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Tag: Wild card

  • Toyota/Save Mart 350 Review: Surprises at Sonoma

    Toyota/Save Mart 350 Review: Surprises at Sonoma

    Clint Bowyer surprised fans when he qualified in sixth position for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. With the overall strength that Michael Waltrip Racing has shown in 2012, it wasn’t much of a surprise to the world when the No. 15 5 Hour Energy Toyota crossed the finish line first on Sunday. Like most races at Sonoma, fuel mileage was an issue in the closing laps when the race finished under green-white-checkered. Bowyer did run out of fuel – on his victory lap.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”317″][/media-credit]“It’s all about surrounding yourself with good people and we certainly have that. We have great partners, 5-hour ENERGY, Napa and Aaron’s, my teammates, Martin Truex and Mark Martin, I’m telling you, everybody is working very, very good together with this group.

    That’s something I’ve never been able to do before. I’ve had good teammates and I’ve had good stuff, but never like this at this magnitude. This is a young group. Michael stuck it out and I’m telling you, he’s fixing to reap the benefits. He’s worked hard. Our marketing department does a great job and this is I think the first of many to come. To have this dirt boy from Kansas in victory lane at this road course is big, trust me. “

    This is Bowyer’s first win for MWR and his first win of the season. With this victory, he has rocketed two spots in the standings to 7th position, 67 points behind the leader. If the 15 team were to drop out of the Top 10 in points standings, they now have the opportunity to take the wild-card position to be in the chase for the Sprint Cup.

     

    Smoke Rebounds at Sonoma

    Tony Stewart started Sonoma off on a rocky note with practice session speeds of 24th, 17th, and 21st position. The two time winner of this track qualified in 24th position and rebounded to finish in second position. With this finish Smoke shot up three spots in points, to fifth position, just 63 points behind the leader.

    “I was really pleased with it to be honest. The last two days we have not been real happy with our balance and just couldn’t seem to get the speed that a lot of the guys that were putting up big numbers at the top of the board were able to run. We couldn’t even run within a second of them the last two days.

    To end up running second like this is just a really good effort for all of our guys. Really proud of Steve Addington, never gave up this weekend. Nobody ever gave up on trying to find something that was going to be a little bit better. So him and Jeff Meendering and Greg Zipadelli and all of these guys on the team, just really proud of the effort they put forward this weekend.”

     

    Underdogs Fill the Top-10

    Brian Vickers, who is running a partial schedule with MWR, qualified his No. 55 Toyota in 21st position. His team fought hard to get to the front of the field, and came home with a fourth place finish. Vickers has two other starts this season, with finishes of 5th and 18th position. The former Red Bull driver is using this part-time gig to try and show other teams what he is capable of; so far, Vickers impresses the field with his finishes.

    Marcos Ambrose pleasantly surprised the NASCAR world once again we he qualified his Stanley Ford on the pole for the second week in a row. Although the “thunder from down under” couldn’t contend for the win, he was able to hold on to a strong eighth place finish. Ambrose has four top-10 finishes this season and is sitting 16th in points standings. If he were to grab a win before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he could hold a coveted wild card, allowing him to contend for the championship.

    AJ Allmendinger is another driver who didn’t qualify well at Sonoma, starting in the 17th position. However, by the end of the race, he was racing the front runners and finished in 9th position. Moving to Penske this season, expectations have been high for the No. 22 Pennzoil driver. This season Allmendinger has scored two top-10 finishes and one top-5.

  • The New Simpler Point System…Or Not

    The New Simpler Point System…Or Not

    NASCAR tied very hard to make the point system easier to understand for Joe Fan. Apparently, it didn’t work with the revelation today that Jeff Gordon qualified for at least a wild card entry into the almighty Chase for the championship. Huh? The one point difference in positions was supposed to simplify the standings so that fans could understand where their favorite driver was during the season. Then, NASCAR threw in a curve ball with the wildcard. I guess it sounded like the NFL and MLB, so it had to be good, right?

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]It has now become so complicated that even those that have followed the sport for years cannot tell you who will be the 11th and 12th qualifiers or even the leaders for those positions right now. It appears that Brad Keselowski will make the short list, but who is the leading candidate for that 12th man? The question usually follows with an answer that it takes algebra, calculus, and solid geometry to solve. Not much different than the old system? Well, at least that system was based on who had the highest points and positions 1-12 were easy to determine. Now? Not so much.

    The powers that be meant no harm. They wanted to reward winning and get away from the consistency tag that the point system has always had. They started a few years ago when they created the Chase and watched it become a monster before their eyes. From the first race at Daytona, the Chase talk began and has continued. The final ten races are all that matter. Trying to add a bonus for winning made sense until so many first-timers won. Just like it appeared that the Chase was an answer to Matt Kenseth’s one-win championship, this appeared to be an answer to Jamie McMurray’s dream season of last year. McMurray won three big races and did not make the Chase, so the rules were changed. My guess is that no one will admit that, but it’s pretty clear that NASCAR wanted to include the guys who won races since the Chase had taken most of that emphasis on winning away. And now we have the new system with its confusing wild card addition. Look for more changes next year. Someday, they’ll get it right. Or they’ll go back to Bob Latford’s original system and say the heck with it.

    One more comment or two on last week’s races in Bristol. Attendance was light for the Nationwide Series on Friday night, but attendance was good for Saturday night’s Cup race, though not a sellout. There were plenty of empty seats. I think of lot of the reason for this is that the media continues to make comments about how Bristol will be a knock them out race and tempers will flare and all that. That used to be the case, but Bristol is now more like Charlotte. Passing is available on the inside and the outside these days and the one groove track that used to be is gone. That means less beating and banging and less excitement for the fans. That kind of racing is now only found in Martinsville, Virginia. The drivers love the new Bristol and the media is quick to say how much better the racing is on the new surface. They apparently haven’t convinced the fans who pay admission. Just listening to the crowd after the race said it all. They’re not impressed, and that is the bottom line.

    Finally, all the talk about Carl Edwards getting his contract with Roush-Fenway behind him and being able to race better isn’t working out. Edwards has been a non-factor in the races since he decided to re-up with RFR, dropping from first in the standings to fourth with fifth-place nipping at his heels. Just goes to show you that these are machines they are piloting and anything can happen in a race. Just ask Brad Keselowski.