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  • Hot 20 – The season’s best driver does not always claim the Cup championship

    Hot 20 – The season’s best driver does not always claim the Cup championship

    There is something about having a single win and getting into the Chase. It gives everyone a chance, one that for some would have pretty much been gone in the wind. Kurt Busch is having about as much luck as Danica Patrick right now, but he has his win. If Danica could just get one, somehow, somewhere, she also could launch herself amongst our contenders. It is that simple. Heck, even Josh Wise could make some noise if he could win, and work his way into the Top 30. Everyone in the Top 36, in fact, still has hope, and that might be a good thing. If not, then the debate as to who will be our new champion would be down to talking about no more than nine or ten drivers.

    Using today’s point system, but giving the winner 25 points instead of just 3, the Hendrick duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson rise to the top. Yet, should Matt Kenseth take the prize at Pocono on Sunday he would take over the top rung no matter what the other two boys did. Winning has its privileges, and while it is not as generous or as forgiving as the official method, this does offer a truer reflection of who is hot and who is not.

    If you are a sponsor of Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, or Kevin Harvick, you should be pleased. At the one-third mark of the season, those drivers and the aforementioned trio have been the most relevant each week, with a nod to Denny Hamlin. He remains close even after having to take an extra week off. Yes, that win does help.

    Being the best over the course of the season has never ensured a driver of a championship, no matter what points system or method has been used in the past. Jimmie Johnson (2004), Ryan Newman (2003), Jeff Gordon (1996), Rusty Wallace (1994), Bill Elliott (1985), Darrell Waltrip (1984), and David Pearson (1973) are just the most recent examples. Come to think of it, I wonder how we would look at Newman today had his 8 wins trumped the single victory of Kenseth in determining the crown that season? How would our perceptions have changed in regards to the likes of Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Terry Labonte, and Benny Parsons?

    While we will watch each week to see if a win can salvage somebody’s season, to witness which 16 will be eligible for the title, and who gets eliminated from contention over the final ten events, we should try and remember the drivers who gave us cause to watch each and every week. Here are the hot 20 who have done just that this season.

    (Win bonus increased from 3 points to 25)

    Driver – Points (Wins)
    1 Jeff Gordon – 483 (1)
    2 Jimmie Johnson – 480 (2)
    3 Matt Kenseth – 463
    4 Carl Edwards – 460 (1)
    5 Joey Logano – 458 – (2)
    6 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 451 (1)
    7 Kyle Busch – 433 (1)
    8 Brad Keselowski – 426 (1)
    9 Kevin Harvick – 417 (2)
    10 Denny Hamlin – 401 (1)
    11 Kyle Larson – 377
    12 Ryan Newman – 374
    13 Brian Vickers – 366
    14 Paul Menard – 362
    15 Austin Dillon – 358
    16 Greg Biffle – 357
    17 Clint Bowyer – 350
    18 Kasey Kahne – 349
    19 Aric Almirola – 344
    20 A.J. Allmendinger – 337

     

     

  • The Final Word – Dover is over and now to Pocono where Jimmie has not won for an entire year!

    The Final Word – Dover is over and now to Pocono where Jimmie has not won for an entire year!

    Even a ball player could appreciate Jimmie Johnson’s average at Dover, having gone 9 for 25 for a sweet .360 average. Sunday, Johnson led much of the way to lock down his second of the season. Brad Keselowski, who has a win, finished second while Matt Kenseth, who does not, was third. That fact should not be cause to worry at the moment, as Kenseth still has more points than anyone, even without a victory to his credit. If this keeps up, he might not need one.

    Tony Stewart needs a win to make the Chase, but a seventh place result was as good as it got. Kevin Harvick has two wins, but a flat as they came to green after a caution removed him from the lead and contention. Kurt Busch, who has a win and precious little else, was one back of Harvick, in 18th. As for Danica Patrick, if 25th is a decent day, she was better than decent by two positions.

    Some teams you expect to be better, some not. Not much is expected from the BK Racing trio of Cole Whitt (27th), Ryan Truex (32nd), and Alex Bowman (40th) and we were not surprised. We thought Roush would be running better, but Carl Edwards (14th) was as good as it got for those boys as circumstances left Greg Biffle (38th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr (41st) all torn up. Hendrick may have won, but Penske had the better average with Keselowski and Joey Logano both in the Top Ten.

