After the craziness of a wild Speedweeks that saw nearly everything imaginable, the Sprint Cup Series brought a toned down version of NASCAR racing this week in the desert. The second race of the season gets a 2 Star Rating.
This race had moments of tight racing, especially after restarts, but for the most part the field quickly got strung out and nobody could make up much ground.
We saw similar racing in the November race at Phoenix International Raceway, but that also included a great championship battle between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, who both finished in the top three in that race.
This time around Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick took turns dominating the race. Harvick raced hard to take away the lead from Busch midway through the race, but otherwise the driver out front couldn’t be touched.
The new surface and configuration at Phoenix make for some interesting moves down the backstretch, but there is also room for improvement in the quality of the racing. The groove is still too narrow early in the race, but hopefully that improves as the track ages.
Drivers were able to make moves on the high side late in the race. Johnson and Brad Keselowski had a great battle for the fourth position during the final run. Plus, Harvick had something for Hamlin coming to the white flag, but he ran out of gas before he could try to make a move for the win.
As for Hamlin, this win solidifies a great start to the season with new crew chief Darian Grubb. Hamlin didn’t have the best car throughout the weekend or early in the race, but the team adjusted on the car throughout the race and gave Hamlin the car he needed to run for the win at the end of the race.
This could be the start of something pretty great for the #11 team. This is a team that just 15 months ago led Johnson heading into the final race of 2010 at Homestead. Hamlin had issues early that race and never could find his stride in 2011 with Mike Ford on top of the pit box.
Ford was a good crew chief, but Hamlin needed a change and Grubb might be the perfect fit for Hamlin and the #11 team.
With an early win, Hamlin should regain some confidence that he will have a quality ride most every week and can go back to challenging for the championship rather than just a spot in the Chase. Hamlin likely won’t need a wild card to get in the 2012 Chase.
Now the series heads to the always important first mile-and-a-half racetrack of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Daytona and Phoenix are both tracks where the quality of the car is not nearly as important as it is at a track such as Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is where we’ll start to find out which teams have the best equipment. Also, teams that do well at Las Vegas often do well for the majority of the season. Although Carl Edwards didn’t win another race after he visited Victory Lane at Las Vegas, he did make quite a run at the championship.
So, welcome to the real beginning of the season. All of the excitement and extra festivities from Daytona and the celebrations for Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth are over. Now it’s time to dig in and build a solid foundation for the rest of the season.
Showing posts with label Kevin Harvick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kevin Harvick. Show all posts
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
NASCAR need not change current restrictor-plate rules package
Once Talladega Superspeedway received new asphalt in 2006 and Daytona International Speedway got a fresh surface for 2011, the style of racing at the two tracks changed dramatically, and not necissarily for the better.
Gone were the 30-car packs that had drivers lined up three-wide six or more rows deep. Instead, drivers learned they could push the car in front of them and gain as much as 10 mph.
That lesson quickly did away with the packs and created restrictor-plate races that were at times downright tame until the end of the race. Nearly every two-car draft race ended in a photo finish, but that was about the only thrilling part of the race.
NASCAR fans quickly expressed their displeasure with the new style of restrictor-plate racing, and NASCAR officials went to work to phase out the two-car draft and bring back the large packs.
Well, they certainly accomplished that.
Through a myriad of changes to the cars, NASCAR teams came to Daytona for Speedweeks this year with a rules package that nearly eliminated the two-car draft. The large pack was back on display Saturday night, and my of my it was intense.
The only potential problem with the current restrictor-plate racing package is the vulnerability to large wrecks. The Budweiser Shootout had three crashes that involved six or more cars, two cars caught fire and Jeff Gordon flipped up onto his roof.
Those incidents started grumblings throughout the sport that maybe the new pack style of racing is no good either. Those grumblings, however, should be discarded.
I understand the safety issues. NASCAR doesn’t want to have huge wrecks that could potentially hurt drivers. Any reasonable fan should feel the same way. However, the Budweiser Shootout won by Kyle Busch on Saturday night was the most exciting restrictor-plate race start-to-finish since the 2007 Daytona 500 when Kevin Harvick edged out Mark Martin for the win.
There is simply nothing as intense as a three-wide pack of racecars filling up the track at speeds near or above 200 mph.
Nearly every wreck in the shootout was caused by a driver pushing another car on the left side of the bumper. That caused the front car to spin out.
We don’t need rule changes to fix that. The drivers simply don’t need to push the car in front of them.
People screamed for years and years before NASCAR used the Car of Tomorrow at Daytona in 2008 that drivers shouldn’t bump draft because it could spin out the car in front. The bumpers on the cars didn’t line up on the old car models, and drivers used the bump draft sparingly. Now they just need to go back to that approach.
If they want to push, great, they just have to be very careful with it and choose their opportunities wisely.
NASCAR did a great job with the current rules package for Speedweeks. This is as close to the old style of restrictor-plate racing the sport has seen in years, and the racing in the shootout was even more exciting than the old days.
In the days of the old pack racing, the front 10 to 15 drivers would eventually get lined up on the bottom and run single-file for a portion of the race. A pass for the lead was an incredibly difficult proposition.
Nobody got lined up single-file for more than two or three consecutive laps in the shootout and drivers were able to make passes all around the racetrack.
Although this might be heresy to some people, the current restrictor-plate rules package might produce the most exciting plate racing ever.
NASCAR officials worked hard to create the perfect mix of rules to create exciting racing. Here’s hoping they don’t succumb to pressure to try and fix a problem that no longer exists.
Gone were the 30-car packs that had drivers lined up three-wide six or more rows deep. Instead, drivers learned they could push the car in front of them and gain as much as 10 mph.
That lesson quickly did away with the packs and created restrictor-plate races that were at times downright tame until the end of the race. Nearly every two-car draft race ended in a photo finish, but that was about the only thrilling part of the race.
NASCAR fans quickly expressed their displeasure with the new style of restrictor-plate racing, and NASCAR officials went to work to phase out the two-car draft and bring back the large packs.
Well, they certainly accomplished that.
Through a myriad of changes to the cars, NASCAR teams came to Daytona for Speedweeks this year with a rules package that nearly eliminated the two-car draft. The large pack was back on display Saturday night, and my of my it was intense.
The only potential problem with the current restrictor-plate racing package is the vulnerability to large wrecks. The Budweiser Shootout had three crashes that involved six or more cars, two cars caught fire and Jeff Gordon flipped up onto his roof.
Those incidents started grumblings throughout the sport that maybe the new pack style of racing is no good either. Those grumblings, however, should be discarded.
I understand the safety issues. NASCAR doesn’t want to have huge wrecks that could potentially hurt drivers. Any reasonable fan should feel the same way. However, the Budweiser Shootout won by Kyle Busch on Saturday night was the most exciting restrictor-plate race start-to-finish since the 2007 Daytona 500 when Kevin Harvick edged out Mark Martin for the win.
There is simply nothing as intense as a three-wide pack of racecars filling up the track at speeds near or above 200 mph.
Nearly every wreck in the shootout was caused by a driver pushing another car on the left side of the bumper. That caused the front car to spin out.
We don’t need rule changes to fix that. The drivers simply don’t need to push the car in front of them.
People screamed for years and years before NASCAR used the Car of Tomorrow at Daytona in 2008 that drivers shouldn’t bump draft because it could spin out the car in front. The bumpers on the cars didn’t line up on the old car models, and drivers used the bump draft sparingly. Now they just need to go back to that approach.
If they want to push, great, they just have to be very careful with it and choose their opportunities wisely.
NASCAR did a great job with the current rules package for Speedweeks. This is as close to the old style of restrictor-plate racing the sport has seen in years, and the racing in the shootout was even more exciting than the old days.
In the days of the old pack racing, the front 10 to 15 drivers would eventually get lined up on the bottom and run single-file for a portion of the race. A pass for the lead was an incredibly difficult proposition.
Nobody got lined up single-file for more than two or three consecutive laps in the shootout and drivers were able to make passes all around the racetrack.
Although this might be heresy to some people, the current restrictor-plate rules package might produce the most exciting plate racing ever.
NASCAR officials worked hard to create the perfect mix of rules to create exciting racing. Here’s hoping they don’t succumb to pressure to try and fix a problem that no longer exists.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Rating the Budweiser Shootout: 5 Stars *****
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season opened in grand fashion with a 200 mph high-flying act that included bumps, flips and a photo finish. The 2012 Budweiser Shootout gets a no-brainer of a 5 Star Rating.
What a race, folks. NASCAR officials, drivers and fans have been wringing their hands all offseason about what type of racing would be on display once Speedweeks began at Daytona International Speedway.
Well, I think all of that worry can now be channeled into great excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead for the rest of the week.
This race had just about everything that makes race fans sit on the edge of their seat for an entire race. It even had a pretty exciting photo finish to cap off the night.
Race fans wanted the large restrictor-plate racing packs to return to Daytona and Talladega superspeedway racing. The Bud Shootout sure provided that. Nobody could hook up in a two-car draft and pull away from the crowd. The three-wide swarm of cars that is one of the most adrenaline-spiking sights in all of sports was back.
When drivers put on a show like they did Saturday night, the number of laps remaining hardly seems to matter. There’s almost no time to look to the top of the television screen to see how much of the race is left because the action is so intense on the track.
For those who like big wrecks, those are back too. Some people will say all wrecks are a bad thing. That’s fair. No reasonable person wants to see even their most hated driver get hurt. But, those wrecks make highlight shows for a reason, and boy did we have some big ones Saturday night.
Jeff Gordon had the most spectacular crash of the evening as his car slid out of Turn 4 on on the driver’s side window and then flipped three times before settling completely upside down.
Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip also had scary adventures when their cars caught on fire during one of the big wrecks. Thankfully, everybody came out of the race unhurt.
Even with all that went on in those wild 82 laps, Kyle Busch stole the show.
Busch’s #18 car was completely sideways on two separate occasions and yet he never spun out. Both times he made ridiculous saves to keep from crashing. Sparks showered the track and the front of the car crinkled, but Busch miraculously held on to the car to stay in contention.
Not only did he stay in contention, but he went on to win the race.
Not only did he win the race, but he did so in spectacular fashion by inching out Tony Stewart at the finish line by .013 seconds, the closest finish in Budweiser Shootout history.
A photo finish is like a walk-off homerun in baseball. It is simply the most exciting thing that can happen at the end of an event.
The best part of all of this is that the shootout is only the first Cup race of Speedweeks. There are still three other Cup races, a Nationwide race and a truck race that could very well be just as exciting.
Oh boy, strap in for one heck of a week. The Budweiser Shootout was great, and if NASCAR doesn’t change any rules the rest of Speedweeks is shaping up to be just as good.
What a race, folks. NASCAR officials, drivers and fans have been wringing their hands all offseason about what type of racing would be on display once Speedweeks began at Daytona International Speedway.
Well, I think all of that worry can now be channeled into great excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead for the rest of the week.
This race had just about everything that makes race fans sit on the edge of their seat for an entire race. It even had a pretty exciting photo finish to cap off the night.
Race fans wanted the large restrictor-plate racing packs to return to Daytona and Talladega superspeedway racing. The Bud Shootout sure provided that. Nobody could hook up in a two-car draft and pull away from the crowd. The three-wide swarm of cars that is one of the most adrenaline-spiking sights in all of sports was back.
When drivers put on a show like they did Saturday night, the number of laps remaining hardly seems to matter. There’s almost no time to look to the top of the television screen to see how much of the race is left because the action is so intense on the track.
For those who like big wrecks, those are back too. Some people will say all wrecks are a bad thing. That’s fair. No reasonable person wants to see even their most hated driver get hurt. But, those wrecks make highlight shows for a reason, and boy did we have some big ones Saturday night.
Jeff Gordon had the most spectacular crash of the evening as his car slid out of Turn 4 on on the driver’s side window and then flipped three times before settling completely upside down.
Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip also had scary adventures when their cars caught on fire during one of the big wrecks. Thankfully, everybody came out of the race unhurt.
Even with all that went on in those wild 82 laps, Kyle Busch stole the show.
Busch’s #18 car was completely sideways on two separate occasions and yet he never spun out. Both times he made ridiculous saves to keep from crashing. Sparks showered the track and the front of the car crinkled, but Busch miraculously held on to the car to stay in contention.
Not only did he stay in contention, but he went on to win the race.
Not only did he win the race, but he did so in spectacular fashion by inching out Tony Stewart at the finish line by .013 seconds, the closest finish in Budweiser Shootout history.
A photo finish is like a walk-off homerun in baseball. It is simply the most exciting thing that can happen at the end of an event.
The best part of all of this is that the shootout is only the first Cup race of Speedweeks. There are still three other Cup races, a Nationwide race and a truck race that could very well be just as exciting.
Oh boy, strap in for one heck of a week. The Budweiser Shootout was great, and if NASCAR doesn’t change any rules the rest of Speedweeks is shaping up to be just as good.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Rating the Good Sam Club 500: 5 Stars *****
After five relatively boring races to start the Chase, the excitement level jumped up a notch at Talladega. The final restrictor-plate race of the season gets the first 5 Star Rating of the Chase.
Clint Bowyer won yet another photo finish Sunday at Talladega, edging out his teammate Jeff Burton at the line. Bowyer made a great move coming into the tri-oval and just barely kept Burton from coming back to beat him.
This race was one of the best restrictor-plate races since the two-car bump draft has been used in full force. While NASCAR didn’t end the two-car draft with its rule changes heading into the race, it did keep the pack a little closer.
Sunday’s race kind of combined the two styles of drafting. Cars had to be touching to make any speed, but other than Bowyer and Burton at the end, nobody really jumped out from the pack.
Plus, the emotional ride of a restrictor-plate race is unlike any other.
Before the gentlemen start their engines, there is a nervous tension that surrounds the racetrack. Talladega one of the two most exciting tracks on the schedule, but that also means it is one of the two most dangerous, as well, along with Daytona.
The drivers’ eyes tell the story on a Sunday morning at Talladega. There is a little more trepidation than normal, and Dan Wheldon’s wreck last week only made that feeling worse.
Then the race starts and all of the focus turns to the track. The first several laps are usually pretty intense as the field sorts itself out, but then the race settles into a rhythm. That rhythm remains until the laps wind down. Then the tension really starts to pick up.
The little bit larger packs Sunday brought back a few larger wrecks. A.J. Allmendinger and Mark Martin both got turned into the middle of the racetrack. Those spins would’ve taken out 20 cars a couple of years ago, but they also would’ve taken out maybe just a car or two in recent restrictor-plate races.
However, these wrecks are extremely dangerous. The hit Regan Smith took in Turn 4 was unbelievably hard.
After the big wreck, it’s time to settle the race among the cars that are left, and then things get wild as drivers such as Jeff Gordon manage to find their way through a hole that hadn’t even developed yet.
Finally, the final laps turn into a final lunge toward the finish line. This time Burton and Bowyer jumped out after the late restart and were able to settle things before the four-wide pack barreled across the finish line.
There is no other type of race with an intensity level as high for nearly as long. Once a restrictor-plate race is finished, fans often feel more exhausted emotionally than their favorite driver looks after he climbs out of his car.
Overall, this Talladega race was another wild ride. Many people might not like the two-car drafts, but this was the best version of that style of racing so far.
Now it’s time to finish the run to the championship. Carl Edwards extended his lead, Kevin Harvick took a big hit in the points standings, and Jimmie Johnson is 50 points out of the lead. That’s more than a full race, and doubts that he can come back get larger with every passing week.
Clint Bowyer won yet another photo finish Sunday at Talladega, edging out his teammate Jeff Burton at the line. Bowyer made a great move coming into the tri-oval and just barely kept Burton from coming back to beat him.
This race was one of the best restrictor-plate races since the two-car bump draft has been used in full force. While NASCAR didn’t end the two-car draft with its rule changes heading into the race, it did keep the pack a little closer.
Sunday’s race kind of combined the two styles of drafting. Cars had to be touching to make any speed, but other than Bowyer and Burton at the end, nobody really jumped out from the pack.
Plus, the emotional ride of a restrictor-plate race is unlike any other.
Before the gentlemen start their engines, there is a nervous tension that surrounds the racetrack. Talladega one of the two most exciting tracks on the schedule, but that also means it is one of the two most dangerous, as well, along with Daytona.
The drivers’ eyes tell the story on a Sunday morning at Talladega. There is a little more trepidation than normal, and Dan Wheldon’s wreck last week only made that feeling worse.
Then the race starts and all of the focus turns to the track. The first several laps are usually pretty intense as the field sorts itself out, but then the race settles into a rhythm. That rhythm remains until the laps wind down. Then the tension really starts to pick up.
The little bit larger packs Sunday brought back a few larger wrecks. A.J. Allmendinger and Mark Martin both got turned into the middle of the racetrack. Those spins would’ve taken out 20 cars a couple of years ago, but they also would’ve taken out maybe just a car or two in recent restrictor-plate races.
However, these wrecks are extremely dangerous. The hit Regan Smith took in Turn 4 was unbelievably hard.
After the big wreck, it’s time to settle the race among the cars that are left, and then things get wild as drivers such as Jeff Gordon manage to find their way through a hole that hadn’t even developed yet.
Finally, the final laps turn into a final lunge toward the finish line. This time Burton and Bowyer jumped out after the late restart and were able to settle things before the four-wide pack barreled across the finish line.
There is no other type of race with an intensity level as high for nearly as long. Once a restrictor-plate race is finished, fans often feel more exhausted emotionally than their favorite driver looks after he climbs out of his car.
Overall, this Talladega race was another wild ride. Many people might not like the two-car drafts, but this was the best version of that style of racing so far.
Now it’s time to finish the run to the championship. Carl Edwards extended his lead, Kevin Harvick took a big hit in the points standings, and Jimmie Johnson is 50 points out of the lead. That’s more than a full race, and doubts that he can come back get larger with every passing week.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Sorry folks, Jimmie Johnson will be a factor in this year's Chase
After two weeks of people thinking, hoping and even begging themselves to believe that Jimmie Johnson might be too far out of the points lead to come back and win yet another championship, he dashed all of those dreams in one week.
Johnson finished second last week at Dover and now sits fifth in the points standings just 13 points behind co-leaders Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.
Of course all of the talk about the #48 team’s demise was incredibly premature. That would be like saying the New England Patriots won’t be a factor in the NFL playoffs. These teams are too good to suddenly fall apart.
However, I don’t think anybody expected Johnson to be so close after just one good run, and it is a little scary to think what he could do to the Chase standings if he puts together a string of top-five finishes.
When Johnson started the Chase with a 39th-place finish at New Hampshire in 2006, it took him until the eighth race of the Chase to make it back to the top.
This year Johnson cut his point deficit from 29 to 13 after finishing well outside the top 10 in the first two races and if everything fall right he could be back on top by Sunday at Kansas, but more likely it could be the sixth race of the Chase at Talladega or the following week at Martinsville.
While people may have thought, or at least wanted to believe, the new points system would make it more difficult for Johnson to dominate the Chase, it might actually make it easier for Johnson to run away with the trophy.
We saw earlier this season how much easier it is to gain ground in the points standings under this new system when Brad Keselowski jumped from 23rd to 12th in just six races.
That’s not to say that all 12 drivers, or even half of the Chase field will have a realistic chance at the championship as the season comes to a close, but the new system has made the standings more fluid.
When the new points system was announced before the season, a lot was made about how a bad finish hurt a driver more than in the past. But, the flip side of that argument is that a good finish helps in the standings more than ever.
It was never likely that the #48 to be out of the championship picture as the series heads to Homestead for the final race of the year, but the new points system may have made that even more of a pipe dream.
Yet, while the points system might make it easier for a driver to recover in the standings, it also makes it harder to keep the lead. No driver has dominated the standings during the regular season this year the way Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick did the past two years.
Right now the standings are tied, and the way the season has gone so far it would be shocking if the leader had more than a 10-point lead heading into the final race at Homestead.
Many fans will hope that leader is not Johnson, but last week at Dover showed it is going to take a substantial amount of bad luck to keep him from being a factor for the championship.
Johnson finished second last week at Dover and now sits fifth in the points standings just 13 points behind co-leaders Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.
Of course all of the talk about the #48 team’s demise was incredibly premature. That would be like saying the New England Patriots won’t be a factor in the NFL playoffs. These teams are too good to suddenly fall apart.
However, I don’t think anybody expected Johnson to be so close after just one good run, and it is a little scary to think what he could do to the Chase standings if he puts together a string of top-five finishes.
When Johnson started the Chase with a 39th-place finish at New Hampshire in 2006, it took him until the eighth race of the Chase to make it back to the top.
This year Johnson cut his point deficit from 29 to 13 after finishing well outside the top 10 in the first two races and if everything fall right he could be back on top by Sunday at Kansas, but more likely it could be the sixth race of the Chase at Talladega or the following week at Martinsville.
While people may have thought, or at least wanted to believe, the new points system would make it more difficult for Johnson to dominate the Chase, it might actually make it easier for Johnson to run away with the trophy.
We saw earlier this season how much easier it is to gain ground in the points standings under this new system when Brad Keselowski jumped from 23rd to 12th in just six races.
That’s not to say that all 12 drivers, or even half of the Chase field will have a realistic chance at the championship as the season comes to a close, but the new system has made the standings more fluid.
When the new points system was announced before the season, a lot was made about how a bad finish hurt a driver more than in the past. But, the flip side of that argument is that a good finish helps in the standings more than ever.
It was never likely that the #48 to be out of the championship picture as the series heads to Homestead for the final race of the year, but the new points system may have made that even more of a pipe dream.
Yet, while the points system might make it easier for a driver to recover in the standings, it also makes it harder to keep the lead. No driver has dominated the standings during the regular season this year the way Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick did the past two years.
Right now the standings are tied, and the way the season has gone so far it would be shocking if the leader had more than a 10-point lead heading into the final race at Homestead.
Many fans will hope that leader is not Johnson, but last week at Dover showed it is going to take a substantial amount of bad luck to keep him from being a factor for the championship.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Rating the GEICO 400: 2 Stars **
Tony Stewart won his first race of the season at Chicago for the third time in his career Monday, but this time it started a possible championship run in the Chase. The first race at Chicago to start the Chase gets a 2 Star Rating.
This race was a combination of the entire season wrapped up in one race. There was another different winner, the 16th different winner of the season, it was a fuel-mileage race, it was run at least a day later than scheduled and Kevin Harvick nearly came out of nowhere for the win.
While nobody dominated the race, it still didn’t feel like a lot of drivers had a chance to win the race. Even when fuel mileage could have caused a surprise winner to roll into Victory Lane, it still felt like only a few drivers had a chance to win.
Maybe that was because nearly the entire top 10 was filled with Chase drivers for much of the race. Eight Chase drivers finished in the top 10, and that was with several drivers coasting to the finish line with empty gas tanks.
That, of course, is why those drivers and teams are in the Chase. They are the best in the sport, and they showed up ready to race at Chicago.
These teams weren’t huge factors in the races leading up to the Chase, particularly teams that had already clinched a Chase berth. But, they waited until the Chase started and put together strong, consistent races where they could challenge for the win.
Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin all finished outside of the top 20, but the only team that should be really concerned after Monday’s race is the #11 team of Hamlin.
The other three drivers fell victim to fuel mileage, and while those lost points might hurt them later in the Chase, the overall performance of the #11 team was troubling.
Hamlin got into trouble early in the race with a vibration and then hit the wall late in the race to finish off his day. The #11 team simply is not competing at the same level it did not only a year ago, but for the past few years.
Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in points the past three years, and would’ve won the championship last year if he would’ve run a clean final race at Homestead.
