NASCAR Notebook: Chicagoland
Barry F. Hess
July 07, 2006
Windy City Showdown
As the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit gets closer and closer to The Chase each race becomes more important, especially to those drivers outside the 400-point window.
Chicagoland Speedway is the site of this weeks race and if previous weeks have been any indicator of what to expect in these weeks that precede the third installment of the Chase, expect another large shake-up in points by the time Sunday evening rolls around.
At least that is what drivers like Kurt Busch are hoping.
Busch, currently 13th in points and 97 points out of 10th place, has earned four top 10 finishes in a row, including a second at Pocono and a third last week at Daytona.
With absolutely no room for error after the slow start he and his first year Penske Racing crew got off to look for Busch to put together another strong run at Chicagoland.
Busch earned a solid eighth place finish at this track one year ago and he will need a similar performance this Sunday if his hopes of sneaking into the Chase are to come to fruition.
There’s no doubt the biggest surprise in NASCAR this season is the astonishing achievements of rookie Denny Hamlin.
Already with wins at the Bud Shootout in Daytona and his first points race win at Pocono just a few short weeks ago Denny Hamlin has established himself in the top 10 in points, currently edging Greg Biffle for the 10th position by six points.
After running well enough to contend for a title don’t look for the No. 11 FedEx team to disappear quietly into the night.
Hamlin has proven he belongs alongside names like Gordon and Johnson and combine that with the fact that he has faired very well for himself at each of the previous mile-and-a-half tracks this season and Hamlin might just find his way to victory lane once again this weekend.
Heading into 2006 one of this big questions was whether or not Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. could rebound after failing to qualify for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs last season.
While Gordon has continued to struggle for the most part Earnhardt, the winner of this race last year, has rebounded better than even he expected.
Currently third in points Earnhardt already has a win under his belt in 2006 and has aspirations of many more on his way to his first Nextel Cup Championship.
We're ready to run for a title," Earnhardt said. “We're a hell of a team compared to last year, maybe better than 2004 but we still need to get better. We obviously couldn't hang with Tony and the guys up front Saturday night at Daytona but we got out of there with little harm done, and even climbed a spot or two in the points.”
Thinking big picture is yet another reason to watch out for that red and black No. 8 Budweiser car this weekend, as if the tremendous talent of the guy driving it wasn’t enough for the rest of the field to worry about.
With just nine races to go until the Chase is set to begin Earnhardt is focused on earning top 10 finishes in each race and letting the rest of the chips fall where they may.
Look for Earnhardt to qualify well as he did last year and keep the No. 8 Chevy near the front of the pack all day long.
Matt Kenseth is still wondering what he and crew chief Robbie Reiser were thinking in the latter stages of the USG Sheetrock 400 one year ago.
With a solid car and the number one position on the track Kenseth decided to give up the lead and pit and hope to catch Earnhardt Jr. before time ran out.
Kenseth pit and Earnhardt won the race.
Aside from points leader Jimmie Johnson Kenseth has been the most consistent driver of 2006, a far cry from his near missing the Chase last year.
Currently just eight points out of the points lead look for Kenseth to qualify well and keep the No. 17 Dewalt Ford up front.
After taking the checkered flag in California, a similar track to Chicagoland, Kenseth will be looking to leave the windy city not only with the checkered flag but the points lead as well.
Prediction: When a race team builds that perfect car, you know, the car that just runs outstanding whether it’s up front in clean air or in the middle of a pack of cars they tend to race it as often as possible.
Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 team have found that car and have rolled it onto a track four different times this year…and won four different races with it.
Well guess what, this week at Chicagoland they will look to make it number five.
Kahne, currently fourth in points, has taken the checkered flag at Atlanta, Texas, Lowe’s and Michigan with the very same car he is taking to Chicagoland…see the trend yet?
Expect Kahne to win the pole, something he and that car have done three of the four times they’ve raced together, and dominate the field on their way to victory.
Throw in the towels early boys because this one is going to be a no-contest!
Is Smoke Poised for the Repeat?
Tony Stewart is beginning his own Fourth of July weekend tradition.
Take a nice trip down to Daytona, drive around in a circle for 400 miles, climb the large fence at the start/finish line and ride on to a Nextel Cup Championship.
