Sprint Cup - News and Notes
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
Chase is getting Good: ADD RAGAN to the List!
He’s hanging around and now he’s being rewarded for all his consistent efforts this season being put in a nice spot of 13th, tied with Clint Bowyer. Both drivers are only 26 points behind the struggling Denny Hamlin. Bowyer and Ragan better not count on Hamlin doing poorly at two of the three tracks in the Chase, such as Bristol and Richmond, because he’s better than most at those two facilities.
The driver that is taking a real dive that Ragan may be able to key on for the next 3 races is Jeff Gordon. With that 42nd place finish last week in Michigan, Gordon fell 3 spots from 6th to 9th. Ragan sits only 82 points away.
Ragan has been terrific at just about every type of track, except the banks of Bristol. His average there during his 3 starts has been a 29th place finish. The way Gordon is going, Ragan still might gain with a 29th.
Doesn’t Gordon own part of Hendrick Motorsports? As owner, why would he race in a car that Casey Mears even thinks is bad? Wouldn’t it serve his team and the entire organization better if Gordon were to transfer a Jimmie Johnson or Dale Jr chassis to the Dupont garage?
I can’t believe we can actually discussing the possibility that Gordon may not make the chase at this juncture after be so consistently good all season. He doesn’t have a win and really hasn’t actually competed for one.
Now, just 82 points separate ninth-place Jeff Gordon with 14th-place Ragan.
Clinch Scenarios for Bristol
Kyle Busch was the first to clinch a birth into the Chase with his 2nd place finish at Michigan. Four others can join him this week. Here are how their scenarios go and what is required of them at Bristol this week.
Carl Edwards can lose 108 points to Clint Bowyer/David Ragan and still clinch a spot. But, regardless of a Bowyer/Ragan finish, Edwards can clinch if he:
Finishes 25th or better
Finishes 27th and have at least one lap led
Finishes 30th and lead most laps
Jimmie Johnson can lose 27 points to Bowyer/Ragan and still clinch a spot. But, regardless of a Bowyer/Ragan finish, Johnson can clinch if he:
Finishes 2nd or better
Finishes 3rd and have at least one lap led
Finishes 5th and lead most laps
Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs to "out-point" Bowyer/Ragan by 16 points. But, regardless of a Bowyer/Ragan finish, Earnhardt can clinch if he wins and leads the most laps.
At Bristol, Jeff Burton needs to "out-point" Bowyer/Ragan by 20 points. But, regardless of a Bowyer/Ragan finish, Burton can clinch if he wins and leads the most laps.
Busch Brothers the Favorites in Bristol?
Kurt and Kyle Busch might have been the favorites this week if Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart were not racing. Kurt has 5 wins at Bristol with the last coming in the spring of 2006. Lots has changed for the Penske team since, and it’s obvious not a positive change. Kurt is 25 to 1 at Bristol and he’s sure to get some takers who believe his past is good enough reason to part with their cash.
Kyle won the Spring race last season while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. He’s currently listed at 7 to 1, which is kind of high considering the guy wins just about every race. Last season Jeff Burton was Mr. Nice-Guy with Busch on the last few laps. Burton could have bumped him out of the way on anyone of the last few laps, but Burton chose to be the gentleman driver he is and not win Bristol like most have before him.
I remember thinking that if it was Kyle behind him, Burton had no chance of keeping him off his bumper. He wouldn’t bumped Burton out of the way the first time the opportunity presented itself. Burton was applauded by many for his sportsmanship, but certainly not by me, nor Richard Childress who couldn’t believe what he just saw.
Anyway, I believe at some juncture Kyle Busch is likely to be leading. Yeah, I know, hard to believe, but he will. As the leader, he’ll get plenty of attacks from the sharks who will be nipping his heels. One driver who doesn’t like Busch too much is Harvick. He’s a good candidate to send Kyle spinning. Another might Junior. They have had their run-ins, and if they tangled in Bristol under the lights, with Junior getting the best of it? Wow! That would be some kind of showstopper.
It’s Cheating ONLY when You get Caught
I wasn’t at all surprised when I heard about the Joe Gibbs Nationwide series teams getting busted after a post race inspection at Michigan. Come on now? 14 wins in 25 races? That is embarrassing! The only thing that had me thinking maybe they could be that good playing straight was Joe Gibbs, because he has never taken the short cut to win, or at least that’s the persona he has.
Of course it was someone else in the garage attempting to gain an edge, and had nothing to do with anyone of the hierarchy in the Gibbs organization. But it doesn’t matter, because most teams have done several things to get edges over the competition. Some like to call it cheating, while I like to call it creative engineering. If you get caught, then, I guess it’s cheating.
The question with all of this that begs to be asked is if this creative engineer at JGR has anything to do with the huge gains the Cup series cars have made? Kyle Busch is leading the way with 8 wins and the team has a total of 9 wins. What have they done to be so much better than everyone else in their first year driving a Toyota? If it could happen with the Nationwide team, it could happen in the Cup series.
I don’t really care one way of another. Finding an edge has always been part of the sport and its that unwritten rule and lawlessness of NASCAR, beginning with its moonshine roots, that make it a very cool sport. The sportswriters around the country like to cry foul and think they are going to get an outcry from fans like they did when they tried to tell every baseball fan that steroids in baseball should make you feel angry. Not gonna happen here!
Where’s Harvick?
No Nationwide or Trucks this week?
Two-time Nationwide series champion and four-time Bristol winner Kevin Harvick isn't entered at Bristol for the first time in his series career, dating back to the spring race in 2000 – 17 consecutive races. Instead, Cale Gale will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet for Harvick's KHI organization.
Johnson to make Craftsman Truck Series debut
Two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers – one an eight-year NASCAR veteran and the other, a Raybestos Rookie of Year contender -- make their series debuts at Bristol. Jimmie Johnson will be the 10th different NASCAR Sprint Cup champion to compete in a series race. Johnson is driving for Randy Moss Motorsports in the No. 81 Chevrolet. Patrick Carpentier, a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, hopes to make his first series start in a Bobby Hamilton Racing-VA Dodge.
Benson Looks for Four Straight, can he do it?
Johnny Benson will be seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive victory this Wednesday night in Bristol. His streak began last month at Kentucky Speedway with additional victories coming at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis and Nashville Superspeedway. Four drivers on five previous occasions have been unable to win race No. 4. Benson is listed as the 5 to 1 3rd choice behind Kyle Busch at 9 to 5 and Ron Hornaday Jr at 7 to 2.