there and make my way to Chicagoland for more appearances and media on Thursday,” he stated. “It’s an exciting time for our sport and an exciting time for the Lowe’s team.”

His primary focus, however, appears to be on the upcoming race as Johnson ended his remarks by saying, “I’m hoping to get started this weekend in Chicago with a win.”

September 9, 2014
Richmond Wasn’t What Was Advertised

Many fans seem to be disappointed in what they saw at Richmond over the weekend. Yes, we had two runaway races—Kyle Busch in the Nationwide race and Brad Keselowski in the Cup race, but there is a reason for that and it is something that many fail to understand. There are the haves and the have nots. The haves always win unless you’re at a road course or Daytona.

Today’s NASCAR is made up of three super teams. Those super teams are Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, Roush Fenway Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing. Those teams have accounted for 23 of the 26 wins this season. Of those teams, every one of them was qualified for the race before they got there, Only Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Danica Patrick were left to fight for a win—the only way they could be part of the Chase. Sure, there was the MWR team, weakened by last year’s fiasco at Richmond and Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex, Jr., but to be honest only the super teams had any chance of being competitive enough to win at Richmond, especially when Team Penske nailed the setup and ran away with the win.

As the television networks and the media always want to paint a picture of a rough and rowdy race at the end of the regular season or the final race at Homestead, it’s just never going to happen. The teams with the most resources will win the most races and one of those teams will hit the setup to win it all.

It didn’t used to be that way. In the history of NASCAR, especially in the days when they ran a lot of races, many different teams won (most were single car teams) and the manufacturers were all involved. Today, Chevrolet dominates with 14 wins this year with Ford getting 10, and Toyota two. Of 26 races, we had only 11 winners. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that we won’t have a crash fest at the last race before the Chase. It also doesn’t take a genius to understand that only the final race of the Chase might create that, but my guess is it won’t. If you don’t have a car good enough to keep up with the front runners, you certainly won’t at Richmond or Homestead.

I’m sure the story will be the elimination at three, nine and at the end (or whatever it is), but I’d bet the retirement fund that the final four will come from the final four teams (and I include, once again, SHR in the Hendrick camp). Spin it any way you want, but the drama will only come when the final four is evident, and maybe not then. Just like Brad K hit the setup on Saturday night, the great teams have a way of running away with it.

September 8, 2014
Pure Domination by Keselowski at Richmond

September 7, 2014
Jamie McMurray Hoping to Score Win to Secure Chase Bid

Heading into this weekend, Jamie McMurray is one of the drivers hoping to reach victory lane so that way he can stamp his ticket for the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“I feel like our cars have been really good at the mile and a half, all of them this year,” he commented earlier this week. “That’s a little bit of a unique track because we only go there once a year. It certainly is — has the most fall-off of any track we go to as far as the tires go.

“So it’s just like anywhere else. It will be like being in the right position after the last pit stop and hoping everything falls your way.”

There is the opportunity for McMurray to do it as he qualified 15th and has been strong at Atlanta in the past with four top-10 finishes in 20 starts. He also notes that his team “tends to run better than where we’ve finished” as they haven’t been able to master adjusting the car on the last pit stop and putting themselves in position. As a result, he only has two top-fives and seven top-10s in the 24 races this far this season.

“If we can just put a whole weekend together and be able to finish off as well as or better than we ran throughout the race, yeah, I feel like the next two races should be really good for us. I hope we’re able to put it all together in one of those,” he commented. ”

McMurray is also hopeful following a solid test at Chicagoland, where he felt that his team learned some things for this weekend.

“There were a lot of teams there — all the Roush, Stewart-Haas, Michael Waltrip. And there was a lot of cars there, so they put a little rubber down. And we had a little bit of everything with rain multiple times and then also just incredibly hot temperatures. So you kind of got to see everything the track was going to do,” he comemnted. “And it was — you know, it’s good, I felt like, to have the 4 car there. He’s been — you know, I would say, if you had to pick a car all year long that’s been the fastest raw speed, the 4 car’s been that guy. So it was nice to kind of have a baseline to know what’s probably going to be fast when you go back.

“So I thought we had a really good test.”

Though, while the opportunity looms large, it can sometimes bring added pressure. McMurray says that hasn’t been the case so far as he hasn’t lain awake at night thinking of his chances.

