NASCAR Notebook: Richmond
Barry F. Hess
September 08, 2006
The Final Countdown
For 25 weeks the drivers of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series have been looking ahead at this Saturday night in Richmond as the their last opportunity to maneuver for position before the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins.
In what has been a rollercoaster year for more than one driver the ups and downs are far from over heading into the pivotal short track and theoretically any driver fifth through 10th may go home outside the top 10 looking in.
Kyle Busch is certainly one of those drivers, though he and the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevy team believe they can compete for the checkered flag all night.
Busch, who is currently fifth in points and looking to secure his first Chase appearance in his short career, earned a fifth place finish at the spring race in Richmond and will look to have similar success with that very car.
With five top 10 finishes in his last seven races, including a win in New Hampshire, Busch is looking to keep his momentum rolling as he makes a run at the Nextel Cup.
With all the talk around the garage area about rookie Denny Hamlin, rightfully so, it’s easy to forget about another rookie that, while he is mathematically eliminated from Chase contention has put together a respectable season and is currently second in Rookie of the Year standings, Clint Bowyer.
Bowyer, currently 18th in the point standings, has earned three top 15 finishes in his last five races, including an impressive third place finish last week in California.
Look for Bowyer to start near the front of the pack and do his best to keep the No. 7 Jack Daniels Chevy up front as much as he can.
With six top 10 finishes to his credit in his first season at the Cup level Bowyer has continued to develop into a smart driver each week.
With the unpredictability that goes along with short track racing look for Bowyer to do his best to keep the No. 7 in contention by getting out of sequence with the leaders or even making a gamble on pit road, after all he has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
A few weeks ago a large portion of NASCAR fans collectively held their breath as the thought of Dale Earnhardt Jr. missing the Chase for the second straight year became a real possibility as the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy fell from fourth to 11th in points within a blink of an eye.
Since that time those fans, and Junior for that matter, have been able to sleep a little easier at night as he and the talented race team bounced back with three straight top 10 finishes in a row, including a second place finish last week.
Earnhardt Jr. earned his only win of 2006 in Richmond several months ago after qualifying 10th, look for a very similar performance Saturday with the same car that saw Victory Lane in May.
With momentum on his side look for Junior to drive a smart race and do what he can to lock himself into the 10-car field by the end of the night, keeping his car inside the top 10-15.
If he’s able to secure a position before the race is over, look for the No. 8 Chevy to do everything it can to cross the start/finish line first.
If ever there was a best case scenario for a driver on the outside of the Chase looking in, it what have to be the scenario Kasey Kahne had in front of him last week heading into California.
90 points shy of a playoff spot Kahne went into the large, two-mile track similar to a Michigan track he earned his fourth win at earlier in the season and dominated.
After taking the checkered flag and cutting his deficit down by 60 points Kahne heads to Richmond, a place where he earned the first Cup win of his career one year ago.
Kahne must finish several positions ahead of either Mark Martin or Jeff Burton, or theoretically even Tony Stewart, in order to have a shot at making his first post-season appearance but with everything on the line Kahne can’t afford to make one mistake or else his night and his hopes for a championship will be over.
Look for Kahne to compete for his sixth pole award of 2006 before he does everything in his power to keep his No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge in front of the field.
Another 10-bonus point night would do wonders for his effort so the more laps he leads the better.
By night’s end expect to see the No. 9 Dodge within the 10 driver field competing in the Chase and maybe even in Victory Lane.
Prediction: The only person that prevented Kevin Harvick from driving to Victory Lane the last time the Nextel Cup traveled to Richmond was, Kevin Harvick.
After leading an amazing 272 laps Harvick and crew chief Todd Barrier decided to change tires after a late race caution, the decision earned a first place car a third place finish when it was all said and done.
Harvick, who has quietly been the most consistent driver outside of Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth all season long, will qualify near the front and put together a similar run as he did in May.
Needing to run one clean lap to virtually lock he and the No. 29 Goodwrench Chevy into the Chase look for Harvick to lay it all on the line with very little to lose heading into New Hampshire next week.
The dangerous race team has finished just outside the top 10 in the three races since winning his second race of the year at Watkins Glen and will be looking to take as much momentum into the Chase as humanly possible.