    When is all clear not all clear? Ask Clint Bowyer or, better yet, ask Kyle Busch. Seeking the weekend Dover three-peat, Busch was charging to the outside of Bowyer, but that is not what his spotter told him. It was clear to us that Rowdy was looking to the outside, only to wind up squeezed into the fence and out of the race. He had definite evil intentions aimed at his rival, but the guy he really should have wanted was high up in the grandstands. Oops.

    When is debris not really debris? It is not if you run over a chunk of concrete and reduce it in size by blasting it to chunks and dust. Ask Jamie McMurray, who was the beneficiary of the gift of masonry Ryan Newman kicked up just in front of him from the newly formed pothole. McMurray clobbered it but good to split his splitter and send him fence-ward. Interestingly enough, he was 16th at the time, yet finished 13th.

    While I shall miss FOX, I believe TNT’s coverage of NASCAR is the superior. Should we discover Pocono to be boring, yet we continue to watch primarily due to the entertainment provided by the announcers, then we have found folks who know how to do their job.

    Why don’t the New York Yankees play three of four games a month against minor league teams on national television? The reason is that would be stupid, but enough about Kyle Busch.

    As long as there are less than 16 race winners, wins lock you into the Chase while being the best in points will still get you there. Welcome to a world where Kurt Busch can lead Matt Kenseth in the standings, where a single victory trumps having more points than anybody else. That means that by this time next week, anyone from the top 36 could find themselves in the Chase by simply winning this Sunday at Pocono. Nothing to it.

     

    SWEET SIXTEEN
    1 Jimmie Johnson – 2 WINS – 436 Points
    2 Joey Logano – 2 WINS – 414
    3 Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS – 373
    4 Jeff Gordon -1 WIN – 461
    5 Carl Edwards -1 WIN – 438
    6 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 1 WIN – 429
    7 Kyle Busch – 1 WIN – 411
    8 Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN – 404
    9 Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN – 379
    10 Kurt Busch – 1 WIN – 241
    11 Matt Kenseth – 463 POINTS
    12 Kyle Larson – 377
    13 Ryan Newman – 374
    14 Brian Vickers – 366
    15 Paul Menard – 362
    16 Austin Dillon – 358

    CONTENDERS AND PRETENDERS
    17 Greg Biffle – 357
    18 Clint Bowyer – 350
    19 Kasey Kahne – 349
    20 Aric Almirola – 344
    21 A.J. Allmendinger – 337
    22 Tony Stewart – 336
    23 Marcos Ambrose – 331
    24 Jamie McMurray – 317
    25 Casey Mears – 301
    26 Martin Truex, Jr. – 289
    27 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 261
    28 Danica Patrick – 239
    29 Justin Allgaier – 223
    30 Michael Annett – 188

    PARTICIPANTS
    31 Cole Whitt – 181
    32 David Gilliland – 175
    33 Reed Sorenson – 165
    34 David Ragan – 158
    35 Alex Bowman – 156
    36 Josh Wise – 149

     

  • Possible Engine Failure Terminates Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Night in Charlotte

    Possible Engine Failure Terminates Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Night in Charlotte

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s night in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway went drastically haywire after engine issues, during the latter stages, prohibited him from competing inside the top dozen.

    Earnhardt Jr., who’s never won the famed Memorial Day event at Charlotte, finished 19th, two laps down, after nursing his machine to the checkered flag with a sour engine an intense vibration.

    “(The car) was trying to blow up. We had a lot of real high water pressure and a real bad vibration,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “The vibration was so bad I was afraid to hold it wide open because it would just get so bad at the end of the straightaway. I thought we were about to break the motor. “

    “We came in (to the pits) and knocked the pressure out of it and the vibration slowly got better and never completely went away. Something (was) wrong with the car.”

    Hendrick Motors – which supplies for multiple teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – will have to return to shop and diagnose the problem this week, according to Earnhardt.

