Chase field decided; NASCAR issues still remain
September 8, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -The last race of NASCAR's regular season is intended to decide the 12-driver Chase for the championship field.
But when the checkered flag flew at Richmond International Raceway, there were as many lingering questions as there were answers about the final 10 weeks of the season.
Among them is the health of the Sprint Cup Series. Thriving on many levels, it's hard to view it as a picture of parity when only four car owners are represented in the championship hunt and slumping automaker Dodge failed to make the cut.
The direction of deep-pocketed Red Bull Racing is certainly subject to scrutiny now that general manager Jay Frye is being wooed by Tony Stewart's new team.
Speaking of Stewart, the end-of-the-race sniping between him and crew chief Greg Zipadelli left many wondering if after 10 turbulent years together, the two can survive the final 10 weeks of their working relationship.
First up, the Chase field. On paper, it looks to be quite competitive - four former series champions, hotshot Kyle Busch and NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. are among the 12 who will race for the Sprint Cup title.
But when Kasey Kahne failed to make the Chase with a poor Sunday run at Richmond, it created a troubling picture of the current state of the series. Kahne is a two-time race winner this season, and for those counting at home, that's two more wins than five of the Chase drivers have this year.
Of course, he and his No. 9 team can only blame themselves - and consecutive 40th-place finishes leading into Richmond - for their late summer collapse. But the issue could be deeper than that.
Kahne drives for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, which has the same hefty funding as NASCAR's top four teams. But the separation between everyone else and the big four - Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing - is so steep, Kahne and the GEM gang have been fighting an uphill battle all year.
Those big four owners placed three cars each in the Chase and have combined for 22 of 26 wins this season. Kahne has two and Penske Racing drivers Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman grabbed the other two.
But none made the Chase, and - coincidence? - all drive Dodges.
The automaker is reeling, lags far behind Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota on the race track and in showroom sales, and on Saturday revealed it was pulling out of NASCAR's Truck Series.
So as the race for the title begins Sunday in New Hampshire, it will be interesting to see what happens to Dodge as its teams are left out of the action.
It's also going to be interesting to see how Stewart and his Joe Gibbs Racing team handle their final 10 races together. The two-time champion is leaving at the end of the year to run his own race team, and the tension from his decision has been building all season.
Zipadelli has consistently presented a united front, but radio communications have revealed cracks that could crumble the team before Stewart moves on.
Stuck in a 40-race winless streak dating back to last season, Stewart has had victory in sight several times this year only to lose in heartbreaking fashion. Sunday wasn't one of those crushing defeats: He waged a stirring late-race battle with Jimmie Johnson, but ultimately didn't have a car strong enough to win.
As he pulled off the track following the second-place finish, he criticized his team's performance for letting another victory slip away. In audio replayed several times by ESPN, Zipadelli sharply reminded him they win and lose as a group.
After, Stewart was surly and didn't want to dissect yet another on-track defeat.
A championship battle with Stewart involved is the best kind of title fight, as the emotional driver usually leaves everything out on the track and goes down fighting. But if he and Zippy give up on each other before this season is over, there's very little chance Stewart will be a factor in this Chase.
Meanwhile, Stewart is being pulled in several directions as he shapes Stewart-Haas Racing for his impending takeover. He's hired a driver in Newman, a crew chief in Darian Grubb, secured several sponsors and is now seeking a general manager.
His sights are apparently on Frye, who kept a midlevel team afloat for 12 years before it was swallowed last season by Dale Earnhardt Inc. That freed Frye to take over Red Bull in January and clean up what was a heavily funded but poorly managed team.
Before Frye's arrival, both Red Bull cars struggled to make races and AJ Allmendinger's development was in serious danger of derailing. Now Brian Vickers is a legitimate contender, Allmendinger has his car inside the top 35 in points and Red Bull appears ready to race for wins.
That could all implode if Frye leaves and Austria-based team executives revert to the Formula One mentality that made their debut NASCAR season a joke.
The signs are already troubling. Regardless of what Frye decides, Allmendinger's status with the team is not certain even though the kid has done nothing short of what Red Bull asked of him.
Thrown into a ride he wasn't ready for with a team that didn't have a support system in place for him, Allmendinger weathered it all and has shown potential to run up front. But the Austrian's are gaga over former F1 driver Scott Speed, a longtime Red Bull athlete who has been given a second chance in NASCAR.