Instead, he spun out early in that race and hasn’t recovered since. One would think this team would be capable of turning the switch once the Chase started, but this team has sputtered all season. It has a few good races but then comes back with two terrible races.
Hamlin has some major work to do if he is going to be relevant in this Chase. His chance to contend for the championship could already be over.
So, next week it’s on to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hopefully the weather returns to the beautiful racedays we had in the first half of the season.
With as competitive as the Chase teams were Monday in Chicago, racing luck could be what separates the field this year even before Talladega comes along to stir the pot one final time.
This race was a combination of the entire season wrapped up in one race. There was another different winner, the 16th different winner of the season, it was a fuel-mileage race, it was run at least a day later than scheduled and Kevin Harvick nearly came out of nowhere for the win.
While nobody dominated the race, it still didn’t feel like a lot of drivers had a chance to win the race. Even when fuel mileage could have caused a surprise winner to roll into Victory Lane, it still felt like only a few drivers had a chance to win.
Maybe that was because nearly the entire top 10 was filled with Chase drivers for much of the race. Eight Chase drivers finished in the top 10, and that was with several drivers coasting to the finish line with empty gas tanks.
That, of course, is why those drivers and teams are in the Chase. They are the best in the sport, and they showed up ready to race at Chicago.
These teams weren’t huge factors in the races leading up to the Chase, particularly teams that had already clinched a Chase berth. But, they waited until the Chase started and put together strong, consistent races where they could challenge for the win.
Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin all finished outside of the top 20, but the only team that should be really concerned after Monday’s race is the #11 team of Hamlin.
The other three drivers fell victim to fuel mileage, and while those lost points might hurt them later in the Chase, the overall performance of the #11 team was troubling.
Hamlin got into trouble early in the race with a vibration and then hit the wall late in the race to finish off his day. The #11 team simply is not competing at the same level it did not only a year ago, but for the past few years.
Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in points the past three years, and would’ve won the championship last year if he would’ve run a clean final race at Homestead.
Instead, he spun out early in that race and hasn’t recovered since. One would think this team would be capable of turning the switch once the Chase started, but this team has sputtered all season. It has a few good races but then comes back with two terrible races.
Hamlin has some major work to do if he is going to be relevant in this Chase. His chance to contend for the championship could already be over.
So, next week it’s on to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hopefully the weather returns to the beautiful racedays we had in the first half of the season.
With as competitive as the Chase teams were Monday in Chicago, racing luck could be what separates the field this year even before Talladega comes along to stir the pot one final time.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Rating the Wonderful Pistachios 400: 5 Stars *****
The Sprint Cup Series drivers battled through a wild night at Richmond International Raceway to set the field for the 2011 Chase. The action track certainly lived up to its name, and the final race of the regular season gets a 5 Star Rating.
This type of race came out of nowhere. Sure, there have been some exciting races lately and a few with several hard wrecks, but cars wrecked nearly from the drop of the green flag Saturday night and drivers stood in the gas all night long, causing 15 cautions, the second-most this season and most since the Daytona 500.
Maybe the new Chase format spiced things up for this race. Last year’s race was very clean with only three cautions. Also, most of Saturday night’s wrecks were because drivers tried to force their way into a hole, especially early in a race, and we haven’t seen that in quite a while.
NASCAR may have finally settled on a system that will produce the excitement it has been trying to manufacture for years.
The entire race felt like it was the final 10 laps at Talladega where all heck breaks loose.
The craziness started early and involved several of the main Chase contenders. Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all sustained damage in the second wreck of the evening.
As it turns out, the points standings didn’t change at all and everybody who was in the Chase coming into the race left Richmond with a Chase spot. But the #88 hung on a small limb off the edge of a cliff for most of the night.
At times, Dale Jr. was only four points from falling out of the top 10 in the standings after he got caught up in the early wreck and then traded blows with Travis Kvapil of all people, and spun Kvapil out on lap 154.
However, Dale Jr. and Kvapil weren’t the only two drivers to engage in short track vengeance. Marcos Ambrose and Brian Vickers ran into each other, and Vickers got parked by NASCAR for blocking Ambrose under the caution. Also, possibly the most interesting battle of the night, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson took turns spinning each other out.
The Busch-Johnson battle has simmered for years now and could really blow up if they meet during the Chase. Thankfully, both were already locked into the Chase and didn’t have anything to lose by trying to ruin each other’s night. That situation could be a lot different if it happens again sometime in the next 10 weeks.
Along with the carnage, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards had a good race to the finish as Harvick crossed the line with Edwards inches from his rear bumper.
Harvick deserved to win the race. He had the best car for most of the night even though the running order kept getting shuffled because of all the wrecks.
The win gives Harvick four on the season and he will start the Chase on top with Kyle Busch.
Overall, the changes to the points system and Chase format this year worked well during the regular season. It will be interesting to see how the Chase plays out, but it’s unlikely one driver will run away with the championship since several contenders have been on top of their game in recent weeks.
Have a good week everybody and enjoy this year’s Chase.
This type of race came out of nowhere. Sure, there have been some exciting races lately and a few with several hard wrecks, but cars wrecked nearly from the drop of the green flag Saturday night and drivers stood in the gas all night long, causing 15 cautions, the second-most this season and most since the Daytona 500.
Maybe the new Chase format spiced things up for this race. Last year’s race was very clean with only three cautions. Also, most of Saturday night’s wrecks were because drivers tried to force their way into a hole, especially early in a race, and we haven’t seen that in quite a while.
NASCAR may have finally settled on a system that will produce the excitement it has been trying to manufacture for years.
The entire race felt like it was the final 10 laps at Talladega where all heck breaks loose.
The craziness started early and involved several of the main Chase contenders. Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all sustained damage in the second wreck of the evening.
As it turns out, the points standings didn’t change at all and everybody who was in the Chase coming into the race left Richmond with a Chase spot. But the #88 hung on a small limb off the edge of a cliff for most of the night.
At times, Dale Jr. was only four points from falling out of the top 10 in the standings after he got caught up in the early wreck and then traded blows with Travis Kvapil of all people, and spun Kvapil out on lap 154.
However, Dale Jr. and Kvapil weren’t the only two drivers to engage in short track vengeance. Marcos Ambrose and Brian Vickers ran into each other, and Vickers got parked by NASCAR for blocking Ambrose under the caution. Also, possibly the most interesting battle of the night, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson took turns spinning each other out.
The Busch-Johnson battle has simmered for years now and could really blow up if they meet during the Chase. Thankfully, both were already locked into the Chase and didn’t have anything to lose by trying to ruin each other’s night. That situation could be a lot different if it happens again sometime in the next 10 weeks.
Along with the carnage, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards had a good race to the finish as Harvick crossed the line with Edwards inches from his rear bumper.
Harvick deserved to win the race. He had the best car for most of the night even though the running order kept getting shuffled because of all the wrecks.
The win gives Harvick four on the season and he will start the Chase on top with Kyle Busch.
Overall, the changes to the points system and Chase format this year worked well during the regular season. It will be interesting to see how the Chase plays out, but it’s unlikely one driver will run away with the championship since several contenders have been on top of their game in recent weeks.
Have a good week everybody and enjoy this year’s Chase.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Busch and Sadler truck battle might set up wild Cup race
The NASCAR fall weekend at Bristol got off to an early and rough start Wednesday night with the Camping World Truck Series race.
Kevin Harvick won the race, but that felt a little bit secondary to the action behind him throughout the night.
The race had nine cautions, but the big one -- and the one people will talk about for the rest of the weekend -- happened on lap 101 when Kyle Busch clipped the front end of Elliott Sadler’s truck, causing Busch to slam his right-front into the backstretch wall.
The race stayed green, and Busch limped around the track until Sadler came back around and he spun Sadler around to finally bring out the caution.
OK, so the two drivers had a dust-up at Bristol and Busch retaliated. That’s not terribly uncommon at Bristol, but Busch stoked the fire for the rest of the weekend by saying that Sadler wrecked him because he drives for Kevin Harvick Inc.
Unfortunately, Sadler actually drove the #24 truck owned by Joe Denette in this race.
Still, Sadler and Busch will both be in the Nationwide race Friday, and Busch and Harvick will be in the Cup race Saturday.
It’s unlikely Sadler and Busch would go after each other much more because Sadler is involved in the championship hunt in the Nationwide Series, but the Cup race could be another story.
Busch and Harvick have both been off of probation for a while now. And even though Harvick has said NASCAR told him to stay away from Busch on the track, talk is cheap.
If Busch starts to rough Harvick up, Harvick is almost certain to respond.
This could make for one of the best Bristol weekends in a long time. There have been a few moments this season where drivers really got upset with one another. Harvick and Busch at Darlington come to mind, and more recently the Greg Biffle and Boris Said incident at Watkins Glen. However, the biggest fireworks of the season could come Saturday night.
Harvick currently sits third in the points standings and Busch is already locked into the Chase. That means both drivers have very little to lose in the next three races, and they really have the least amount of pressure on them that they will for the rest of the season.
If both drivers are near the front toward the end of the race, we could certainly have a classic Bristol moment.
Bristol has been much tamer in recent years after the track was reconfigured, but Wednesday’s truck race may have brought back the edge to the World’s Fastest Half-Mile and could spice up the rest of the season.
Kevin Harvick won the race, but that felt a little bit secondary to the action behind him throughout the night.
The race had nine cautions, but the big one -- and the one people will talk about for the rest of the weekend -- happened on lap 101 when Kyle Busch clipped the front end of Elliott Sadler’s truck, causing Busch to slam his right-front into the backstretch wall.
The race stayed green, and Busch limped around the track until Sadler came back around and he spun Sadler around to finally bring out the caution.
OK, so the two drivers had a dust-up at Bristol and Busch retaliated. That’s not terribly uncommon at Bristol, but Busch stoked the fire for the rest of the weekend by saying that Sadler wrecked him because he drives for Kevin Harvick Inc.
Unfortunately, Sadler actually drove the #24 truck owned by Joe Denette in this race.
Still, Sadler and Busch will both be in the Nationwide race Friday, and Busch and Harvick will be in the Cup race Saturday.
It’s unlikely Sadler and Busch would go after each other much more because Sadler is involved in the championship hunt in the Nationwide Series, but the Cup race could be another story.
Busch and Harvick have both been off of probation for a while now. And even though Harvick has said NASCAR told him to stay away from Busch on the track, talk is cheap.
If Busch starts to rough Harvick up, Harvick is almost certain to respond.
This could make for one of the best Bristol weekends in a long time. There have been a few moments this season where drivers really got upset with one another. Harvick and Busch at Darlington come to mind, and more recently the Greg Biffle and Boris Said incident at Watkins Glen. However, the biggest fireworks of the season could come Saturday night.
Harvick currently sits third in the points standings and Busch is already locked into the Chase. That means both drivers have very little to lose in the next three races, and they really have the least amount of pressure on them that they will for the rest of the season.
If both drivers are near the front toward the end of the race, we could certainly have a classic Bristol moment.
Bristol has been much tamer in recent years after the track was reconfigured, but Wednesday’s truck race may have brought back the edge to the World’s Fastest Half-Mile and could spice up the rest of the season.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sprint Cup Series continues unpredictable races at Kentucky
After one of the most unpredictable races ever at Daytona, the Sprint Cup Series heads into another unpredictable race Saturday night at Kentucky.
Kentucky Speedway has been around for more than a decade, but it has taken almost that long for the track to finally get the biggest NASCAR series to come to town.
The Nationwide Series will run its 11th race at the track Friday night, and five drivers in the Cup field have already won at that track. So, why is this race unpredictable?
Well, two of the winners, David Gilliland and Joey Logano, who has won the last three Nationwide races at Kentucky, haven’t won at the Cup level since Logano won the rain-shortened race at New Hampshire in 2009.
The other three winners who are in the Cup race, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, all won at the track in the old-style car. The current Cup cars will not drive very similar to the cars each of those drivers took to Victory Lane.