    ‘We don’t know (what happened). We have to find out,” Earnhardt Jr. further expressed. “They’ll take it back and see what’s wrong with (the car). I’m glad we tried to keep going. I don’t know what’s wrong with it but we’ve got a little problem with that car. But it was very fast. I’m very happy with the speed.”

    ‘June Bug’, who won the Daytona 500 earlier this season, told reporters he felt fortunate to finish the race rather then in the garage, making his night easier to cope with.

    “I’m real happy with the speed in the car. We were able to at least finish 19th tonight. We could have blown up and finished in the back. We had a really good fast car and I’m really excited about all the races coming up,” Earnhardt added.

    Though, after having a disappointing result, Junior understands that teams struggle on occasions, however, he wants to dismiss the negative and begin exploiting the positives heading into the summer months

    “You’re going to have some bad weeks and you’ve got to be able to roll with them. This was one of them and we just have to look at the positives and try not to dwell too much on what happened,” Earnhardt concluded with. “We just need to go home and find out what it was and see if we can learn something.”

  • “You Know They Don’t Want You To Win”

    “You Know They Don’t Want You To Win”

    I could not believe it when I heard it. The small snippet on the scanner conversation between Jimmie Johnson, who had just blown a sure win by jumping the start in Sunday’s Fed Ex 400, spotter Earl Barban, and crew chief Chad Knaus. I thought I heard the quote, but having it replayed today on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio channel proved I did hear that. My only question is who is “they” and why do they not want Johnson to win?

    Knaus uttered the words, as far as I can tell, but I think he meant NASCAR, a criticism that might be cause for a big fine if spoken on ESPN, but apparently scanner communications are not considered as bad as national television. Nevertheless, for a team who has won so much and been so brilliant, it seemed a little extreme for me. Let me just say that Jimmie Johnson will go down in the annals of NASCAR history as one of the greatest of all time, but the arrogance of the whole situation turns me off. It’s probably just me, but he was not the first driver penalized for jumping the start, and no, NASCAR doesn’t have an agenda against any driver. Johnson broke the rules and he was penalized.

    I’ve met Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson, and Rick Hendrick. They are all nice fellows and have been cordial when I’ve talked to them. I like them a lot. Hendrick has that southern charm, Johnson looks you in the eye when he talks to you and Knaus is a walking encyclopedia who is always on task and never gets off of task, but there is an arrogance that disturbs me. The attitude is that they are the best (which they are) and they let everyone know it. They couldn’t have made a mistake because they don’t make mistakes. On the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media Tour, we were bussed to the Hendrick shops where the event was held in the Hendrick Motorsports gift shop, and there upon one wall was Rick Hendrick’s 10 Keys to Success. They are not much different than the corporation I am a part of, but one of the keys says, “Learn to accept your mistakes, but make them only once.” Apparently, they forgot that part of the 10 keys.

    Johnson, even with the mistake, still is 30 points or 30 positions ahead of Carl Edwards. Less than a race ahead of the No. 99 driver, but it is still a handsome lead. He will win the regular season championship (which means nothing) and if it holds, will be the odds-on favorite to win another championship, but for the No. 48 team to think that NASCAR doesn’t want them to win is ludicrous. They don’t operate that way. They are the best, they know it, and they have a problem with being called out on their mistakes, I find it even more interesting that Jeff Gordon felt like he had to wreck Clint Bowyer at Phoenix because he robbed owner Hendrick of his big win at Martinsville. Really?

    There is nothing I hate more than arrogance, but it seems that one teams feels it is their Devine Right to win races, and that troubles me. I see a NASCAR world where victories are equally distributed between all teams, regardless who is the owner or how many championships they’ve won. Chad was right, the “they” he talked about was the fans and not the sanctioning body. A day when more than Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports do not lead the majority of the laps, and competition is evened out—that is what the fans want. That makes it up to Roush, Petty, Childress, Ganassi, and Penske to change this arrogance to real competition.

  • Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules

    Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules

    My friend Monte Dutton, who is one of the best or probably was one of the best writers on the NASCAR beat, tweeted Saturday night that unlike normal races, the format actually seems to encourage all hell breaking loose UNTIL the end. That was the case on Saturday. There was a lot of good racing and lots of rubbing, but in retrospect, we should have known what was going to happen. The first four 20-lap segments proved one thing—if you got up front, you were going to be there at the end. No matter what NASCAR has tried to do with this Gen 6 car, the dreaded aero-push still exists. So, whenever Kyle or Kurt or Jimmie got in front, they were off to the races. One by one, they got the lead and couldn’t be headed in each segment.