“I mean, you just race everything single week to win,” he added. “So even though we’re down to two races, it’s really not any different than it was at the Daytona 500, the first race of the year. The goal is the same every week. You can’t really do anything different just because we’re down to two races.

“So, yeah, it’s just a regular weekend, and you go, and you perform your best.”

There is also the possibility of the intensity growing on track as the weeks tick by, though McMurray doesn’t see that either with people feeling tired right now due to the busy testing schedule.

“We tested Chicago the last two days, and after getting home from Bristol at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and then getting up at 5:00 a.m. to go to Chicago and test for two days, I think most of the people that are on that plan, we’re all worn out by the time we even get to Atlanta,” he noted. “So I don’t know if you have time really to worry about anything or have a different vibe. I think the Hendrick cars were at Martinsville this week. I think most of the garage is really busy, and you don’t have time to think about what’s going on. You’re just racing and testing and doing everything that goes along with that.”

August 30, 2014
NASCAR – The Men Behind the Curtain

The governing body of NASCAR is reminiscent of the ‘Great Oz’ with its true agenda hidden behind a curtain of mystery. Sleight of hand and misdirection create the illusion that NASCAR is a sport driven by the desires of its passionate fans.

They almost pull it off until something happens like the debacle at Richmond at the end of the regular season last year when the race results were blatantly manipulated to ensure certain drivers made it into the Chase. After a few days to review the incidents, NASCAR reacted by issuing fines and penalties. The boldest move was the addition of an unprecedented 13th driver (Jeff Gordon) to the Sprint Cup Chase.

When the fans suggested that NASCAR was equally as guilty of manipulation as those being penalized, Chairman Brian France was quick to establish who is in charge.” I am Oz the great and powerful,” he proclaimed. Well, maybe not in those exact words, but France emphasized that the governing body has the authority to make whatever changes are deemed necessary to “protect the integrity, which is our number one goal of NASCAR.”

The aftermath of this ruling brought out comparisons of NASCAR to the world of wrestling and did little to preserve the integrity of a sport that often struggles to define its identity. Is it sports, entertainment or perhaps a convoluted mixture of the two?

Race results have been manipulated in one form or another since stock car racing began. These instances have run the gamut from the standard practice of allowing ones teammates to pass so that they can gain extra points to drivers being told to let someone else win.

Darrell Waltrip found himself in one such predicament in 1990, his final year with Hendrick Motorsports. It was the first year since 1974 that Waltrip was winless.

But according to Waltrip’s recollection in his book, ‘DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles,’ he won at North Wilkesboro Speedway on April 22, 1990 in the First Union 400. Yet, Brett Bodine is credited as the official winner due to a scoring error.

According to the explanation given in the book, “NASCAR, and even Larry McReynolds, the crew chief at the time for Brett Bodine, later admitted to Waltrip, that Bodine did not actually win the race. Jeff Hammond, Waltrip’s crew chief, appealed to NASCAR officials to correct what was clearly an error in NASCAR’s scoring of the event.”

Waltrip took his protest to Bill France Jr. and was told by France to “leave that boy alone, D.W., that’s his first win and you are going to win a lot more races.”

NASCAR history is filled with similar examples. These were all accepted practices, until they weren’t. Who determines what is fair, where the line is drawn and who keeps moving the line? It’s often difficult to determine who is pulling the strings but in today’s world of social media, the fans have added their collective voice to shape the perceptions of right and wrong. NASCAR says that they are listening.

This season brought more machinations by NASCAR to deliver the type of racing they believe fans want with rule changes to the Sprint Cup Chase format that place more emphasis on winning. However, many fans have been adamant in their dislike of a system that places more value on one win than a season of competitiveness.

The changes were also intended to promote more competitive racing and discourage points racing. Over half of the race finishes this season have been impacted by late race cautions. Coincidence or design?

Is this a true reflection of what fans desire or NASCAR’s misguided interpretation of “I know I’m not the wizard you expected but I might be the wizard you need.”

This was never more evident than this past weekend at Richmond International Raceway when Marcos Amrbose and Casey Mears had an altercation after the race. A shove by Mears and a right cross by Ambrose overshadowed Logano’s second win of the season.