While Stewart plans to keep winning the race in years to come in the cards, his post-race celebration may change.
It's harder to climb the fence than drive the car,” said Stewart.
Stewart’s win last weekend at the Pepsi 400 couldn’t help but remind the rest of the 2006 Championship contenders where it all began for the former road racer from Indiana one year ago.
This is the kind of night that leads you to hope that maybe history can repeat itself,” said Stewart following his second Pepsi 400 win in a row.
After cruising in Daytona Stewart went on to win four more races and his second Nextel Cup title in dominating fashion.
Is the No. 20 Home Depot team poised for the repeat…all indications would point to yes.
Though 2006 has hardly been an uneventful year for Stewart it has had scary similarities to both of his previous championship seasons.
Earlier in the season Stewart was forced to have a replacement driver relive him after suffering an injury to his shoulder, the same thing occurred in 2002 when he earned his first Nextel Cup Title.
Where the differences between 2002 and 2005 end is the fact that Stewart got off to such a strong start in 2006.
After finishing fifth at the Daytona 500, where he finished dead last in 2002, Stewart won in Martinsville in the midst of eight consecutive top 15 finishes.
Currently sitting fifth in points Stewart is looking to become the first back-to-back champion since Jeff Gordon did so in 1997 and 1998.
Rule Changes On the Horizon…Again
Last week NASCAR announced plans to tweak the current version of the playoffs, The Chase for the Nextel Cup, but has yet to determine how.
Well if it were up to me, and several others like me, there would be no changes at all because as the old saying goes “If it aint’ broke, don’t fix it”.
Unfortunately, however, NASCAR begins to get scared if there aren’t significant changes to the rules made at least every few years or so and how much more significant can you get than to mess around with the system to determine the champion of the series each year?
As it stands now drivers have 26 races to qualify for the Chase, all drivers within a 400-point window or inside the top 10 in points qualify in a 10 race shoot off for the title.
What’s that?
Sounds pretty good to you…yeah, me to but what do we know?
In any event, if NASCAR feels the need to change the rules so much three things came to mind:
1) Increase the minimum points to qualify for the Chase to 500.
Any time you start talking about adding more teams into a playoff in professional sports usually the reaction is negative but just as NASCAR differs from other professional sports in many other areas an addition of drivers may turn out to be a positive.
As it stands now a driver has very few chances to screw up and in 26 races there are a whole lot of ways one can screw up.
By increasing the point minimum a driver has more than one opportunity to climb out of a hole.
In addition, having more drivers actually in the Chase would eliminate situations like last year in New Hampshire where Kurt Busch was taken out on the first lap by a driver that didn’t have anything on the line.
The more drivers in the pack that care about the outcome the less that will screw it up because they aren’t involved.
2) Switch the opening race from New Hampshire to Darlington.
Let’s face it, there is no reason in the world why a track like Darlington, with so much rich NASCAR history, is not on the NASCAR schedule twice. No other track says NASCAR quite like Darlington so what better stage than the first leg of the Chase to enjoy that tradition?
This is a no-brainer if there ever was one.
3) Reset the Driver Points to Zero
Let’s make it truly a playoff. All drivers that qualify for the Chase have their points reset to zero and start from an equal playing field. Award the leader of the points at the end of 26 races a cash bonus so that it still means something but once the playoffs start it should be on the level.
Still award points for drivers that are out of the Chase of course but if NASCAR truly wants to make the Chase more exciting that would certainly do so.
Random Thoughts
At this stage of the season its impossible for both Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray to qualify for the Chase but don’t be surprised if one of them does.
The newest feature at NASCAR races is the Fan View, it’s a great addition to a live racing experience and at $50.00 it’s a great bargain…oh yeah that’s after they charge you a $500.00 safety deposit so bring your credit cards folks!
Someone forgot to tell Kurt Busch he can’t make the Chase because he had such a slow start to the season…don’t be surprised if he sneaks right into New Hampshire as part of the playoffs!
For all of you whiners that continue to say NASCAR doesn’t allow single-car teams to have the success at the billion dollar teams like Roush and Hendrick have I have three names for you: Robbie Gordon, Tony Raines and Borris Said.