    It seems to only happen on the 1.5-mile tracks, or maybe it’s my imagination, but at different times it seemed that Kurt or Kyle, or even Carl or Kasey had the best, almost unbeatable car. In the end, it was the guy who led last, and that was Jimmie Johnson who drove into the sunset, as usual. Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, have all this figured out. No matter where you start, get to the front late and drive away. They constantly outsmart most teams, which is better than having a great driver which is not to discredit Jimmie Johnson. He is a great driver.

    That is one of the reasons why I have contended for a long time that the domination of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports is one small factor in the demise or at least one of the factors why NASCAR is not what it was fifteen or even twenty years ago. Yes, Richard Petty, the King, dominated in the 60’s, and others dominated at different times, but never at the length that the Hendrick Motorsports teams have, especially at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 1.5 mile tracks. Given that the final ten races are dominated by such tracks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we’ve already seen who is going to win the NASCAR championship and his name is Johnson. Last year, bad luck played into that scenario, but without that happening, there are no drivers like Brad Keselowski on the horizon to challenge him. Of course, the great part is you never know. Hendrick Chevrolets and Gibbs Toyota dominate the series, but as the season goes along and the expertise of the Hendrick teams continue to shine, we know the outcome, if Jimmie is out front at the end.

    Who could be the challenger? Naming them is difficult. Competition from the Chevrolet side would include Johnson’s teammates, but others pale by comparison, and that’s a problem. You might make an argument for Kevin Harvick, but we’ve seen less than stellar performance from any of the Richard Childress Racing team. With so many Chevrolets in the lineup—they dominate—it seems Johnson’s main competition is in house.

    Toyota has several challengers. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch from Gibbs (and maybe Denny Hamlin if he can perform a miracle), and Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr. from Michael Waltrip Racing seem to be the best bets. The smart money would be on Kenseth, Busch, or Bowyer, but consistency is a problem so far.

    Ford only has Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski, the defending champion who seems to have been forgotten in all of this, should be at the top of the list and would be if not for that nasty penalty he and Joey Logano received earlier. I look for Keselowski to come on at the end after they are totally comfortable with the new car. Joey Logano is a year away, although his talent is coming through. His second place finish in the Showdown was impressive. Edwards, though not a factor in most races to win, is showing the consistency that crew chief Jimmy Fenning brought Kenseth for so long. Greg Biffle is out to lunch so far and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., though a rookie, is showing signs of improvement and could be a spoiler later on.

    In the end, Johnson, who is more than a race ahead of any challenger, will go into the last ten races with a huge advantage, one that will be difficult to overcome. If that happens, it won’t be the drivers’ loss as much as NASCAR. Knowing who is going to win before they play the game (or race) is not going to get more fans in the seats or drive ratings. It’s a problem, but not to the Hendrick guys. They are paid to dominate and it’s up to the opposition to catch up. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened lately. Let’s hope that changes soon.

  • A Controversy a Week…

    A Controversy a Week…

    A controversy a week seems to be the rule this season. We’ve had Kyle Larson going into the fence at Daytona followed by Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin at Bristol, closely followed by Joey Logano and Denny again at California and then the unexpected Joey and Tony near fight (water bottle toss) at California, followed by the Penske teams and rear housings at Texas. Let’s look at the facts.

    The Daytona accident is still yet to be solved. Several people were injured and the seemingly impossible happened, and yet no word from either NASCAR or Daytona International Speedway if a solution has been found. Hamlin and Logano got together at Bristol when it appeared that Logano had the faster car and Hamlin got impatient, but the bad feelings continued on. In what was a superior race at California Speedway, it looked like hard racing, but Hamlin suffered an injury. Logano, not knowing that Hamlin was hurt said some things that probably weren’t appropriate, and Denny still appears to be bitter. Apparently the two communicated some way and it didn’t go well.