This shouldn't be an ``either Allmendinger or Speed'' situation, but the longer Allmendinger goes unsigned, the worse it looks for his future with the team. And if Red Bull can't be counted on to keep its young talent, then why would Frye turn down the chance to build a winner from scratch for Stewart?
The Sprint Cup title will be decided over the next 10 weeks, but there's plenty of other industry issues to keep an eye on.
And then, there were twelve
By Bram
More on that in a minute, but first… Scott Speed
Red Bull did confirm that the “a couple of steps away from ordinary” one has been doing some open testing in the Cup cars at Nashville and Kentucky and will be participating in a test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on September 23 – 24. Speed will drive the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota under the watch of NASCAR officials who will assess his ability to participate in future Cup races.
With the known that A.J. Allmendinger’s contract is up at year’s end and given Speed’s success in the ARCA and NCTS, …09?
Now back to the settling dust from yesterday
Richmond hosted little if any surprises as far as the Chase Class of ‘08. Them that gots, gets. The daytime racing and it’s lack of early track grip held a few at bay from making any real differences in the outcome. In fact, I think I witnessed more brushes with the fence than I have seen at RIR in quite a while. True testimony as to why racing under the lights at the .75 mile , D-shaped oval is preferred.
All 3 of RCR’s and JGR’s cars made it as did 3 of 4 Hendrick enteries, Jack’s pick for the Chase (Edwards) and the safety nets of Biffle and Kenseth.
Not a Dodge among them. So, the Ram takes another lickin’.
Skirmish between Kyle and Jr. Racing incident?… yep. (leave it at that.)
Stewart in post-race media meet-and-greet was his usual snarling self.
The truly excited and animated Carl Edwards feels this is his year, as long as everybody else doesn’t mind. And Kyle Busch has a more haggard look about him these days.
Even Jeff Gordon was a bit snippy with the press corps.
Others were simply expressing the gladness of being there.
No surprises in the last of the first 26, the final 10 will be dominated by the 3 at the top and Jimmie Johnson has the hot-shoe right now.
Edwards is my pick (that and a couple of bucks will get you coffee) but he’ll have a hard row to hoe.
Kyle will draw first blood at NHMS. Hamlin will make his bid come Martinsville time.
Barring Johnson going on the winning tear, he’ll not make it three Cups in a row.
Stewart, Gordon, Biffle will remain winless this season, but there will be at least one winner in the playoffs from outside the Twelve.
No surprises.. the season continues.
Stay Tuned.
backstretchmotorsports.com
The Chase is set but who has a shot at winning it
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The 12-driver field for this year's "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship was determined after Sunday's final race of the "regular season," the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at the Richmond International Raceway. Two weeks ago after Bristol, it appeared to be a two-man duel, the "Kyle Busch vs. Carl Edwards Show," but after winning back-to-back races at California and Richmond, Jimmie Johnson has now made it a "three-wide" battle for the Sprint Cup title.
Busch enters the 10-race "Chase," which begins next Sunday at New Hampshire, as the top seed after winning eight races. His last win, however, came a month ago at Watkins Glen. At the half-way point of the season in July, there was much talk of Busch tying or surpassing the "modern-era" record for most wins in a season. Richard Petty (1975) and Jeff Gordon (1998) share the record with 13 wins. Busch finished second to Edwards at Michigan and Bristol. Despite a 15th-place finish at Richmond, Busch will be a strong championship contender as he held a 207-point lead in the standings before his points were readjusted to 5,080 for the "Chase."
"It's a lot better to be at the top than it is down at the bottom," Busch said. "That makes it look a lot prettier from our seat. Just to go out there and run consistently in the final ten races and race these other 42 guys that are on the racetrack with us and yet still keep track or try to out race the other 11 that we are trying to beat out for the championship here."
Edwards begins the "Chase" in the second seed with 5,050 points. He won six races this season but was credited with 50 bonus points. He was docked 10 points for his Las Vegas win as part of a penalty for his team's post-race violation. At Richmond, Edwards suffered a flat tire and fell a lap behind in the early-going but rebounded with a 13th-place finish. The "Chase" looks promising for Edwards as five of the tracks remaining on this year's schedule are 1.5 miles in length, and Edwards generally runs well at them.