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that this fight will make it onto the highlight reel as it showcases what many fans love about short track racing. These tracks are known for intense racing and competitors with short fuses. It also fits right in with the on again, off again motto of “Have at it Boys,” that NASCAR likes to dust off when the racing becomes a little too predictable

Once again, however, NASCAR intervened with fines and probations issued to the drivers involved. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that their rule book has been updated to make the line between what is appropriate and what isn’t, more readily apparent. But there are still enough gray areas that the fans can never anticipate which ruling NASCAR will pull from their hat.

Quotes from the film, ‘The Wizard of Oz’

May 3, 2014

Hot 20 over the past 10, the past 5, and how Talladega could change everything

A Top Ten finish for ten straight races, and a driver would accumulate a minimum of 340 points. That is hot. Kevin Harvick, and the Busch boys are that hot, but Matt Kenseth has been nearly 40 points hotter, so a bad day at Talladega on Sunday would mean he would make his championship dreams more of a challenge. The others go down and so do their hopes.

Jimmie Johnson is still rated as cool over the past ten, but remains second in the Chase. His is a case of earning just 69 points in the five pre-Chase races that do not count toward the title and the 209 he has claimed in the five that do. Kenseth, with his two wins in the Chase, has accumulated 210 over the last five, as this chart would sport a slightly different look if we took into account only what has happened since Chicago instead of Watkins Glen.

	Driver	Win	T5	T10	Points
1	Matt Kenseth	2	3	4	210
2	Jimmie Johnson	1	4	5	209
3	Kevin Harvick	1	2	4	190
4	Jeff Gordon	0	2	4	189
5	Kyle Busch	0	4	4	176

But then, I would have to change the title of this column. Barring misfortune, we should see Johnson charging up these standings over the final four events. Barring misfortune, we should see Kenseth maintaining his hold on the point position. Barring misfortune, we should see Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch battling it out to see who finishes third. Barring the Big One at Talladega, there are a lot of things we might be expected to see, but what we have come to expect from the big track could change the fortunes of more than a few by the end of Sunday. It was just one year ago when we had a massive 25 car demolition on the final lap at Talladega. Kenseth was ahead of the pack and won that day. Can he be so fortunate in 2013?

Here is a look at the hottest 20 drivers over the past 10 events.

	Driver	Win	T5	T10	Points	LW	Rank
1	Matt Kenseth	3	4	6	379	1	1
2	Kevin Harvick	1	3	6	343	6	3
3	Kyle Busch	2	6	6	341	5	5
4	Kurt Busch	0	5	6	340	2	7
5	Jeff Gordon	0	2	7	337	4	4
6	Joey Logano	1	5	6	337	3	11
7	Greg Biffle	0	1	4	324	7	6
8	Ryan Newman	0	2	5	313	8	12
9	Jamie McMurray	0	2	2	306	9	15
10	Carl Edwards	1	3	6	306	10	10
11	Juan Pablo Montoya	0	2	3	296	14	22
12	Paul Menard	0	2	4	293	12	17
13	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	0	1	5	284	11	9
14	Marcos Ambrose	0	0	3	283	12	19
15	Brad Keselowski	1	2	3	282	16	14
16	Jimmie Johnson	1	4	6	278	17	2
17	Jeff Burton	0	0	2	273	18	20
18	Kasey Kahne	0	2	3	271	15	13
19	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	0	0	2	267	21	21
20	Clint Bowyer	0	1	4	246	22	8
21	Martin Truex, Jr.	0	2	4	244	19	16
22	Aric Almirola	0	0	1	242	20	18

October 17, 2013

The Final Word – After New Hampshire, we are down to three contenders heading to Dover

No one wishes Matt Kenseth any bad fortune, but if something should happen, like a 35th place at Dover next weekend, I am sure a dozen other fellows would not be terribly upset.

Things have gone so right for the 2003 Cup champion since moving from the Roush to the Gibbs racing stable. For the first time, he has won seven races in a single season, and for the first time in 28 starts he is a winner in New Hampshire. All this in his 500th career start, where only Richard Petty was victorious on the day he reached the same milestone.

Come to think of it, bad things for both Kenseth and team mate Kyle Busch probably would not tear up the opposition terribly much. Rowdy has ran second in both Chase events, and trails Matt by 14 points in the chase for the title. Let us sum up. Over the past five events, Carl Edwards won a race, Kyle won another, and Kenseth has claimed three. So much for sharing.