Usually when something new comes into the sport, one team tends to dominate for a little while. Hendrick Motorsports dominated when the Car of Tomorrow was introduced in 2007, and Joe Gibbs Racing dominated last year when NASCAR brought back the rear spoiler and did away with the wing.
To add a little more concern that Saturday’s race might not be the most exciting race ever, the winner in nine of the 10 Nationwide races has started inside the top 10. Only Harvick came from outside the top 10 in the first-ever Nationwide race at the track. He started 11th. Plus, Logano has started from the pole in each of his three wins.
With all that said, it is still very possible Saturday night’s race will be fun for both the drivers and fans. Although the track is 1.5 miles long, it is different from several of the other intermediate tracks.
Kentucky Speedway doesn’t have long, sweeping corners. The straightaways are long and the drivers really have to bury the car down into the corner, but they can still race two and three wide through those corners. This track races more like Rockingham than it does Chicagoland or Kansas.
The bigger teams might have a bit more of an advantage than usual this weekend because although the race has many unknowns, the big-time teams are able to limit them through simulation work before the cars ever leave the shop to pull ahead of the competition. Enjoy the race, everybody.
Kentucky Speedway has been around for more than a decade, but it has taken almost that long for the track to finally get the biggest NASCAR series to come to town.
The Nationwide Series will run its 11th race at the track Friday night, and five drivers in the Cup field have already won at that track. So, why is this race unpredictable?
Well, two of the winners, David Gilliland and Joey Logano, who has won the last three Nationwide races at Kentucky, haven’t won at the Cup level since Logano won the rain-shortened race at New Hampshire in 2009.
The other three winners who are in the Cup race, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, all won at the track in the old-style car. The current Cup cars will not drive very similar to the cars each of those drivers took to Victory Lane.
Usually when something new comes into the sport, one team tends to dominate for a little while. Hendrick Motorsports dominated when the Car of Tomorrow was introduced in 2007, and Joe Gibbs Racing dominated last year when NASCAR brought back the rear spoiler and did away with the wing.
To add a little more concern that Saturday’s race might not be the most exciting race ever, the winner in nine of the 10 Nationwide races has started inside the top 10. Only Harvick came from outside the top 10 in the first-ever Nationwide race at the track. He started 11th. Plus, Logano has started from the pole in each of his three wins.
With all that said, it is still very possible Saturday night’s race will be fun for both the drivers and fans. Although the track is 1.5 miles long, it is different from several of the other intermediate tracks.
Kentucky Speedway doesn’t have long, sweeping corners. The straightaways are long and the drivers really have to bury the car down into the corner, but they can still race two and three wide through those corners. This track races more like Rockingham than it does Chicagoland or Kansas.
The bigger teams might have a bit more of an advantage than usual this weekend because although the race has many unknowns, the big-time teams are able to limit them through simulation work before the cars ever leave the shop to pull ahead of the competition. Enjoy the race, everybody.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
June races showcased potential Sprint Cup championship contenders
June is often considered one of the most important months of the NASCAR schedule. It is a month that includes several different types of tracks that force teams to have a good, solid program overall.
From horsepower to fuel mileage, the races in June tend to expose which teams have their act together and which teams are good, but maybe not good enough to make a run at the championship.
So, what insights might we have gained this June? For one, Carl Edwards and the #99 team is for real. It would be shocking if Edwards isn’t a factor in the late stages of the Chase.
He may not have won a race, but aside from an engine problem that relegated him to a 37th place finish at Pocono, a race where he started sixth, Edwards racked up three top fives while maintained the top spot in the points ahead of second-place Kevin Harvick.
Speaking of Harvick, the #29 team doesn’t have a commanding lead in the points standings as it did last year at this time, but Harvick has closed Edwards’ points lead to 26 after starting the month 35 points behind coming off of his win in the Coca-Cola 600.
Harvick finished in the top 15 in every race during June. Plus, he persevered to a ninth-place finish Sunday at Sonoma after he got caught up in an early wreck that left his car with substantial damage.
That consistency, combined with his three wins, will keep Harvick in contention throughout the Chase.
The other obvious team that awakened during June is last week’s winning #22 team and its driver, Kurt Busch. The team’s struggles earlier in the season have been well-documented, but Busch’s rebound actually started a week before June began.
Busch has flown from ninth to fourth in the points since Dover and has reeled off a win and four top 10s, including three straight poles.
This team likely won’t stay as hot as its been lately, but Busch is not far behind Edwards and Harvick at this point. And, while assuming Jimmie Johnson will be in the championship mix, Busch is next in line as a dark-horse contender for the title. The key for this team will be finding the consistency the other three contenders have.
While June is a month to separate the contenders from the pretenders, July begins with a shootout at Daytona to start the unofficial second half of the season. The Fourth of July race at Daytona is another one of the special events where points don’t matter so much.
But, with the chance of a surprise winner relatively high, this race could have a big say in who gets into the Chase because of the wild-spots this season. In that case, there might be one way to satisfy the “Winning doesn’t count enough” crowd.
While it still won’t directly help him win a championship, the winner of Saturday night’s race, or any of the upcoming 10 races, could at least have a chance to win the championship. In that way, winning could have a huge say in the championship, especially if a wild-card driver ends up winning the Sprint Cup.
From horsepower to fuel mileage, the races in June tend to expose which teams have their act together and which teams are good, but maybe not good enough to make a run at the championship.
So, what insights might we have gained this June? For one, Carl Edwards and the #99 team is for real. It would be shocking if Edwards isn’t a factor in the late stages of the Chase.
He may not have won a race, but aside from an engine problem that relegated him to a 37th place finish at Pocono, a race where he started sixth, Edwards racked up three top fives while maintained the top spot in the points ahead of second-place Kevin Harvick.
Speaking of Harvick, the #29 team doesn’t have a commanding lead in the points standings as it did last year at this time, but Harvick has closed Edwards’ points lead to 26 after starting the month 35 points behind coming off of his win in the Coca-Cola 600.
Harvick finished in the top 15 in every race during June. Plus, he persevered to a ninth-place finish Sunday at Sonoma after he got caught up in an early wreck that left his car with substantial damage.
That consistency, combined with his three wins, will keep Harvick in contention throughout the Chase.
The other obvious team that awakened during June is last week’s winning #22 team and its driver, Kurt Busch. The team’s struggles earlier in the season have been well-documented, but Busch’s rebound actually started a week before June began.
Busch has flown from ninth to fourth in the points since Dover and has reeled off a win and four top 10s, including three straight poles.
This team likely won’t stay as hot as its been lately, but Busch is not far behind Edwards and Harvick at this point. And, while assuming Jimmie Johnson will be in the championship mix, Busch is next in line as a dark-horse contender for the title. The key for this team will be finding the consistency the other three contenders have.
While June is a month to separate the contenders from the pretenders, July begins with a shootout at Daytona to start the unofficial second half of the season. The Fourth of July race at Daytona is another one of the special events where points don’t matter so much.
But, with the chance of a surprise winner relatively high, this race could have a big say in who gets into the Chase because of the wild-spots this season. In that case, there might be one way to satisfy the “Winning doesn’t count enough” crowd.
While it still won’t directly help him win a championship, the winner of Saturday night’s race, or any of the upcoming 10 races, could at least have a chance to win the championship. In that way, winning could have a huge say in the championship, especially if a wild-card driver ends up winning the Sprint Cup.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Rating the 5-Hour Energy 500: 1 Star *
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series began the second half of the regular season in the damp and cloudy Pocono Mountains with a tough day on the cars and a boring day for the fans. The first race at Pocono Raceway gets a 1 Star Rating.
Pocono is an interesting track and probably takes more criticism than it deserves, but Sunday’s race, no matter the track, had everything NASCAR haters or bandwagon fans love to complain about the sport.
This race had nothing but single-file racing and debris cautions. Plus, most of the races Jeff Gordon wins seem to be similar to Sunday's performance. When that #24 car is right and gets in clean air, he can still drive away from the field.
However, true diehard race fans may have found the tidbits of strategy and all of the mechanical issues interesting. While there wasn’t much strategy to be found, especially compared to the past couple of weeks, there were plenty of mechanical problems that aren’t seen that often in today’s NASCAR.
NASCAR instituted a gear-rule change for the weekend that made it possible for the drivers to shift between third and fourth gear at certain parts of the racetrack.
This was a nice gesture to bring back some of the aspects that made Pocono interesting and unique in the past, but it didn’t do much to help the racing and certainly took its toll on the engines and transmissions Sunday as no less than seven drivers who were in the top half of the points standings had some type of problem during the race.
It will be interesting to see what kind of improvements the teams will make on their transmissions before the Cup series returns in August. Pocono is always one of the toughest tracks on equipment, but this race had as many failures as any race in several years. Teams might prepare for the next Pocono race the way they would for a restrictor-plate race with some of the focus teams will put on the transmission if NASCAR leaves the gear rule the same.
The first race at Pocono last year had the best post-race show of the season as several drivers spoke their mind and Joey Logano dropped the “his wife wears the firesuit in the family” line on Kevin Harvick.
This time around, the only pushing and shoving came early in the race after the first caution when Harvick drove Kyle Busch all the way down the frontstretch to the point where they were driving through water and not too far away from the end of pit road.
They didn’t touch each other and NASCAR told both drivers and teams to take it easy, but Busch’s and Harvick’s probation ends next week, so maybe the emotions will start flowing more freely once again, even though Harvick’s car owner, Richard Childress, didn’t need any help last week at Kansas when he went after Busch himself and got slapped with a $150,000 fine and probation for the rest of the year.
From this point on, it looks like Childress will have to let his driver fight his own battles. For Harvick, those battles usually come around fairly regularly.
So, after one of the most uneventful races of the season the series heads to Michigan for another long fuel-mileage race.
Fuel mileage was a concern for teams at Pocono, but it is an extreme concern at Michigan. Some drivers will be told to try and save gas from the drop of the green flag, and the same will likely happen the following week at the road course in Sonoma. It’s that time of the year.
Pocono is an interesting track and probably takes more criticism than it deserves, but Sunday’s race, no matter the track, had everything NASCAR haters or bandwagon fans love to complain about the sport.
This race had nothing but single-file racing and debris cautions. Plus, most of the races Jeff Gordon wins seem to be similar to Sunday's performance. When that #24 car is right and gets in clean air, he can still drive away from the field.
However, true diehard race fans may have found the tidbits of strategy and all of the mechanical issues interesting. While there wasn’t much strategy to be found, especially compared to the past couple of weeks, there were plenty of mechanical problems that aren’t seen that often in today’s NASCAR.
NASCAR instituted a gear-rule change for the weekend that made it possible for the drivers to shift between third and fourth gear at certain parts of the racetrack.
This was a nice gesture to bring back some of the aspects that made Pocono interesting and unique in the past, but it didn’t do much to help the racing and certainly took its toll on the engines and transmissions Sunday as no less than seven drivers who were in the top half of the points standings had some type of problem during the race.
It will be interesting to see what kind of improvements the teams will make on their transmissions before the Cup series returns in August. Pocono is always one of the toughest tracks on equipment, but this race had as many failures as any race in several years. Teams might prepare for the next Pocono race the way they would for a restrictor-plate race with some of the focus teams will put on the transmission if NASCAR leaves the gear rule the same.
The first race at Pocono last year had the best post-race show of the season as several drivers spoke their mind and Joey Logano dropped the “his wife wears the firesuit in the family” line on Kevin Harvick.
This time around, the only pushing and shoving came early in the race after the first caution when Harvick drove Kyle Busch all the way down the frontstretch to the point where they were driving through water and not too far away from the end of pit road.
They didn’t touch each other and NASCAR told both drivers and teams to take it easy, but Busch’s and Harvick’s probation ends next week, so maybe the emotions will start flowing more freely once again, even though Harvick’s car owner, Richard Childress, didn’t need any help last week at Kansas when he went after Busch himself and got slapped with a $150,000 fine and probation for the rest of the year.