Martin Looking To Make One Last Stand
Last Sunday night in California Mark Martin looked like he’d just been through hell and back as he sat in pit road and tried to catch his breath from the vigorous race he’d just driven.
The driver of the infamous No. 6 Ford began the race in 10th place in points, fell back to 11th and then back to 10th within the course of the 250 lap race.
Now Martin heads into Richmond, for what was believed to be his final time until late week developments have him racing for the No. 88 team in 2007, looking to get one last chance at the elusive championship he and long time car owner Jack Roush have so desperately chased for some 19 years.
With 35 career wins and four second place finishes in the point standing Martin, arguably the cleanest racer ever to drive in the NASCAR Cup Series, is hardly ready to throw in the towel at this point.
We're racing, man,” an exhausted Martin said after the race in California last weekend. “I still think we're in, but the battle is on and one thing that everybody can count on is that I'll go down fighting all the way.”
In a career where he has done just that, Martin’s legacy is currently similar to that of famed Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino, who was never able to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl before retiring, a haunting concept that no doubt has the 47-year old Arkansas native more determined than ever to get his race team in the Chase by the end of Saturday’s race.
Martin first drove a Cup car in 1981 but it wasn’t until eight years later that he earned his first victory at North Carolina Speedway.
1993 was a five win season for Martin, including four weeks in a row where the No. 6 ended the day in Victory Lane and 1998 saw a career high seven wins for Martin.
As the 2006 season winds down and Martin prepares to race the final 11 races of, if not his career at least his career with Roush Racing, the wiley veteran, who finished fourth in the point standings one year ago, will look for one last stand as he attempts to get his hands on the elusive championship that up until this point has fallen just out of his grasp on more than one occasion.
Winning a championship is a very hard things to do, I mean, only one driver wins it every year,” Martin said in an interview earlier this season. “To try and win it any year is tough but when you are in your last year and you only have that one last time to try and get it, it is even tougher but we are going to do our best and see what happens.”
Random Thoughts
How idiotic do the new commercials for the NASCAR 07’ video game look with Elliot Sadler walking around in his old M&M gear? I’m sure EA Sports and Sadler’s new sponsors, Dodge, really love that!
How great would it be if NASCAR put together an advertisement deal like we saw earlier this year in the World Cup of Soccer…a commercial free race imagine all the restarts and lead changes we WOULDN’T miss!
If the rumors from earlier this week are true, and we can only hope they aren’t, how odd would it be seeing Mark Martin drive anything but the No. 6 Ford…almost as odd as seeing Ted Williams in a Yankee uniform I would presume.
For the first time all season Ray Evernham saw his three Dodges run first, second and third and once again Elliot Sadler was able to lead laps in Jeremy Mayfield’s old ride….yea all those critics were so dead right about how Mayfield got screwed…NOT!
For 25 weeks the drivers of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series have been looking ahead at this Saturday night in Richmond as the their last opportunity to maneuver for position before the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins.
In what has been a rollercoaster year for more than one driver the ups and downs are far from over heading into the pivotal short track and theoretically any driver fifth through 10th may go home outside the top 10 looking in.
Kyle Busch is certainly one of those drivers, though he and the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevy team believe they can compete for the checkered flag all night.
Busch, who is currently fifth in points and looking to secure his first Chase appearance in his short career, earned a fifth place finish at the spring race in Richmond and will look to have similar success with that very car.
With five top 10 finishes in his last seven races, including a win in New Hampshire, Busch is looking to keep his momentum rolling as he makes a run at the Nextel Cup.
With all the talk around the garage area about rookie Denny Hamlin, rightfully so, it’s easy to forget about another rookie that, while he is mathematically eliminated from Chase contention has put together a respectable season and is currently second in Rookie of the Year standings, Clint Bowyer.
Bowyer, currently 18th in the point standings, has earned three top 15 finishes in his last five races, including an impressive third place finish last week in California.
Look for Bowyer to start near the front of the pack and do his best to keep the No. 7 Jack Daniels Chevy up front as much as he can.
With six top 10 finishes to his credit in his first season at the Cup level Bowyer has continued to develop into a smart driver each week.
With the unpredictability that goes along with short track racing look for Bowyer to do his best to keep the No. 7 in contention by getting out of sequence with the leaders or even making a gamble on pit road, after all he has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
A few weeks ago a large portion of NASCAR fans collectively held their breath as the thought of Dale Earnhardt Jr. missing the Chase for the second straight year became a real possibility as the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy fell from fourth to 11th in points within a blink of an eye.