    In the meantime, Logano seems to have turned the corner as a competitor. With the exception of Martinsville, Logano has been a changed driver. He has been at the front for most races and even at Texas where he didn’t seem to have a chance of being even competitive. The controversy of the week is the reason.

    I follow the stories from the tracks even when I’m not there, and this blindsided me. Last week at Martinsville, I was dumbstruck at the penalty assessed to 2012 champion Brad Keselowski for pitting out of the pit box. My vantage could see that he was squarely in the box, and I was sitting in the press box, high above the track. The FOX crew said as much and yet he was penalized. It didn’t get much publicity in the euphoria of another Jimmie Johnson win at the Paper Clip or Danica Patrick finishing so well. It continued along this week at Texas.

    Both Penske cars, those of Logano and Keselowski, went through two inspections at Texas without any problems until Saturday morning. Both cars were found to have rear end housings that violated the “spirited of the rules,” and the teams were ordered to change the rear end housings before they could race. Both teams made it into the field, Keselowski first and Logano barely making the race. To add insult to injury, Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford was taken to NASCAR’s technical facility for inspection. Both cars finished in the top 10, Logano in the top five, at race’s end, but Keselowski was livid.

    His tirade after the race wasn’t caught on FOX’s nationwide coverage, but was played on SPEED’s post- race coverage. It was mild compared to Tony Stewart’s confrontation of Logano after the California race, but it accused NASCAR of targeting his team and that’s where the controversy starts. Denny Hamlin was fined for saying the Gen 6 car wasn’t all that. So what is going to happen this week? Will NASCAR fine the team or will it fine Keselowski for his comments? Greg Biffle says he saw the parts in question outside the NASCAR hauler and said the housing was “slotted,” whatever that means. Regardless, it should be an interesting week. Keselowski has shown that he is outspoken and not willing to not comment when something is unfair. That’s a stark difference in what we see in the multiple- times Hendrick Motorsports’ team No 48 team has been found to be in violation of the rules or at least pushing the envelope of the rules. Driver Johnson has been mostly silent, so it will be interesting if some penalties will be assessed. What is the better strategy? We will soon see. Remember the last case like this ended up with Hendricks team avoiding a penalty, except for the monetary fine. Nevertheless, it’s just another controversy that has to be resolved.

    My best guess is that no penalties will be assessed. Brian France said earlier in the season that the only subject that was off-limits was the Gen6 car. Unless they find something totally against the rules in the Penske rear housings, the “slap on the wrist” will be in order. Keselowski’s comments were mild compared to Tony Stewarts after California, so the language, all beeped out, should not be a problem. Keselowski heads to the White House today, and any announcement is not likely. If penalties are announced, even tomorrow, maybe Keselowski was right. We will soon know.

  • Sprint Media Tour – Day Three – CMS and Hendrick Motorsports

    Sprint Media Tour – Day Three – CMS and Hendrick Motorsports

    Photo Credit: Brad Keppel
    Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

    Day Three of the Sprint Media Tour continued with a trip back to Charlotte Motor Speedway and Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday. The day will end with a trip to Penske Racing, the home of reigning Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski.

    Officials, including Marcus Smith, Charlotte Motor Speedway CEO and Scott Cooper, CMS Director of Communications promoted the 2013 Sprint All-Star race, which is being advertised as an old west shootout. It was announced that two fans will take parts in the commercials to be aired later this year. Unfinished clips of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Clint Bowyer were shown without the two fans taking part. One fan has already been chose for a part and one more will be picked later.

    The format for the race is yet to be determined, but it will be somewhat different than the 2012 event. “We’ve got to keep the fans interested,” Smith said.

    Next on the agenda was the short trip to Hendrick Motorsports where media representatives were greeted by what is a stable group of drivers for 2013, including Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Team owner Rick Hendrick took the stage with his four drivers.

    After the usual reciting of the past accomplishments of the team, each driver spoke on the outlook for the coming season. Each expressed disappointment that Hendrick Motorsports didn’t win the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship, but were confident that 2013 would be a successful year.

    All teams except the no. 88 of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are fully funded for 2013. Earnhardt’s car is unfunded in 11 races with Pepsico leaving major sponsorship at the end of the 2012 season. Hendrick was not worried about the situation.