From this point on, it looks like Childress will have to let his driver fight his own battles. For Harvick, those battles usually come around fairly regularly.
So, after one of the most uneventful races of the season the series heads to Michigan for another long fuel-mileage race.
Fuel mileage was a concern for teams at Pocono, but it is an extreme concern at Michigan. Some drivers will be told to try and save gas from the drop of the green flag, and the same will likely happen the following week at the road course in Sonoma. It’s that time of the year.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Rating the Coca-Cola 600: 3 Stars ***
Memorial Day weekend is arguably the best racing weekend of the year, and it certainly has been this year with nail-biting finishes that literally came down to the final turn. The first three-quarters or so of the Coca-Cola 600 was worthy of 2 Stars and the finish was worthy of 4 Stars, so the entire race gets a 3 Star Rating.
Kevin Harvick usually comes out of nowhere to win his races, but this was the most unlikely win of them all. He sat between 20th and 25th for the first part of the race and was yelling at his team about how terrible the car was.
The next time we heard about him he was fifth in line for the final restart. Even at that point he wasn’t looked at as much of a threat because of all the cars and issues in the first two rows.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove one of those cars and took off on the final restart and drove away from the field. As he came through the frontstretch to take the white flag it looked like this was finally going to be that magical race Earnhardt Jr. fans have been waiting for so long. Some fans may have even done a double take.
Is that really the #88 car out in front on the final lap? After the years of disappointment, it looked like this win was finally possible. There was no lapped traffic, and the caution laps had to preserve some fuel, right?
Almost.
The #88 machine simply ran out of gas coming into Turn 3 and the guy who seems to always be in the right spot at the right time, Harvick, drove by to take a very unexpected victory.
Although there is heartbreak and frustration for Earnhardt Jr. fans to have their driver come so close to winning, it is a positive he drove a very good race and this team is starting to perform at a winner’s level week in and week out. That first win is always the hardest.
Harvick went through a similar stretch after his 2007 Daytona 500 win. It took until the spring race at Talladega last year to finally crack the code to Victory Lane again in a points event. Once that first win happened, several more followed, and now he is even running into a few just for having four wheels and an engine that runs.
Sure, Harvick drove a hard race to get into position to have a chance, but he said in Victory Lane this win was a gift. But, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good because any win, no matter the path, is very difficult to achieve.
As for the overall quality of the race, the majority of the 600 miles were similar to both the Dover race and the All-Star race the past two weeks. Maybe it’s because summer-type weather has finally arrived, but all of a sudden teams are having a difficult time keeping up with the racetrack and it is hurting the quality of racing.
Unfortunately, there’s little reason to think any of that will change next week in Kansas, and several of the same drivers should be a factor there. Kansas Speedway is the same length and a fairly similar configuration to Charlotte. Plus, Ford drivers have run well at Kansas in the past and right now they have the best cars in the field on intermediate tracks.
Kevin Harvick usually comes out of nowhere to win his races, but this was the most unlikely win of them all. He sat between 20th and 25th for the first part of the race and was yelling at his team about how terrible the car was.
The next time we heard about him he was fifth in line for the final restart. Even at that point he wasn’t looked at as much of a threat because of all the cars and issues in the first two rows.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove one of those cars and took off on the final restart and drove away from the field. As he came through the frontstretch to take the white flag it looked like this was finally going to be that magical race Earnhardt Jr. fans have been waiting for so long. Some fans may have even done a double take.
Is that really the #88 car out in front on the final lap? After the years of disappointment, it looked like this win was finally possible. There was no lapped traffic, and the caution laps had to preserve some fuel, right?
Almost.
The #88 machine simply ran out of gas coming into Turn 3 and the guy who seems to always be in the right spot at the right time, Harvick, drove by to take a very unexpected victory.
Although there is heartbreak and frustration for Earnhardt Jr. fans to have their driver come so close to winning, it is a positive he drove a very good race and this team is starting to perform at a winner’s level week in and week out. That first win is always the hardest.
Harvick went through a similar stretch after his 2007 Daytona 500 win. It took until the spring race at Talladega last year to finally crack the code to Victory Lane again in a points event. Once that first win happened, several more followed, and now he is even running into a few just for having four wheels and an engine that runs.
Sure, Harvick drove a hard race to get into position to have a chance, but he said in Victory Lane this win was a gift. But, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good because any win, no matter the path, is very difficult to achieve.
As for the overall quality of the race, the majority of the 600 miles were similar to both the Dover race and the All-Star race the past two weeks. Maybe it’s because summer-type weather has finally arrived, but all of a sudden teams are having a difficult time keeping up with the racetrack and it is hurting the quality of racing.
Unfortunately, there’s little reason to think any of that will change next week in Kansas, and several of the same drivers should be a factor there. Kansas Speedway is the same length and a fairly similar configuration to Charlotte. Plus, Ford drivers have run well at Kansas in the past and right now they have the best cars in the field on intermediate tracks.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Rating the Southern 500: 5 Stars *****
After a start to the season where the Sprint Cup Series drivers and teams minded their manners and forgave any mistakes on the track, Juan Pablo Montoya lit the fuse and the sport has gone wild once again. The 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway was one of the best races the sport has seen and gets an obvious 5 Star Rating.
The first two Saturday night races following the off weekend for Easter were the first two night races of the season, and everybody’s emotions have come alive as the lights came on. They say Saturday night’s alright for fighting, and that has been the motto for several drivers the last two weeks.
Montoya and Ryan Newman had their very public battle at Richmond and in the meeting that followed with NASCAR on Friday, drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch lost control of their emotions and snapped with profanity laced rants on their radios at Richmond, and now Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch then met fender-to-fender and face-to-face Saturday for a classic NASCAR showdown.
Harvick had given Busch a few nudges in the waning laps of the race, but then Busch pulled a Montoya move a lap later and intentionally turned Harvick up into the fence. Now, as far as penalties go, I can’t see how NASCAR would justify penalizing Busch, even with probation, after it gave Montoya a free pass after Richmond. These were nearly the exact same incidents. We could argue Montoya should have been penalized in some manner, but NASCAR shouldn’t create a double standard with these two incidents.
In other and much more positive news, Regan Smith and the #78 team finally got a much-deserved victory, and it came in one of the greatest of all NASCAR races. This win ranks right up with Trevor Bayne’s Daytona 500 victory to start the season, maybe even more amazing because the draft doesn’t work at Darlington.
Smith’s crew chief, Pete Rondeau, made one of the best strategy calls of the season when he told Smith to stay out on a caution with just six laps to go while nearly the rest of the lead-lap cars came in for tires. Smith leads the series with an 8.7 average starting position, and the one race he qualifies outside the top 20 is the race he comes back to win.
The race at Darlington kind of summed up what NASCAR is all about. Virtually everybody who runs full-time in the sport has a chance to win. Of all races to predict a surprise winner, the Southern 500 certainly wouldn’t have been even near the top of anybody’s list. Sure, strategy got Smith to the front, but he had made steady progress from his 23rd starting spot to get near the top 10 by the time he stayed out under caution, but he drove the wheels off of his car to hold off Carl Edwards on the final two restarts and definitely deserves to hold that trophy.
Also, it showed that the people in the sport are passionate about what they do and they will battle hard to get to the top each week. There are no longer any restrictions about how the drivers can and can’t act, and it has brought the personality of the sport back.
The races don’t get any easier as the sport heads north to battle the Monster Mile at Dover. This is another demanding race track, and I don’t see any reason why all of this drama won’t continue, unless everybody plays nice on Sundays and only light it up on Saturday nights. Plus, the All-Star race is in two weeks and there will be as much intrigue heading into that race as there has been in a long time, maybe ever. Have a great week everybody, this is good stuff.
The first two Saturday night races following the off weekend for Easter were the first two night races of the season, and everybody’s emotions have come alive as the lights came on. They say Saturday night’s alright for fighting, and that has been the motto for several drivers the last two weeks.
Montoya and Ryan Newman had their very public battle at Richmond and in the meeting that followed with NASCAR on Friday, drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch lost control of their emotions and snapped with profanity laced rants on their radios at Richmond, and now Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch then met fender-to-fender and face-to-face Saturday for a classic NASCAR showdown.
Harvick had given Busch a few nudges in the waning laps of the race, but then Busch pulled a Montoya move a lap later and intentionally turned Harvick up into the fence. Now, as far as penalties go, I can’t see how NASCAR would justify penalizing Busch, even with probation, after it gave Montoya a free pass after Richmond. These were nearly the exact same incidents. We could argue Montoya should have been penalized in some manner, but NASCAR shouldn’t create a double standard with these two incidents.
In other and much more positive news, Regan Smith and the #78 team finally got a much-deserved victory, and it came in one of the greatest of all NASCAR races. This win ranks right up with Trevor Bayne’s Daytona 500 victory to start the season, maybe even more amazing because the draft doesn’t work at Darlington.
Smith’s crew chief, Pete Rondeau, made one of the best strategy calls of the season when he told Smith to stay out on a caution with just six laps to go while nearly the rest of the lead-lap cars came in for tires. Smith leads the series with an 8.7 average starting position, and the one race he qualifies outside the top 20 is the race he comes back to win.
The race at Darlington kind of summed up what NASCAR is all about. Virtually everybody who runs full-time in the sport has a chance to win. Of all races to predict a surprise winner, the Southern 500 certainly wouldn’t have been even near the top of anybody’s list. Sure, strategy got Smith to the front, but he had made steady progress from his 23rd starting spot to get near the top 10 by the time he stayed out under caution, but he drove the wheels off of his car to hold off Carl Edwards on the final two restarts and definitely deserves to hold that trophy.
Also, it showed that the people in the sport are passionate about what they do and they will battle hard to get to the top each week. There are no longer any restrictions about how the drivers can and can’t act, and it has brought the personality of the sport back.
The races don’t get any easier as the sport heads north to battle the Monster Mile at Dover. This is another demanding race track, and I don’t see any reason why all of this drama won’t continue, unless everybody plays nice on Sundays and only light it up on Saturday nights. Plus, the All-Star race is in two weeks and there will be as much intrigue heading into that race as there has been in a long time, maybe ever. Have a great week everybody, this is good stuff.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Rating the Aaron's 499: 5 Stars *****
As the drivers get more comfortable with the two-car draft at restrictor-plate tracks, the finishes keep getting closer and closer, and Sunday’s was as close as they have ever been. A race that ties the closest finish ever with the most lead changes ever certainly deserves a 5 Star Rating.
Was this the best race ever? People will have differing opinions on which style of racing they prefer, rather its restrictor-plate racing vs. unrestricted racing or pack racing vs. two-car bump drafting racing. However, people would have to be nearly unconscious to think that finish wasn’t exciting. Heck, it might seem exciting even if they are unconscious.
The numbers say there was as much action as any race ever run, but it was really a clean race. After the Nationwide race had a record-setting 11 cautions in 312 miles, many people expected a bunch of cautions in the 499-mile Cup race. Instead, there were only six cautions and two were for debris.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t wrecks, however. Sure, there wasn’t the typical huge wreck, but there were plenty of times throughout the race that had all of the ingredients for a major wreck, but the drivers instead made incredible saves, namely Ryan Newman.
The man who has the worst restrictor-plate racing luck of any driver in the field was once again in the top 10 late in the race when he was turned sideways by Denny Hamlin in turns 3 and 4. Had he not hit Juan Pablo Montoya, the #39 car probably would have caused a big mess, but Newman did a great job of holding the car down and not even bringing out the caution. He did bring out the yellow flag a few laps later but still made a great save to keep the car off the wall. He got a 25th-place finish for his efforts.
Races at Daytona and Talladega usually bring out a range of emotions, and Sunday was no different. The incredible joy and adrenaline rush felt by those who were part of the eight-car pack at the finish was countered by the disappointment of Dave Blaney.