As the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit gets closer and closer to The Chase each race becomes more important, especially to those drivers outside the 400-point window.
Chicagoland Speedway is the site of this weeks race and if previous weeks have been any indicator of what to expect in these weeks that precede the third installment of the Chase, expect another large shake-up in points by the time Sunday evening rolls around.
At least that is what drivers like Kurt Busch are hoping.
Busch, currently 13th in points and 97 points out of 10th place, has earned four top 10 finishes in a row, including a second at Pocono and a third last week at Daytona.
With absolutely no room for error after the slow start he and his first year Penske Racing crew got off to look for Busch to put together another strong run at Chicagoland.
Busch earned a solid eighth place finish at this track one year ago and he will need a similar performance this Sunday if his hopes of sneaking into the Chase are to come to fruition.
There’s no doubt the biggest surprise in NASCAR this season is the astonishing achievements of rookie Denny Hamlin.
Already with wins at the Bud Shootout in Daytona and his first points race win at Pocono just a few short weeks ago Denny Hamlin has established himself in the top 10 in points, currently edging Greg Biffle for the 10th position by six points.
After running well enough to contend for a title don’t look for the No. 11 FedEx team to disappear quietly into the night.
Hamlin has proven he belongs alongside names like Gordon and Johnson and combine that with the fact that he has faired very well for himself at each of the previous mile-and-a-half tracks this season and Hamlin might just find his way to victory lane once again this weekend.
Heading into 2006 one of this big questions was whether or not Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. could rebound after failing to qualify for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs last season.
While Gordon has continued to struggle for the most part Earnhardt, the winner of this race last year, has rebounded better than even he expected.
Currently third in points Earnhardt already has a win under his belt in 2006 and has aspirations of many more on his way to his first Nextel Cup Championship.
We're ready to run for a title," Earnhardt said. “We're a hell of a team compared to last year, maybe better than 2004 but we still need to get better. We obviously couldn't hang with Tony and the guys up front Saturday night at Daytona but we got out of there with little harm done, and even climbed a spot or two in the points.”
Thinking big picture is yet another reason to watch out for that red and black No. 8 Budweiser car this weekend, as if the tremendous talent of the guy driving it wasn’t enough for the rest of the field to worry about.
With just nine races to go until the Chase is set to begin Earnhardt is focused on earning top 10 finishes in each race and letting the rest of the chips fall where they may.
Look for Earnhardt to qualify well as he did last year and keep the No. 8 Chevy near the front of the pack all day long.
Matt Kenseth is still wondering what he and crew chief Robbie Reiser were thinking in the latter stages of the USG Sheetrock 400 one year ago.
With a solid car and the number one position on the track Kenseth decided to give up the lead and pit and hope to catch Earnhardt Jr. before time ran out.
Kenseth pit and Earnhardt won the race.
Aside from points leader Jimmie Johnson Kenseth has been the most consistent driver of 2006, a far cry from his near missing the Chase last year.
Currently just eight points out of the points lead look for Kenseth to qualify well and keep the No. 17 Dewalt Ford up front.
After taking the checkered flag in California, a similar track to Chicagoland, Kenseth will be looking to leave the windy city not only with the checkered flag but the points lead as well.
Prediction: When a race team builds that perfect car, you know, the car that just runs outstanding whether it’s up front in clean air or in the middle of a pack of cars they tend to race it as often as possible.
Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 team have found that car and have rolled it onto a track four different times this year…and won four different races with it.
Well guess what, this week at Chicagoland they will look to make it number five.
Kahne, currently fourth in points, has taken the checkered flag at Atlanta, Texas, Lowe’s and Michigan with the very same car he is taking to Chicagoland…see the trend yet?
Expect Kahne to win the pole, something he and that car have done three of the four times they’ve raced together, and dominate the field on their way to victory.
Throw in the towels early boys because this one is going to be a no-contest!
Is Smoke Poised for the Repeat?
Tony Stewart is beginning his own Fourth of July weekend tradition.
Take a nice trip down to Daytona, drive around in a circle for 400 miles, climb the large fence at the start/finish line and ride on to a Nextel Cup Championship.
