Cup drivers closing in on leaders
October 4, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -Chase drivers made up 10 of the top 11 spots at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, preventing a large jumbling of the standings.
There was some movement, though. Not significant, not enough to get the leaders worried, but enough to at least get them looking over their shoulders.
I don't think we should be getting hyped up about the tally right now,'' said points leader Mark Martin, who pushed his lead over Jimmie Johnson to 18 points but lost ground to five drivers. ``We've got a lot of racing to go.''
Martin finished seventh and Johnson was ninth. Not bad, but far enough down to give several drivers a chance to move up.
Race winner Tony Stewart made the biggest jump, moving up a spot to fourth by trimming his deficit by 39 points, 67 behind Martin. Juan Pablo Montoya stayed in third after finishing fourth, but moved 14 points closer to 51 behind.
Denny Hamlin also moved nine points closer - to 99 back - thanks to finishing sixth and Greg Biffle's seventh moved him from 138 points back to 114.
All that talk about Martin and Johnson running away with the championship? Not just yet. There's seven drivers within 103 points of Martin's lead and seven Chase races still left.
We definitely made some big gains, but the swings don't come on days like today,'' said Jeff Gordon, who trimmed his deficit by 18 points to 103 with a second-place finish. ``Days like today definitely help, but the swings are going to come at Talladega, Martinsville. It can happen any day, but we can't expect to make up 100 points in any one weekend.
And the drivers better get used to it.
Other than Talladega, where anything can and usually does happen, the rest of the schedule figures to be filled with more moving and shaking.
I think you're going to see this all Chase, up until maybe Talladega where it maybe gets jumbled up,'' Hamlin said. ``It's just going to be like this. You're going to have to finish ahead of the rest of the Chase guys, you're going to have to beat them to win the race and the championship.''
MCGREW'S FATE: Lance McGrew will have to wait another couple of weeks before learning if he'll be back as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief.
Earnhardt has already given his endorsement of McGrew and Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick says he plans to meet with them at the Oct. 17 race in Charlotte before deciding on their future together.
They're doing real well,'' Hendrick said before Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway. ``They've really clicked together and the car is running (well). He's just had some really bad luck. But I think they're gaining on it in a hurry and I'm really happy. I think by Charlotte we'll be ready to do something.''
McGrew got the job in late May after Earnhardt finished 20th or worse in five of six races, replacing Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt's cousin who had been with him since the start of his NASCAR career.
Earnhardt and McGrew, who have two top-10 finishes together, got off to a good start at Kansas, earning a spot on the front row out of qualifying then taking an early lead.
Then things got ugly.
After leading 41 of the first 58 laps, Earnhardt was black-flagged because of a missing lugnut on his left rear tire. He returned to the pits to tighten the nut and returned to the track a lap down, in 32nd.
Earnhardt dropped two laps down after another pit stop - just before a caution - and never made up the ground, his day ending when the car lost power with 33 laps left.
It's just frustrating,'' Earnhardt said. ``We had the bad start, we left the lugnut off on the one pit stop and lost a lap there. Then we pitted and lost a lap there, so we were two laps down all day. We had a fast enough car to finish in the top 12, I think.''
MORE INSPECTIONS: In addition to the cars of the winner and a randomly chosen one (Kurt Busch), Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin had their cars called in for inspection after Sunday's race.
It wasn't too much of a surprise.
NASCAR warned the Hendrick Motorsports teams this week after the No. 5 and 48 cars came within a few whiskers of failing inspection last week at Dover. Get that close, even the team owner had to figure more inspections were going to follow.
When you've won and run well, and Jimmie and Chad are always going to know they are under the microscope - that's (going to be) part of it,'' Rick Hendrick said. ``We actually don't mind that. NASCAR is fair and if they want to check us every week, that's OK. I understand. I really do.''
All four cars passed inspection.
VICKERS' LUCK: Brian Vickers used a late hot streak to get into the Chase for the championship.
He's been moving backward ever since.
Vickers opened the Chase with an 11th at Loudon, then was 18th at Dover. He had an even worse weekend in Kansas, spinning out early and fighting car issues all day before taking his car to the garage on Lap 217.
Vickers finished 37th and is 12th in the Chase standings, 250 points behind Mark Martin.
I just want to get out of Kansas, to be honest with you,'' Vickers said. ``It's been a long weekend for me. I thought we had a good car today and we started out a little tight. It got worse and worse, and (we) never could get a handle on it.''
GORDON'S CHAIR: Race winner Tony Stewart left with more than a trophy and the winner's check from Kansas.
He took a chair with him, too.
Told that Jeff Gordon had sat in the chair before him, Stewart went into mock deification mode.
Oh my god, I'm sitting in the seat that Gordon sat in. That's awesome,'' Stewart said. ``Can I take this home? I'm going to take this home.''
Apparently, he wasn't kidding: Stewart pushed the chair down the ramp, out the door and took it to his No. 14 hauler. As of late Sunday, it was still there.