Blaney hooked up with Kevin Harvick early on and ran a fantastic race, leading 21 laps, the second-most of anybody in the field. Unfortunately, the surprise run of the race came to an end just three laps from the finish. Instead of being the Trevor Bayne of Talladega, Blaney finished 27th, the last car on the lead lap.
Overall, the race at Talladega delivered as promised and even exceeded expectations, if that was possible. The finish to this race was like watching a Hail Mary be completed to win a football game. It happens so fast and is so unexpected that it’s hard to believe you actually saw it happen. It’s easy to say this is a once-in-a-decade type finish, but the way the finishes have been at Daytona and Talladega lately, we could see something like this happen all over again in July at Daytona. Is it too early to get excited for that race?
Anyway, the second off-week of the season comes up next before the series moves on to Richmond, which is a great racetrack for totally different reasons than Talladega. For those who don’t like restrictor-plate racing, this will be 400 miles of “real racing.”
Overall, this has been a great start to the season. It reminds me a bit of the early 2000s. The big-time drivers have shown their strength, but the wealth has been shared between seven drivers in eight races. We had a wonderful surprise winner at Daytona and different unexpected drivers have had good runs in almost every race.
Surprisingly, Talladega probably had the most regular suspects at the front of any race this season, as the top eight finishers were from power teams before David Gilliland came across in ninth.
Have a blessed Easter everybody.
Was this the best race ever? People will have differing opinions on which style of racing they prefer, rather its restrictor-plate racing vs. unrestricted racing or pack racing vs. two-car bump drafting racing. However, people would have to be nearly unconscious to think that finish wasn’t exciting. Heck, it might seem exciting even if they are unconscious.
The numbers say there was as much action as any race ever run, but it was really a clean race. After the Nationwide race had a record-setting 11 cautions in 312 miles, many people expected a bunch of cautions in the 499-mile Cup race. Instead, there were only six cautions and two were for debris.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t wrecks, however. Sure, there wasn’t the typical huge wreck, but there were plenty of times throughout the race that had all of the ingredients for a major wreck, but the drivers instead made incredible saves, namely Ryan Newman.
The man who has the worst restrictor-plate racing luck of any driver in the field was once again in the top 10 late in the race when he was turned sideways by Denny Hamlin in turns 3 and 4. Had he not hit Juan Pablo Montoya, the #39 car probably would have caused a big mess, but Newman did a great job of holding the car down and not even bringing out the caution. He did bring out the yellow flag a few laps later but still made a great save to keep the car off the wall. He got a 25th-place finish for his efforts.
Races at Daytona and Talladega usually bring out a range of emotions, and Sunday was no different. The incredible joy and adrenaline rush felt by those who were part of the eight-car pack at the finish was countered by the disappointment of Dave Blaney.
Blaney hooked up with Kevin Harvick early on and ran a fantastic race, leading 21 laps, the second-most of anybody in the field. Unfortunately, the surprise run of the race came to an end just three laps from the finish. Instead of being the Trevor Bayne of Talladega, Blaney finished 27th, the last car on the lead lap.
Overall, the race at Talladega delivered as promised and even exceeded expectations, if that was possible. The finish to this race was like watching a Hail Mary be completed to win a football game. It happens so fast and is so unexpected that it’s hard to believe you actually saw it happen. It’s easy to say this is a once-in-a-decade type finish, but the way the finishes have been at Daytona and Talladega lately, we could see something like this happen all over again in July at Daytona. Is it too early to get excited for that race?
Anyway, the second off-week of the season comes up next before the series moves on to Richmond, which is a great racetrack for totally different reasons than Talladega. For those who don’t like restrictor-plate racing, this will be 400 miles of “real racing.”
Overall, this has been a great start to the season. It reminds me a bit of the early 2000s. The big-time drivers have shown their strength, but the wealth has been shared between seven drivers in eight races. We had a wonderful surprise winner at Daytona and different unexpected drivers have had good runs in almost every race.
Surprisingly, Talladega probably had the most regular suspects at the front of any race this season, as the top eight finishers were from power teams before David Gilliland came across in ninth.
Have a blessed Easter everybody.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Rating the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500: 4 Stars ****
After a long day filled with some hard hits and another late pass for the win, Kevin Harvick ended up in Victory Lane for the second time in as many weeks. This year’s edition of the spring race at Martinsville gets a 4 Star Rating.
If people thought Harvick had a fluke 2010 season when he contended for the title along with Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, he is quickly proving that he is a serious threat to be a consistent title threat to the #48 team.
Also, Harvick has now proven he can win on any type of track on the circuit. He won two of the restrictor-plate races a year ago, he won at Michigan last August and California last week, and now he mastered a short track with his win at Martinsville.
Plus, the #29 team has had just three DNFs in the past three seasons combined. Consistency mixed with a few victories is a quick way to the top.
But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Other drivers have won multiple races early in a season and gone on to have sub-par seasons from that point on.
As for Sunday, this was a pretty typical Martinsville race. It was a barnburner like the past few have been, but the racing was close at the end and nobody completely dominated the event.
With two green-flag pit stops, the record for lead changes at Martinsville, which was 25, was smashed as the lead was swapped 31 times. That makes the third race of the season that has set a track record for lead changes, not a bad start to the season.
OK, so now on to the elephant in the room — Dale Earnhardt Jr. almost won the race. A win from Earnhardt Jr. at Martinsville would have been a total shock, but it also would have started a ton of talk about how Earnhardt Jr. is all of a sudden a title contender, which he very well could be. There just seems to be a pretty thick line between coming close to winning, and actually winning. However, Earnhardt Jr. has had good cars pretty much every week, and Steve Letarte has done a fantastic job as crew chief so far.
While one popular driver surprised in a positive way, another continued to disappoint. Denny Hamlin fell all the way to 12th after running a strong race but getting held up with pit issues.
The Joe Gibbs Racing engine shop got the engines to last the entire weekend this time, but the must have also sacrificed fuel mileage to do it. It stands to reason that the engineers would not run the engines so lean this weekend, which would use more fuel, but it definitely played a part in Hamlin’s race because he always had to pit before the rest of the field and it cost him when he got caught a lap down on the final caution and had to take the wave around.
So, next week it’s on to Texas for one of the fastest tracks on the schedule. Last year’s races at Texas Motor Speedway had their fair share of pushing, shoving and hand gestures, so it should be interesting to see if the drivers and teams play nice this time around.
If people thought Harvick had a fluke 2010 season when he contended for the title along with Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, he is quickly proving that he is a serious threat to be a consistent title threat to the #48 team.
Also, Harvick has now proven he can win on any type of track on the circuit. He won two of the restrictor-plate races a year ago, he won at Michigan last August and California last week, and now he mastered a short track with his win at Martinsville.
Plus, the #29 team has had just three DNFs in the past three seasons combined. Consistency mixed with a few victories is a quick way to the top.
But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Other drivers have won multiple races early in a season and gone on to have sub-par seasons from that point on.
As for Sunday, this was a pretty typical Martinsville race. It was a barnburner like the past few have been, but the racing was close at the end and nobody completely dominated the event.
With two green-flag pit stops, the record for lead changes at Martinsville, which was 25, was smashed as the lead was swapped 31 times. That makes the third race of the season that has set a track record for lead changes, not a bad start to the season.
OK, so now on to the elephant in the room — Dale Earnhardt Jr. almost won the race. A win from Earnhardt Jr. at Martinsville would have been a total shock, but it also would have started a ton of talk about how Earnhardt Jr. is all of a sudden a title contender, which he very well could be. There just seems to be a pretty thick line between coming close to winning, and actually winning. However, Earnhardt Jr. has had good cars pretty much every week, and Steve Letarte has done a fantastic job as crew chief so far.
While one popular driver surprised in a positive way, another continued to disappoint. Denny Hamlin fell all the way to 12th after running a strong race but getting held up with pit issues.
The Joe Gibbs Racing engine shop got the engines to last the entire weekend this time, but the must have also sacrificed fuel mileage to do it. It stands to reason that the engineers would not run the engines so lean this weekend, which would use more fuel, but it definitely played a part in Hamlin’s race because he always had to pit before the rest of the field and it cost him when he got caught a lap down on the final caution and had to take the wave around.
So, next week it’s on to Texas for one of the fastest tracks on the schedule. Last year’s races at Texas Motor Speedway had their fair share of pushing, shoving and hand gestures, so it should be interesting to see if the drivers and teams play nice this time around.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
About time to heat up ‘Have at it’
As Kevin Harvick bumped five-time champion Jimmie Johnson down the backstretch on the final lap of Sunday’s race, many people expected some sort of reaction from Johnson because even though he is mellow, he doesn’t get beat that way very often.
“I hate losing to (Harvick) coming off of (Turn) 4 like that, but we did everything we could today,” Johnson said after the race. “We had a great race, made our car a lot better all day long so I’m really proud about that.”
Oh boy. How about that fire? Now, I’m not here to rag on Johnson for not going all Kyle Busch on Harvick after the race, but it speaks to the fact that while the racing has been intense, the drivers have stepped out of their cars and played nice off the racetrack thus far.
I’m not saying this a good thing or a bad thing. The focus should be on the on-track action and not whatever is said during the week or after the race, but after last season, many people expected the drivers to come out of the gate swinging.
At this point last season, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski had just finished making up after Edwards flipped Keselowski at Atlanta.
It’s not as though there haven’t been opportunities for confrontations after a race. After the Phoenix race where Gordon used the slam-and-run, Busch could’ve reacted the way Gordon did at Martinsville one year ago when he made sure Matt Kenseth wouldn’t win the race after Kenseth had slipped by him on the final restart.
Instead, Busch was very contrite and apologized for putting Edwards in the wall early in the race, which brings up the other possible feud. Edwards said he would return the favor to Busch in the future, and while he has not backed down from that statement, the two have since played nice, both in the Cup and Nationwide series.
Now, for those who live for postrace soundbites, shouting matches and the occasional fight, that could very well happen as the season progresses. Several drivers have announced they have some payback after Phoenix and Bristol.
It would be unfair to say the racing has been tame this season, because there has been hard, close racing in several of the races, even some late in the race at California.
However, as the weather heats up, so may the tempers, and we’re headed to the perfect place for that — Martinsville.
“I hate losing to (Harvick) coming off of (Turn) 4 like that, but we did everything we could today,” Johnson said after the race. “We had a great race, made our car a lot better all day long so I’m really proud about that.”
Oh boy. How about that fire? Now, I’m not here to rag on Johnson for not going all Kyle Busch on Harvick after the race, but it speaks to the fact that while the racing has been intense, the drivers have stepped out of their cars and played nice off the racetrack thus far.
I’m not saying this a good thing or a bad thing. The focus should be on the on-track action and not whatever is said during the week or after the race, but after last season, many people expected the drivers to come out of the gate swinging.
At this point last season, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski had just finished making up after Edwards flipped Keselowski at Atlanta.
It’s not as though there haven’t been opportunities for confrontations after a race. After the Phoenix race where Gordon used the slam-and-run, Busch could’ve reacted the way Gordon did at Martinsville one year ago when he made sure Matt Kenseth wouldn’t win the race after Kenseth had slipped by him on the final restart.
Instead, Busch was very contrite and apologized for putting Edwards in the wall early in the race, which brings up the other possible feud. Edwards said he would return the favor to Busch in the future, and while he has not backed down from that statement, the two have since played nice, both in the Cup and Nationwide series.
Now, for those who live for postrace soundbites, shouting matches and the occasional fight, that could very well happen as the season progresses. Several drivers have announced they have some payback after Phoenix and Bristol.
It would be unfair to say the racing has been tame this season, because there has been hard, close racing in several of the races, even some late in the race at California.
However, as the weather heats up, so may the tempers, and we’re headed to the perfect place for that — Martinsville.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Rating the Auto Club 400: 4 Stars ****
Kevin Harvick came up and crashed Kyle Busch’s and Jimmie Johnson’s party in the closing laps in California in what turned out to be the most-exciting finish in the history of the track. The one and only race this season at Auto Club Speedway gets a 4 Star Rating.