Jimmie Johnson remains in the hunt, and as of right now he is the only other invitee to this party. A fourth place result, following a fifth at Chicago, has him 18 points in the rearview. That is just half the distance the fourth ranked team of Edwards is sitting, with seven of the 13 contenders now 40 or more points back. They need to see smoke, bad tires, bad handling, loose lug nuts, a broken jack, a meeting with a wall, an alien abduction of a certain somebody, something to get them all back into contention.

Rating New Hampshire – 6/10 – I believe I have seen more exciting soccer games. It was not an entertaining broadcast by any measure, not visually and certainly not from the announcers, unless you were cheering for Kenseth or Shrub. If so, give it a 9. With ESPN departing after next season, do not expect things to improve anytime soon. Well, not until February.

Expect Johnson to do well at Dover on Sunday, where he has won 7 in 23 attempts, compiling 16 Top Tens. Mind you, nine Chasers have wins there, with Kenseth having a couple himself. Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Kasey Kahne have not yet tasted victory on the Monster Mile. In nine races, Logano has led just one lap, but considering what went down at Loudon he just might win the damn thing. Well, maybe if he still drove for Joe Gibbs.

But that honor belongs to Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, with Jimmie Johnson a Hendrick co-star in this production as they move to Delaware. As long as that trio continues to run well, this Chase is over for the other ten. Enjoy the week.

September 23, 2013

Crunching The Numbers: Atlanta

After three nights of battling in the bullring that is Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Labor Day weekend and more racing under the lights on the fast 1.5 mile speedway. With a track surface that is old and worn, having not been repaved since its reconfiguration in 1997, the track has gotten rave reviews from drivers who enjoy slipping and sliding around on the worn out asphalt. The Sprint Cup Series will have their shot at the track on Sunday night, while the Nationwide Series takes to the track the night before for their race.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Only two races remain until the cut-off for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the points standings heading into this weekend’s race are still as tight as they were prior to Bristol. After having a 77 point lead just two weeks ago, Jimmie Johnson’s points lead has shrunk to 18 points over second place Clint Bowyer after finishes of 40th and 36th in the past two races. Both Johnson and Bowyer are locked into the Chase and with his win last weekend at Bristol, Matt Kenseth locked himself into the Chase as well. Several drivers are fighting for the remaining Chase berths, with only 24 points separating Kasey Kahne in eighth with defending champion Brad Keselowski in 11th. Two other former Sprint Cup champions, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon, are lurking just behind Keselowski, only six and 11 points back, respectively. The fight to make the Chase is going to come right down to the wire and how these drivers perform at Atlanta will go a long way in helping their Chase fortunes.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Jimmie Johnson	21	3	11	13	0	440	8.6	11.1
Jeff Gordon	39	5	16	25	2	1280	12.3	11.9
Dale Earnhardt Jr	25	1	8	11	2	632	16.2	12.5
Matt Kenseth	24	0	8	14	0	253	21.6	12.7
AJ Allmendinger	7	0	0	2	0	1	27.9	14.4
Carl Edwards	15	3	8	10	0	345	10.3	15.1
Greg Biffle	18	0	3	9	1	291	12.5	16.0
Denny Hamlin	13	1	2	5	1	314	13.4	16.2
Brian Vickers	15	0	1	7	0	8	16.2	16.4
Jeff Burton	35	0	8	14	0	104	25.3	16.5

Who To Watch: After two dismal finishes in the past two weeks, Jimmie Johnson has to be happy to be heading to Atlanta this weekend since his stats at the 1.5 mile track are tops in the series. In 21 starts, Johnson has three wins, 11 top fives, 13 top tens, 440 laps led, and an average finish of 11.1.

Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., fall in second and third with their stats at Atlanta. Gordon has 39 starts, with five wins, 16 top fives, 25 top tens, two poles, 1280 laps led and an average finish of 11.9. In 25 starts, Earnhardt Jr., has one win, eight top fives, 11 top tens, two poles, 632 laps led, and an average finish of 12.5.

Besides the Hendrick Motorsports contingent, others who run well at Atlanta include: Five-time winner in 2013, Matt Kenseth, with eight top fives, 14 top tens, 253 laps led, and an average finish of 12.7 in 24 starts; A.J. Allmendinger, with two top tens, one lap led, and an average finish of 14.4 in seven starts; Carl Edwards, with three wins, eight top fives, 10 top tens, 345 laps led, and an average finish of 15.1 in 15 starts; and Greg Biffle, with three top fives, nine top tens, one pole, 291 laps led, and an average finish of 16.0 in 18 starts.