While Stewart plans to keep winning the race in years to come in the cards, his post-race celebration may change.
It's harder to climb the fence than drive the car,” said Stewart.
Stewart’s win last weekend at the Pepsi 400 couldn’t help but remind the rest of the 2006 Championship contenders where it all began for the former road racer from Indiana one year ago.
This is the kind of night that leads you to hope that maybe history can repeat itself,” said Stewart following his second Pepsi 400 win in a row.
After cruising in Daytona Stewart went on to win four more races and his second Nextel Cup title in dominating fashion.
Is the No. 20 Home Depot team poised for the repeat…all indications would point to yes.
Though 2006 has hardly been an uneventful year for Stewart it has had scary similarities to both of his previous championship seasons.
Earlier in the season Stewart was forced to have a replacement driver relive him after suffering an injury to his shoulder, the same thing occurred in 2002 when he earned his first Nextel Cup Title.
Where the differences between 2002 and 2005 end is the fact that Stewart got off to such a strong start in 2006.
After finishing fifth at the Daytona 500, where he finished dead last in 2002, Stewart won in Martinsville in the midst of eight consecutive top 15 finishes.
Currently sitting fifth in points Stewart is looking to become the first back-to-back champion since Jeff Gordon did so in 1997 and 1998.
Rule Changes On the Horizon…Again
Last week NASCAR announced plans to tweak the current version of the playoffs, The Chase for the Nextel Cup, but has yet to determine how.
Well if it were up to me, and several others like me, there would be no changes at all because as the old saying goes “If it aint’ broke, don’t fix it”.
Unfortunately, however, NASCAR begins to get scared if there aren’t significant changes to the rules made at least every few years or so and how much more significant can you get than to mess around with the system to determine the champion of the series each year?
As it stands now drivers have 26 races to qualify for the Chase, all drivers within a 400-point window or inside the top 10 in points qualify in a 10 race shoot off for the title.
What’s that?
Sounds pretty good to you…yeah, me to but what do we know?
In any event, if NASCAR feels the need to change the rules so much three things came to mind:
1) Increase the minimum points to qualify for the Chase to 500.
Any time you start talking about adding more teams into a playoff in professional sports usually the reaction is negative but just as NASCAR differs from other professional sports in many other areas an addition of drivers may turn out to be a positive.
As it stands now a driver has very few chances to screw up and in 26 races there are a whole lot of ways one can screw up.
By increasing the point minimum a driver has more than one opportunity to climb out of a hole.
In addition, having more drivers actually in the Chase would eliminate situations like last year in New Hampshire where Kurt Busch was taken out on the first lap by a driver that didn’t have anything on the line.
The more drivers in the pack that care about the outcome the less that will screw it up because they aren’t involved.
2) Switch the opening race from New Hampshire to Darlington.
Let’s face it, there is no reason in the world why a track like Darlington, with so much rich NASCAR history, is not on the NASCAR schedule twice. No other track says NASCAR quite like Darlington so what better stage than the first leg of the Chase to enjoy that tradition?
This is a no-brainer if there ever was one.
3) Reset the Driver Points to Zero
Let’s make it truly a playoff. All drivers that qualify for the Chase have their points reset to zero and start from an equal playing field. Award the leader of the points at the end of 26 races a cash bonus so that it still means something but once the playoffs start it should be on the level.
Still award points for drivers that are out of the Chase of course but if NASCAR truly wants to make the Chase more exciting that would certainly do so.
Random Thoughts
At this stage of the season its impossible for both Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray to qualify for the Chase but don’t be surprised if one of them does.
The newest feature at NASCAR races is the Fan View, it’s a great addition to a live racing experience and at $50.00 it’s a great bargain…oh yeah that’s after they charge you a $500.00 safety deposit so bring your credit cards folks!
Someone forgot to tell Kurt Busch he can’t make the Chase because he had such a slow start to the season…don’t be surprised if he sneaks right into New Hampshire as part of the playoffs!
For all of you whiners that continue to say NASCAR doesn’t allow single-car teams to have the success at the billion dollar teams like Roush and Hendrick have I have three names for you: Robbie Gordon, Tony Raines and Borris Said.
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