    “We have enough sponsorship to get us into summer,” Hendrick said. “I’m not worried about it. We’re close to some deals and it’s a long way to summer.”

    Earnhardt expressed little concern and said he was really looking forward to the new car and the season. When the Daytona testing session was mentioned, he was honest and forthcoming.

    Tonight the Tour continues with a dinner visit to Penske Racing in Mooresville, NC. A full report follows later on tonight.

    “I messed up,” Earnhardt said. “I thought a long time about that and it was probably the most embarrassed I’ve ever been about anything on the racetrack. The bumpers don’t exactly match up like they used to.”

    “I’m a big fan of this race car,” Gordon said. “I love it. I like the body style and I think the teams and crew chiefs do too. That’s one fine looking race car.”

    Kasey Kahne says he is the underdog on the Hendrick Motorsports team. “I have to compare myself to two guys who have won multiple championships (Johnson and Gordon),” Kahne said. “My best shot is in my second year, which is now, but we’ll continue to try to run well and have that as a goal.”

    Also present was developmental driver Chase Elliott, son of superstar Bill Elliott. The schedule for Elliott is fairly busy. Elliott will run five ARCA and nine Camping World Truck Series races in 2013 in the No. 94
    Chevy. His truck schedule includes both races at Martinsville, both Iowa races, Rockingham, Dover, MoSport in Canada, Bristol, and Phoenix.

  • Gustafson – Overcoming obstacles with one goal in mind

    Gustafson – Overcoming obstacles with one goal in mind

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Alan Gustafson, continues to showcase his talent when faced with adversity. The gusty chassis adjustment call at Richmond earlier this season that vaulted his No. 24 team into the Chase when the possibility of making the postseason looked grim, was just one example of many timely and “out of the box” calls Gustafson has made to overcome a problem.

    Every team he has led performed well, but it seems the Sprint Cup Series’ inevitable variables seem to bite at inopportune times. Whether it be caught up in someone else’s crash, having a part failure or the rare occasions, like at Richmond, when the team just simply misses the setup, Gustafson always shows the ability to make a quick, crafty call that overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds.

    When I asked Gustafson about other events this season where he had to climb out of a hole and think outside the box, he pointed out, “The most recent races stick out in your mind the most, but at Atlanta, we started up front at Atlanta and struggled at the start of that race. Even though we took the lead the car got really, really loose, really quick.” he continued, “The Richmond thing was really so pronounced because it was so visual, but I think at Atlanta we struggled as bad, but we were able to work on the car, work on the car and work on the car and then race Truex for the win at the end, and ultimately after the restart race Denny for the win.”

    “Another time I think of is Daytona , it wasn’t really something that I did, but it shows the commitment of this team, Daytona in the summer, we were running third and got wrecked on pit road, which is crazy right, you never know, you’re coming down pit road and you get wrecked. And our car was hurt and the guys did a phenomenal job fixing the car and we ended up getting a 12th place finish and you sit back and you think to yourself, well 12th place is not that great, but if we hadn’t got that finish, we wouldn’t have been able to beat Kyle at Richmond.”

    It’s obvious from talking to him that he is very proud of his team.

    This ability to think outside the box is obviously something that team owner Rick Hendrick looks for in his crew chiefs. Historically, Hendrick Motorsports has always had the most talented crew chiefs.  Chad Knauss, Steve Letarte and of course the amazing Ray Evernham are just a few examples. Gustafson is a perfect addition to this list. As Ray Evernham pointed out to me today, “I think Alan is one of the finest crew chiefs in the sport. I really believe he is going to lead Jeff to his fifth championship.”

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]Gustafson has proven he can win with a variety of different drivers. An all-star line-up of talent that is highlighted by names like Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and of course now four time champion Jeff Gordon. His record emphasizes his ability to adapt. Every driver is different, some temperamental, some laid back. Some drivers feel they can make better decisions than the crew chief can, some have to have feedback forced out of them. There is no single textbook recipe to perform this job. A fluid thought process is a required to be successful with numerous drivers. Some crew chiefs hit that magic combination with one driver, but can’t attain it with any other.