It took 195 laps, but when the drivers decided to turn on the afterburners, they certainly did. Johnson laid back for most of the race, and Harvick pulled his typical restrictor-plate move and burst to the front in the final five laps.
The end of the race was shaping up to be incredibly similar to last year’s event. No, Johnson didn’t dominate the afternoon, but he was still up front at the end with Harvick closing fast. Last year Harvick pushed the envelope too far and got up against the wall on the final run, but this time he kept himself under control and executed his moves perfectly.
On the third side of the battle, Busch finished third in what turned out to be quite and up-and-down weekend. Well, not too much down, but Busch sometimes treats third place the way other drivers treat 30th place.
Busch had the third-best car in the Nationwide race Sunday, and was going to finish behind Harvick and Carl Edwards, but he took two tires on the final stop and held on for the win. Then Sunday he ran in first all day but couldn’t hold on and was overtaken by both Johnson and Harvick. While Johnson led three laps and Harvick led one lap and the race, Busch led 151 of the 200 laps and lost the race.
As for the other 95 percent of the race, it was typical of California. Lots and lots of green-flag racing, which is good, but there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot of action.
Still, it was nice to see the leader not be able to automatically check out from the field. Busch led 75 percent of the race, but he usually didn’t have a huge lead on the second-place car, which for most of the race was Tony Stewart.
This weekend we saw several important trends develop, including the fact that right now there are four organizations that are extremely competitive with Hendrick, Childress, Gibbs and Roush. Those organizations have each had their own struggles at different points early on, but they seem to be rounding into form and will fill this season with some pretty intense battles.
Also, we saw the new nose configuration in action on an aero-sensitive track. Combined with the spoiler, this setup looks like it will provide better racing where the leader doesn’t always drive away from the field, and while it’s not easy to pass somebody, it can certainly be done. As far as competitive racing is concerned, the aerodynamics of the cars are as good as they’ve been in quite some time.
Next week its back to short-track racing as the series heads to Martinsville. This track has produced some pretty exciting battles of late, and there’s little reason to think that will change. If anything, it might be amplified on NASCAR’s shortest track.
It took 195 laps, but when the drivers decided to turn on the afterburners, they certainly did. Johnson laid back for most of the race, and Harvick pulled his typical restrictor-plate move and burst to the front in the final five laps.
The end of the race was shaping up to be incredibly similar to last year’s event. No, Johnson didn’t dominate the afternoon, but he was still up front at the end with Harvick closing fast. Last year Harvick pushed the envelope too far and got up against the wall on the final run, but this time he kept himself under control and executed his moves perfectly.
On the third side of the battle, Busch finished third in what turned out to be quite and up-and-down weekend. Well, not too much down, but Busch sometimes treats third place the way other drivers treat 30th place.
Busch had the third-best car in the Nationwide race Sunday, and was going to finish behind Harvick and Carl Edwards, but he took two tires on the final stop and held on for the win. Then Sunday he ran in first all day but couldn’t hold on and was overtaken by both Johnson and Harvick. While Johnson led three laps and Harvick led one lap and the race, Busch led 151 of the 200 laps and lost the race.
As for the other 95 percent of the race, it was typical of California. Lots and lots of green-flag racing, which is good, but there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot of action.
Still, it was nice to see the leader not be able to automatically check out from the field. Busch led 75 percent of the race, but he usually didn’t have a huge lead on the second-place car, which for most of the race was Tony Stewart.
This weekend we saw several important trends develop, including the fact that right now there are four organizations that are extremely competitive with Hendrick, Childress, Gibbs and Roush. Those organizations have each had their own struggles at different points early on, but they seem to be rounding into form and will fill this season with some pretty intense battles.
Also, we saw the new nose configuration in action on an aero-sensitive track. Combined with the spoiler, this setup looks like it will provide better racing where the leader doesn’t always drive away from the field, and while it’s not easy to pass somebody, it can certainly be done. As far as competitive racing is concerned, the aerodynamics of the cars are as good as they’ve been in quite some time.
Next week its back to short-track racing as the series heads to Martinsville. This track has produced some pretty exciting battles of late, and there’s little reason to think that will change. If anything, it might be amplified on NASCAR’s shortest track.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Rating the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: 4 Stars ****
The 36-race trek that began and ended in Florida in 2010 ended the same as the past four years with Jimmie Johnson on stage in Las Vegas delivering his acceptance speech for winning the Sprint Cup. However, the way he got there was vastly different than in the past. The 2010 Sprint Cup Series season gets a 4 Star Rating.
This season had its ups and downs. But, there were plenty of ups and the downs weren’t nearly as low as past seasons. The restrictor-plate package this season produced the best big-track racing since the early 2000’s, and the change to a rear spoiler instead of a wing made the racing better at many of the other tracks the series visited.
Finally, the championship finally came down to an all-or-nothing shootout among Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick in the final race at Homestead. Last year at this time complaints surfaced everywhere in the NASCAR community. One year later, that same community is relatively content. Whether the head NASCAR administrators agree or not is yet to be seen. I’m just saying, this is one year where change is nothing but a bad thing.
So, let’s take a look at the breakdown of ratings throughout the season, which excludes the two non-points events and the reader’s choice edition for the fall race at New Hampshire:
5 Stars: 5 races
4 Stars: 10 races
3 Stars: 14 races
2 Stars: 6 races
1 Star: no races
2010 was the first season Monday Morning Crew Chief has not handed down a 1 Star Rating and, once again, we had five races of ultimate excitement.
Other than the Daytona 500, which was unfortunately delayed by a pothole, the beginning of the season got off to a rather slow start. The three races following Daytona at California, Las Vegas and Atlanta did not get above a 3 Star Rating. The short tracks, however, ignited the fire to really get the season started.
As we have seen in the past, the 5 Star races tend to be at short tracks or restrictor-plate tracks. However, this year one intermediate track made the cut.
The first 5 Star race of the season came at Martinsville in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, as Denny Hamlin brought home another grandfather clock as he sliced through the field in the final laps and came out on top after a crazy green-white-checkered finish where Matt Kenseth had the lead in Turn 1, but Jeff Gordon punted him out of the way in Turn 3 to allow Hamlin to squeeze by for the win. This race would prove to be Gordon’s best chance at a win, as he was merely feet from the white flag before the final caution flew.
The next race worthy of a 5 Star Rating was the historic Aaron’s 499 at Talladega that had everything. This race smashed records, as twenty-nine drivers swapped the lead 88 times. However, that wasn’t enough for this race. The first race with three attempts at a green-white-checkered came down to a drag race between Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick. As the pair came through the tri-oval, Harvick timed his move perfectly and pulled underneath McMurray to take the win by inches. This race had to end in a photo finish; it was just that kind of a day.
The third 5 Star race of the season came at the other restrictor-plate track, Daytona, in the Coke Zero 400 and the final race on the old pavement. This race had only 47 lead changes, but drivers ran in tight packs while they held onto their cars through the bumps to make for a great race. Only 17 cars finished on the lead lap in this one, and 19 cars got caught up in the “Big One.” Kevin Harvick continued his restrictor-plate racing domination as he brought home the “other” trophy from Daytona this season.
Nearly three months went by before the next 5 Star race rolled around and, once again, it came at Talladega in the Amp Energy Juice 500. With just four races left in the season and Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick locked in the tightest Chase battle in its history. Although Hamlin fell a lap down and Harvick suffered front-end damage in a wreck, all three came out of the race with a shot at the title. In addition to the championship drama, there were the second-most lead changes in series history, 87, and Harvick nearly pulled off the win, but the caution flew on the final lap when A.J. Allmendinger flipped upside down and Clint Bowyer happened to be in the lead. Another photo finish, but it happened in Turn 1, not the finish line.
The final great race of the season came at Texas in the AAA Texas 500. All kinds of stuff went down in this one, including a fight on the backstretch, a bird through a windshield and a mid-race pit crew swap. All of this happened while Denny Hamlin took the points lead with two races to go. The season all kind of came together in this one race. The drivers showed emotion, the racing on the track was close and the points battle was as close as possible.
So, with a great year under its belt, hopefully NASCAR can build on that momentum and carry the excitement on through next season and beyond. The championship battle was close this year, and there is little reason to think it won’t be that way again in 2011.
Throughout the offseason Monday Morning Crew Chief will have a variety of articles about news, rumors and opinions. With testing at Daytona this year, there will only be a few weeks where cars won’t be on the track. Hopefully the offseason blues will be a little less dark this time around. Thank you for reading this season and have a terrific holiday season.
This season had its ups and downs. But, there were plenty of ups and the downs weren’t nearly as low as past seasons. The restrictor-plate package this season produced the best big-track racing since the early 2000’s, and the change to a rear spoiler instead of a wing made the racing better at many of the other tracks the series visited.
Finally, the championship finally came down to an all-or-nothing shootout among Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick in the final race at Homestead. Last year at this time complaints surfaced everywhere in the NASCAR community. One year later, that same community is relatively content. Whether the head NASCAR administrators agree or not is yet to be seen. I’m just saying, this is one year where change is nothing but a bad thing.
So, let’s take a look at the breakdown of ratings throughout the season, which excludes the two non-points events and the reader’s choice edition for the fall race at New Hampshire:
5 Stars: 5 races
4 Stars: 10 races
3 Stars: 14 races
2 Stars: 6 races
1 Star: no races
2010 was the first season Monday Morning Crew Chief has not handed down a 1 Star Rating and, once again, we had five races of ultimate excitement.
Other than the Daytona 500, which was unfortunately delayed by a pothole, the beginning of the season got off to a rather slow start. The three races following Daytona at California, Las Vegas and Atlanta did not get above a 3 Star Rating. The short tracks, however, ignited the fire to really get the season started.
As we have seen in the past, the 5 Star races tend to be at short tracks or restrictor-plate tracks. However, this year one intermediate track made the cut.
The first 5 Star race of the season came at Martinsville in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, as Denny Hamlin brought home another grandfather clock as he sliced through the field in the final laps and came out on top after a crazy green-white-checkered finish where Matt Kenseth had the lead in Turn 1, but Jeff Gordon punted him out of the way in Turn 3 to allow Hamlin to squeeze by for the win. This race would prove to be Gordon’s best chance at a win, as he was merely feet from the white flag before the final caution flew.
The next race worthy of a 5 Star Rating was the historic Aaron’s 499 at Talladega that had everything. This race smashed records, as twenty-nine drivers swapped the lead 88 times. However, that wasn’t enough for this race. The first race with three attempts at a green-white-checkered came down to a drag race between Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick. As the pair came through the tri-oval, Harvick timed his move perfectly and pulled underneath McMurray to take the win by inches. This race had to end in a photo finish; it was just that kind of a day.
The third 5 Star race of the season came at the other restrictor-plate track, Daytona, in the Coke Zero 400 and the final race on the old pavement. This race had only 47 lead changes, but drivers ran in tight packs while they held onto their cars through the bumps to make for a great race. Only 17 cars finished on the lead lap in this one, and 19 cars got caught up in the “Big One.” Kevin Harvick continued his restrictor-plate racing domination as he brought home the “other” trophy from Daytona this season.
Nearly three months went by before the next 5 Star race rolled around and, once again, it came at Talladega in the Amp Energy Juice 500. With just four races left in the season and Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick locked in the tightest Chase battle in its history. Although Hamlin fell a lap down and Harvick suffered front-end damage in a wreck, all three came out of the race with a shot at the title. In addition to the championship drama, there were the second-most lead changes in series history, 87, and Harvick nearly pulled off the win, but the caution flew on the final lap when A.J. Allmendinger flipped upside down and Clint Bowyer happened to be in the lead. Another photo finish, but it happened in Turn 1, not the finish line.