With four victories, Johnson secured the third seed with 5,040 points. Last year, he grabbed the top seed in the "Chase" after winning at California and Richmond. He went on to win four of the last five races of the season to capture his second-straight Sprint Cup title. Johnson is entering this year's "Chase" as arguably the favorite to win the championship, and if he pulls it off, he will join Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win three titles in a row in the 60-year history of NASCAR. Yarborough won his titles consecutively from 1976-78.
"Now it's becoming more of a reality, Johnson said. "The less I can think about it, the better I'm going to be. The less I can think about all of the stuff that's coming up in the next ten races, the better I'm going to be, and just fall back into the confidence that I have in my race team and my abilities and the confidence that we are bringing to the track and give 100%."
While Busch, Edwards and Johnson play the role of "Chase" contenders, the remaining field might as well be labeled as "pretenders."
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton, who all won a race this season, begin the "Chase" with 5,010 points each.
Earnhardt, Jr. was impressive in the first half of the season with solid finishes, but has faltered in the last two months. He finished fourth at Richmond, scoring his first top-five since his victory in June at Michigan. He heads to New Hampshire fourth in the championship standings.
A 12th-place finish at Richmond allowed Bowyer to capture the final spot in the "Chase" as he finished 69 points ahead of 13th-place Kasey Kahne. He secured the fifth seed. He kicked off last year's "Chase" by winning his first Cup race at New Hampshire. Bowyer remained a title contender until Johnson went on his four-race winning streak at the end of the season. He ended the year third in points. Bowyer will need another strong start in the "Chase" if he has a chance to contend for the title.
"The last three weeks have been a step in the right direction, and, you know, with some momentum, I think we can do just fine in the 'Chase'," Bowyer said. "We are going to a race that we won last year and got the thing started on the right foot, so hopefully we can have a good run there and do just that."
Hamlin, starting sixth, has made the "Chase" in his first three years. Hamlin fell to 12th in the standings after a 39th-place finish last month at Michigan, but has finished third in the last three races to secure him a spot in the playoffs. If he continues to run strong, he just might be up there fighting for the championship in the season-finale at Homestead.
Burton begins the "Chase" in the seventh seed. He has struggled lately, scoring only two top-10 finishes in the last 10 races. He did finish sixth at Richmond. Burton needs to be consistent if he has any shot at winning the title. He came out of the box strong in the 2006 "Chase" before his luck ran out with engine failure at Martinsville. He was out of the picture in last year's title race after a disappointing 36th-place finish at Kansas.
Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth are winless so far this year and enter the "Chase" with 5,000 points each.
Stewart had his best opportunity to pick up a win at Richmond but settled for a second-place finish. Stewart is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season to start his own team, and the communication flow between Stewart and his crew might not be the best right now, especially after what took place at Richmond.
"Can we for one week just leave it as we run second and we had a good, hard fought battle and we just fell short," Stewart said. "I mean, that's the moral of the story. Shoot, we could sit here for hours and try to dissect exactly why we didn't win the race."
Stewart heads to New Hampshire in the eighth spot and is hungry for a victory. If he gets on a winning streak at the end of the season, like he has in the past, he could be a surprise contender throughout the "Chase."
Biffle makes the "Chase" for the first time since 2005 and enters in the ninth seed. He finished second in the '05 title race, 35 points behind Stewart. Biffle has some promising tracks on the upcoming schedule as he scored the victory at Kansas last year and won three in a row at Homestead from 2004-06. He has also won at Dover and Texas.
Gordon is a four-time Cup champion but has yet to win a title under the "Chase" format. Gordon has competed in the "Chase" four of the first five years, finishing second in points last year and third in 2004. He failed to make the field in 2005. Gordon has not scored a victory since October 2007, so he's hoping his winning touch will return for the final races this season. He'll start in the 10th seed.
Harvick might be a surprise at least in the first part of the "Chase" as he has finished eighth or better in the last seven races. If Harvick remains consistent, he could go far. Harvick, starting 11th, has not won a Cup points- paying race since his Daytona 500 victory last year.
Kenseth enters the "Chase" in the 12th seed. He struggled earlier this season, but has rebounded to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. Inconsistency continues to be a problem for Kenseth this year, especially after a 39th-place finish at Richmond.
This year's "Chase" should be a great contest among Busch, Edwards and Johnson. But any of the other drivers in the field could make things very interesting during the next couple of months.
After New Hampshire, the "Chase" moves on to Dover, then Kansas, Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and wraps up November 16th at Homestead.