    Now that the No.24 team has made the Chase, adversity once again struck in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway. A crash on lap 190 resulted in a 35th place finish for the DuPont Chevrolet. That finish dropped the team to 12th place in the standings, last among Chase contenders. This once again puts Gustafson in the position of having to be creative and clear the hurdles that life has placed in front of him. In typical fashion, the No.24 group came back strong with a third place finish at New Hampshire and great fuel mileage strategy en route to a second place finish at Dover. Even with these terrific finishes, Gordon still lost points to the leader though he did manage to move up in the standings.

    I asked Gustafson if he felt that his team has now used their mulligan, and does he feel that the other teams in contention will ultimately stumble as well. Gustafson responded, “.. we can’t concern ourselves with them, .. we have to focus on doing the best we can.”

    However this weekend there is a larger, more unpredictable hurdle to clear, Talladega. Long known as NASCAR’s wildcard race, at this track anything can happen. If Gordon can keep the car out of harm’s way and this could be the place to regain what they lost at Chicagoland. This track presents so many opportunities for teams to find trouble, that the top four drivers on the standings could easily lose their momentum and find themselves at the back of the finishing order and put Gordon and Gustafson right back in the hunt the championship.

    Being that Gustafson is a top crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series, I expected him to pattern himself after a famous crew chief from the past, however, when I asked him what person he admires and looks up to, his response was, “If I pattern myself after anyone, it’s probably our owner Mr. Hendrick, he’s a great , incredible leader…. he knows how to manage people, how hire people and inspire people. No matter what field you are in.  Whether it’s you are gonna do writing this story, or what I am gonna go Sunday, or what he does at his car dealerships.” This type of respect is what builds great relationships.

    Statistically, eventually the stars have to line up for Gustafson. Given his track record, and his proven ability to find that proverbial needle in the haystack solution, Gustafson is definitely on the precipice of a championship in NASCAR premier series.

    Asked if the teams goal for the season had changed from the championship to just solid finish, Gustafson says “Our goal is still the championship.  We’re not going away, we’re not going away.”

  • Kahne captures the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 pole at Talladega

    Kahne captures the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 pole at Talladega

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kasey Kahne turns the fast lap of 191.455 mph, to edge out Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Ryan Newman by only .061 sec. to score the pole for Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500. This was Kahne’s third pole of the season.

    “It was a great way to start the weekend. We had a good car yesterday in practice, felt good in the draft, felt good around Jeff Gordon, we were pushing each other and stuff. Things are good so far. It would be great to start first; I have never qualified first at one of these tracks.” Kahne said just after turning the lap.

    This is the 32-year-old driver’s first career pole award at Talladega Superspeedway and first at any restrictor plate track.

    “It’s my first pole at this track and at this type of a race track so it feels pretty good. We have tried for a long time to win one here and this shows how awesome that car is thanks to Hendrickcars.com and Chevrolet and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports we have some fast cars this weekend.” Kahne said.

    Kahne comes into the race sixth in points, 32 points behind leader Brad Keselowski who will start 22nd on Sunday.

    Chase contenders Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, and Greg Biffle round out the top five.

    “I’m blown away, shocked that we were top-three. Very, very proud of (Brian) Pattie (crew chief) and everybody on our 5-hour ENERGY Toyota with the support of the Avon Foundation and everything we’ve got going on. We haven’t been qualifying very good on these restrictor-plate tracks and today it caught me off guard.” Bowyer said of his qualifying run.

    Chase contender Jeff Gordon just missed the top five and will start sixth.

    “It was a solid lap and effort. This team always does such an amazing job in coming to the restrictor plate tracks. Obviously, being on the pole last time we were here we were hoping to be there again, but this late draw and the wind you just can’t ever tell what is going to happen. We didn’t get the pole, but it’s still up there where we need to be.” Gordon said.

    Travis Kvapil, who led the first practice session and one of only two drivers to break the 200 mph mark, will start 36th. A team member confirmed that the No.93 BK Racing Burger King car wasn’t good by itself, but runs well in the draft.

    Other notables – Matt Kenseth starts 15th, Jimmie Johnson will start 17th, Kevin Harvick will take the green in 21st.