NASCAR Nationwide Series – Great Clips/Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

With 10 races remaining in the Nationwide Series schedule, the points standings remain tight after Bristol with just 39 points separating the top five in points and the gap for Sam Hornish, Jr. over second place Austin Dillon sitting at just six points. None of the top five in points has been able to win at Atlanta heading into this weekend, so if any of the championship contenders find themselves in Victory Lane or find trouble on Saturday night, the points standings could be shaken up once again.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Austin Dillon	1	0	0	1	0	0	9.0	6.0
Joey Logano	2	0	0	2	0	0	10.5	6.0
Cole Whitt	1	0	0	1	0	0	12.0	8.0
Kevin Harvick	11	1	6	8	0	376	8.2	8.5
Justin Allgaier	4	0	1	2	0	15	20.0	10.2
Kasey Kahne	11	0	4	7	1	95	10.5	10.6
Sam Hornish Jr	2	0	0	1	0	1	5.5	12.0
Kyle Busch	9	0	5	6	3	490	3.4	13.9
Michael Annett	4	0	0	1	0	0	23.5	16.2
Brian Scott	3	0	0	0	0	0	21.3	17.0

Who To Watch: With the points lead up for grabs, Austin Dillon has to be happy to be at Atlanta this weekend since he has the best stats of the series at the track. In his lone start at Atlanta last season, Dillon started ninth and finished sixth.

Sprint Cup regular Joey Logano, driving the dominant No. 22 Ford this weekend, falls in just behind Dillon with two top tens in two starts, giving him an average finish of 6.0.

Others to keep an eye on include: Cole Whitt, with an eighth place finish in one start at the track; Kevin Harvick, with one win, six top fives, eight top tens, 376 laps led, and an average finish of 8.5 in 11 starts; Justin Allgaier, with one top five, two top tens, 15 laps led, and an average finish of 10.2 in four starts; Kasey Kahne, with four top fives, seven top tens, one pole, 95 laps led, and an average finish of 10.6 in 11 starts; and points leader Sam Hornish, Jr., with one top ten, one lap led, and an average finish of 12.0 in two starts.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

With the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series headlining at Atlanta, the Camping World Truck Series heads to Canada for their inaugural race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park near Toronto, which also is the first race for the series outside of the United States and marks the return to a road course for the first time since 2000. This race is basically a toss-up since only one driver in the field, Ron Hornaday Jr., has previous Truck Series road course experience, so this will be an interesting race to see who will become the inaugural race winner. The Trucks will take to the track for their race on Sunday afternoon, prior to the Sprint Cup Series race from Atlanta later that night.

August 28, 2013

Kasey Kahne: Chase or bust?

[media-credit name=”Greg Arthur ” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]It’s quite hard to tell whether Kasey Kahne will make the Chase this year or not. With two wins, it’s fair to say that since joining Hendrick Motorsports this season that Kahne has done better than previous years. As many of you already know, he’s already won at Charlotte and New Hampshire. However, he’s had his fair share of bad luck this season too.

Kahne has been as low as thirty-third in the series point standings this season. Hard to believe, right? It all started during Daytona 500 practice when he wrecked his primary car. He was then tangled up in a wreck during the Daytona 500 itself. From there the bad luck just kept going on and on. Results showed zero top tens in the first six races. Kahne fans were ready to give up Chase hopes! Until we finally hit Texas, when he finally got the top ten he was looking for.

Texas seemed to be a turning point for Kahne. Once he finally got a good finish and the good finishes continued. Getting seven top tens in a row. After that, the bad luck started up again at Pocono and continued on through Sonoma. His next top ten finishes were in Kentucky and Daytona, finishing second and seventh. The week after Daytona, he went on to win what was a very tough race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway holding off a hard charging Denny Hamlin.

The win at New Hampshire gave him two wins on the season and put him in the first wild card spot for the Chase. With his fair share of bad and good luck, everybody has been wondering, can he make it in? He does have a wild card spot right now but there are still seven races left until the Chase cutoff. Anything can happen. Coming off of the win in New Hampshire and the well deserved off-week, I think he could very well continue his momentum all the way to Richmond and maybe even just get in by cracking the top ten.

What do you think will happen with Kasey Kahne? Only time will tell.

July 25, 2012