The final great race of the season came at Texas in the AAA Texas 500. All kinds of stuff went down in this one, including a fight on the backstretch, a bird through a windshield and a mid-race pit crew swap. All of this happened while Denny Hamlin took the points lead with two races to go. The season all kind of came together in this one race. The drivers showed emotion, the racing on the track was close and the points battle was as close as possible.
So, with a great year under its belt, hopefully NASCAR can build on that momentum and carry the excitement on through next season and beyond. The championship battle was close this year, and there is little reason to think it won’t be that way again in 2011.
Throughout the offseason Monday Morning Crew Chief will have a variety of articles about news, rumors and opinions. With testing at Daytona this year, there will only be a few weeks where cars won’t be on the track. Hopefully the offseason blues will be a little less dark this time around. Thank you for reading this season and have a terrific holiday season.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Rating the Ford 400: 4 Stars ****
The 2010 Sprint Cup Series championship came down to the wire Sunday in Homestead. The then-four-time-defending champion stepped into the #48 car in second place in the points standings, but once again jumped out on top. The championship race at Homestead gets a 4 Star Rating.
Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, the #48 team and the #24 pit crew. This was by far the most challenging championship season for this group. In the past, they had dominated the competition by so much throughout the first nine Chase races that they could come to Homestead and cruise to victory. However, this time they had to go out and take it from the grasp of Denny Hamlin and the #11 team.
This race certainly didn’t go as planned for any of the championship contenders. It did, however, for Carl Edwards. The #99 car took the lead on lap 4 and led 190 total laps to dominate the final race of the season. Martin Truex Jr. had a car that could hang with Edwards, but a cut tire on a restart with 68 laps to go took the #56 car out of contention and ended a mediocre season for that group.
So, qualifying did matter. As Hamlin tried to make his way through the field after starting 37th, he pushed the issue and spun down the backstretch after contact with Greg Biffle on lap 23 that started a tough day for the #11 team. Hamlin admitted before the race he was nervous, and those nerves may have come into play and resulted in the wreck. They say you have to lose one before you can win one, and that was true for Johnson, so maybe this is just part of the learning and maturation process for Hamlin. One thing is for sure, a Joe Gibbs Racing car is going to be in contention for many years to come.
With 81 laps to go, Harvick’s pit crew got him out first and he was set to lead the field to the restart with Johnson eighth and Hamlin ninth, almost the exact scenario needed for Harvick to win the title. Then the crushing blow hit the #29 team square in the face, Harvick had sped down pit road. While it may not have mattered in the end, the penalty destroyed most of Harvick’s chance at the championship, as he had to spend the rest of the race making up ground he lost on the penalty.
Johnson is now a five-time champion, and that is simply amazing. Sure, people like to hate him and the #48 team for being great; that’s fine, at least they care. But, don’t bash NASCAR because Johnson continues to win. If Hamlin or Harvick would’ve won Sunday, those same people would be thrilled and say everything in NASCAR is great. Instead, there will be those who say the racing is not exciting anymore. That is simply untrue.
This season was filled with everything a motorsports fan could want. Nearly every change NASCAR made during the offseason turned out to be a positive this season. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn around and make changes this offseason just for the sake of making changes. There have been plenty of times in the past decade NASCAR has gotten in its own way. Don’t do it again this year. Most of the races were fun to watch, even at some tracks that aren’t known for exciting racing, the leader rarely jumped out to a huge lead right after a restart, there were less debris cautions and the championship came down to a fantastic three-way battle. What’s to change?
Now we’ve come to that time of the year again, where the cars roll back under the cover of a garage for the winter and the NASCAR gear goes back into the closet until those beautiful February days roll around at Daytona. Is it too early to get excited about Speedweeks? Only 89 days until the 500.
Thank you to all the Monday Morning Crew Chief readers this season. It has been a pleasure to discuss my favorite subject each week. Look for the final rating Dec. 7, the Tuesday after the awards ceremony where the season will be rated and have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, the #48 team and the #24 pit crew. This was by far the most challenging championship season for this group. In the past, they had dominated the competition by so much throughout the first nine Chase races that they could come to Homestead and cruise to victory. However, this time they had to go out and take it from the grasp of Denny Hamlin and the #11 team.
This race certainly didn’t go as planned for any of the championship contenders. It did, however, for Carl Edwards. The #99 car took the lead on lap 4 and led 190 total laps to dominate the final race of the season. Martin Truex Jr. had a car that could hang with Edwards, but a cut tire on a restart with 68 laps to go took the #56 car out of contention and ended a mediocre season for that group.
So, qualifying did matter. As Hamlin tried to make his way through the field after starting 37th, he pushed the issue and spun down the backstretch after contact with Greg Biffle on lap 23 that started a tough day for the #11 team. Hamlin admitted before the race he was nervous, and those nerves may have come into play and resulted in the wreck. They say you have to lose one before you can win one, and that was true for Johnson, so maybe this is just part of the learning and maturation process for Hamlin. One thing is for sure, a Joe Gibbs Racing car is going to be in contention for many years to come.
With 81 laps to go, Harvick’s pit crew got him out first and he was set to lead the field to the restart with Johnson eighth and Hamlin ninth, almost the exact scenario needed for Harvick to win the title. Then the crushing blow hit the #29 team square in the face, Harvick had sped down pit road. While it may not have mattered in the end, the penalty destroyed most of Harvick’s chance at the championship, as he had to spend the rest of the race making up ground he lost on the penalty.
Johnson is now a five-time champion, and that is simply amazing. Sure, people like to hate him and the #48 team for being great; that’s fine, at least they care. But, don’t bash NASCAR because Johnson continues to win. If Hamlin or Harvick would’ve won Sunday, those same people would be thrilled and say everything in NASCAR is great. Instead, there will be those who say the racing is not exciting anymore. That is simply untrue.
This season was filled with everything a motorsports fan could want. Nearly every change NASCAR made during the offseason turned out to be a positive this season. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn around and make changes this offseason just for the sake of making changes. There have been plenty of times in the past decade NASCAR has gotten in its own way. Don’t do it again this year. Most of the races were fun to watch, even at some tracks that aren’t known for exciting racing, the leader rarely jumped out to a huge lead right after a restart, there were less debris cautions and the championship came down to a fantastic three-way battle. What’s to change?
Now we’ve come to that time of the year again, where the cars roll back under the cover of a garage for the winter and the NASCAR gear goes back into the closet until those beautiful February days roll around at Daytona. Is it too early to get excited about Speedweeks? Only 89 days until the 500.
Thank you to all the Monday Morning Crew Chief readers this season. It has been a pleasure to discuss my favorite subject each week. Look for the final rating Dec. 7, the Tuesday after the awards ceremony where the season will be rated and have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Rating the Kobalt Tools 500: 4 Stars ****
Just when it looked like we might have a good idea of who would bring home the 2010 Sprint Cup Series title, Denny Hamlin pitted from his second-place position while Jimmie Johnson held on to finish fifth. Now, the champoinship battle is tighter than ever. The second-to-last race of the year gets a 4 Star Rating.
Overall, much of the race was pretty typical Phoenix-style racing. Similar to New Hampshire, it is really hard to pass, and therefore the leader can stay out front forever. However, and I think the spoiler has helped this issue in the majority of races this season, the leader never immediately jumped out to a two-second lead. The car in second was able to hang with the leader for long stretches throughout the race. Mark that down as a change that worked.
As the race headed into its final 100 laps, it looked like Hamlin would finish off a dominating performance and take a Johnson-type lead with him into Homestead next week.. Instead, the caution with 79 laps to go set the stage for what turned into a stomach-churning, drama-filled finish. This had to be one of the “game seven” moments NASCAR had asked for when it debated changing the Chase format. Harvick’s missing lugnut could have ended his chances, Johnson could have run out of fuel and Hamlin likely would have run out of fuel if he hadn’t pitted. Not only was the race on the line that last run, but the season was on the line.
Fuel-mileage races always bring with them an added amount of drama, but the addition of a championship battle made it all the more tense. This race actually had the feel of what most of the fall Richmond races are like, ironically, except for this season. I said at the end of the regular season I would take a good championship battle instead of a close battle for 12th at Richmond, and that is what we have.
People have talked a lot about possible changes to the Chase, and many ideas centered around an elimination-style format. But, that type of format would have actually taken some of the drama out of the finish to this season. Right now Hamlin and Johnson will go toe-to-toe next week and whoever finishes higher will likely win the title, but the fact that Harvick is still well within striking distance brings in an added element of excitement. If Hamlin and Johnson both falter, the #29 car will do burnouts after the race.
So, now that we have the closest championship battle in the Chase’s short history, let’s dream a little bit. Johnson is only 15 points behind Hamlin. Now, depending on who has what as far as bonus points are concerned, 15 points could be the difference between first and second. Carl Edwards got 20 more points than second-place finisher Ryan Newman, who didn’t lead a lap. Think about this, Hamlin and Johnson drive their way to the front throughout the race and end up first and second on the final run. They then give it everything they have and end up in a battle simlar to the one Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven had at Darlington in 2003, and the race comes down to a photo finish for the race and the championship. That would be thrilling.
Before we move on, congratulations to Edwards and the #99 team. It’s been a long time coming, but the Ford camp has picked up its game during the second half of this season and might well have somebody in the championship hunt at this point next season.
So here it is, the race we’ve all been waiting for. This year’s Chase will go down as one of the greatest ever, and the stage is set for the race at Homestead to be one that NASCAR fans for years to come will look back on and say, “Wow. What can we do to make the racing more like it was in 2010?”
Overall, much of the race was pretty typical Phoenix-style racing. Similar to New Hampshire, it is really hard to pass, and therefore the leader can stay out front forever. However, and I think the spoiler has helped this issue in the majority of races this season, the leader never immediately jumped out to a two-second lead. The car in second was able to hang with the leader for long stretches throughout the race. Mark that down as a change that worked.
As the race headed into its final 100 laps, it looked like Hamlin would finish off a dominating performance and take a Johnson-type lead with him into Homestead next week.. Instead, the caution with 79 laps to go set the stage for what turned into a stomach-churning, drama-filled finish. This had to be one of the “game seven” moments NASCAR had asked for when it debated changing the Chase format. Harvick’s missing lugnut could have ended his chances, Johnson could have run out of fuel and Hamlin likely would have run out of fuel if he hadn’t pitted. Not only was the race on the line that last run, but the season was on the line.
Fuel-mileage races always bring with them an added amount of drama, but the addition of a championship battle made it all the more tense. This race actually had the feel of what most of the fall Richmond races are like, ironically, except for this season. I said at the end of the regular season I would take a good championship battle instead of a close battle for 12th at Richmond, and that is what we have.
People have talked a lot about possible changes to the Chase, and many ideas centered around an elimination-style format. But, that type of format would have actually taken some of the drama out of the finish to this season. Right now Hamlin and Johnson will go toe-to-toe next week and whoever finishes higher will likely win the title, but the fact that Harvick is still well within striking distance brings in an added element of excitement. If Hamlin and Johnson both falter, the #29 car will do burnouts after the race.
So, now that we have the closest championship battle in the Chase’s short history, let’s dream a little bit. Johnson is only 15 points behind Hamlin. Now, depending on who has what as far as bonus points are concerned, 15 points could be the difference between first and second. Carl Edwards got 20 more points than second-place finisher Ryan Newman, who didn’t lead a lap. Think about this, Hamlin and Johnson drive their way to the front throughout the race and end up first and second on the final run. They then give it everything they have and end up in a battle simlar to the one Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven had at Darlington in 2003, and the race comes down to a photo finish for the race and the championship. That would be thrilling.
Before we move on, congratulations to Edwards and the #99 team. It’s been a long time coming, but the Ford camp has picked up its game during the second half of this season and might well have somebody in the championship hunt at this point next season.
So here it is, the race we’ve all been waiting for. This year’s Chase will go down as one of the greatest ever, and the stage is set for the race at Homestead to be one that NASCAR fans for years to come will look back on and say, “Wow. What can we do to make the racing more like it was in 2010?”
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