    “I was just real disappointed in the speed. Honestly, you don’t know if you run a 49-flat or 51-flat, you can’t tell in qualifying, but I was just disappointed in the speed.” Kenseth said.

    Starting Lineup
    Good Sam 500, Talladega Superspeedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=30
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 191.455 50.017
    2 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 191.145 50.098
    3 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 191.119 50.105
    4 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 190.993 50.138
    5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 190.955 50.148
    6 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 190.848 50.176
    7 99 Carl Edwards Ford 190.784 50.193
    8 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 190.727 50.208
    9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 190.662 50.225
    10 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 190.628 50.234
    11 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 190.465 50.277
    12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 190.427 50.287
    13 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 190.419 50.289
    14 20 Joey Logano Toyota 190.393 50.296
    15 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 190.37 50.302
    16 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 190.332 50.312
    17 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 190.298 50.321
    18 43 Aric Almirola Ford 190.298 50.321
    19 13 Casey Mears Ford 190.177 50.353
    20 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 190.17 50.355
    21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 190.113 50.37
    22 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 189.778 50.459
    23 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 189.748 50.467
    24 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 189.74 50.469
    25 34 David Ragan Ford 189.616 50.502
    26 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 189.552 50.519
    27 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 189.38 50.565
    28 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 189.316 50.582
    29 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 189.025 50.66
    30 30 David Stremme Toyota 188.947 50.681
    31 32 Terry Labonte Ford 188.794 50.722
    32 38 David Gilliland Ford 188.727 50.74
    33 26 Josh Wise* Ford 188.649 50.761
    34 98 Michael McDowell Ford 188.638 50.764
    35 97 Timmy Hill Toyota 188.326 50.848
    36 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 188.296 50.856
    37 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 188.001 50.936
    38 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 187.986 50.94
    39 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 187.46 51.083
    40 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 186.991 51.211
    41 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 186.783 51.268
    42 33 Cole Whitt Chevrolet 186.289 51.404
    43 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 185.942 51.5
  • Who wins the Chase? Lots of history and recent performance are telling

    Who wins the Chase? Lots of history and recent performance are telling

    [media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]It may seem silly, but there are those who have already decided that the Chase has two favorites, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. There is something to be said for that, but the thought needs more investigation. It’s also useful to look at history and recent statistics. Those two categories tend to color things a bit.

    First, history tells us a lot. Chevrolet drivers, especially Hendrick Motorsports drivers and those teams he supplies cars for, seem to have the upper hand. The fact is that for the last 20 years, Chevrolet drivers have won 16 championships, with 11 of them coming from Hendrick Motorsports. That’s quite a record. Only Ford drivers Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, and Kurt Busch have dented that streak. And most of them are ancient history with the last Ford championship coming way back in 2004 when Busch did the trick. In this two decade period, Toyota and Dodge haven’t accomplished a championship.

    Part of the reason for this is the tremendous advantage Chevrolet has in top teams competing week after week. On any given Sunday (or Saturday night), Chevrolet fields 11 top teams running Hendrick and Richard Childress motors or chassis. Ford usually fields only five similar teams, which is one of the reasons Penske Racing was added to the mix. That’s a huge advantage. With Hendrick or his satellite operation winning the last six championships, you have to consider them the favorites—and there are four of them.

    Another thing to consider is recent performance. Surprisingly, the strongest performers over the last six races are Keselowski, Kyle Busch (who isn’t in the Chase), Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, and Kasey Kahne. If momentum has in factor in this championship, you have to consider that. Notable is that Hendrick drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Johnson, and Jeff Gordon rank down the list. It makes things more confusing.

    It would be a tremendous surprise to me if the champion is not one of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers. History is with them. Brad Keselowski. Bowyer, and Biffle have had their consistency problems and Johnson looks like he is ready to dominate. Kahne is surprisingly at the top of the field every race and the rest of the field is, to be honest, chasing (no pun intended).

    It’s a little early to tell, but history and recent performance gives us a little insight to how this thing will play out. If I was a betting man, and I’m not, I would put my money on a Chevrolet driver and one from the Hendrick camp. We’ll visit this all during the Chase, but as for now, that’s the way I see it.