Since that time those fans, and Junior for that matter, have been able to sleep a little easier at night as he and the talented race team bounced back with three straight top 10 finishes in a row, including a second place finish last week.
Earnhardt Jr. earned his only win of 2006 in Richmond several months ago after qualifying 10th, look for a very similar performance Saturday with the same car that saw Victory Lane in May.
With momentum on his side look for Junior to drive a smart race and do what he can to lock himself into the 10-car field by the end of the night, keeping his car inside the top 10-15.
If he’s able to secure a position before the race is over, look for the No. 8 Chevy to do everything it can to cross the start/finish line first.
If ever there was a best case scenario for a driver on the outside of the Chase looking in, it what have to be the scenario Kasey Kahne had in front of him last week heading into California.
90 points shy of a playoff spot Kahne went into the large, two-mile track similar to a Michigan track he earned his fourth win at earlier in the season and dominated.
After taking the checkered flag and cutting his deficit down by 60 points Kahne heads to Richmond, a place where he earned the first Cup win of his career one year ago.
Kahne must finish several positions ahead of either Mark Martin or Jeff Burton, or theoretically even Tony Stewart, in order to have a shot at making his first post-season appearance but with everything on the line Kahne can’t afford to make one mistake or else his night and his hopes for a championship will be over.
Look for Kahne to compete for his sixth pole award of 2006 before he does everything in his power to keep his No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge in front of the field.
Another 10-bonus point night would do wonders for his effort so the more laps he leads the better.
By night’s end expect to see the No. 9 Dodge within the 10 driver field competing in the Chase and maybe even in Victory Lane.
Prediction: The only person that prevented Kevin Harvick from driving to Victory Lane the last time the Nextel Cup traveled to Richmond was, Kevin Harvick.
After leading an amazing 272 laps Harvick and crew chief Todd Barrier decided to change tires after a late race caution, the decision earned a first place car a third place finish when it was all said and done.
Harvick, who has quietly been the most consistent driver outside of Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth all season long, will qualify near the front and put together a similar run as he did in May.
Needing to run one clean lap to virtually lock he and the No. 29 Goodwrench Chevy into the Chase look for Harvick to lay it all on the line with very little to lose heading into New Hampshire next week.
The dangerous race team has finished just outside the top 10 in the three races since winning his second race of the year at Watkins Glen and will be looking to take as much momentum into the Chase as humanly possible.
Martin Looking To Make One Last Stand
Last Sunday night in California Mark Martin looked like he’d just been through hell and back as he sat in pit road and tried to catch his breath from the vigorous race he’d just driven.
The driver of the infamous No. 6 Ford began the race in 10th place in points, fell back to 11th and then back to 10th within the course of the 250 lap race.
Now Martin heads into Richmond, for what was believed to be his final time until late week developments have him racing for the No. 88 team in 2007, looking to get one last chance at the elusive championship he and long time car owner Jack Roush have so desperately chased for some 19 years.
With 35 career wins and four second place finishes in the point standing Martin, arguably the cleanest racer ever to drive in the NASCAR Cup Series, is hardly ready to throw in the towel at this point.
We're racing, man,” an exhausted Martin said after the race in California last weekend. “I still think we're in, but the battle is on and one thing that everybody can count on is that I'll go down fighting all the way.”
In a career where he has done just that, Martin’s legacy is currently similar to that of famed Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino, who was never able to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl before retiring, a haunting concept that no doubt has the 47-year old Arkansas native more determined than ever to get his race team in the Chase by the end of Saturday’s race.
Martin first drove a Cup car in 1981 but it wasn’t until eight years later that he earned his first victory at North Carolina Speedway.
1993 was a five win season for Martin, including four weeks in a row where the No. 6 ended the day in Victory Lane and 1998 saw a career high seven wins for Martin.
As the 2006 season winds down and Martin prepares to race the final 11 races of, if not his career at least his career with Roush Racing, the wiley veteran, who finished fourth in the point standings one year ago, will look for one last stand as he attempts to get his hands on the elusive championship that up until this point has fallen just out of his grasp on more than one occasion.
Winning a championship is a very hard things to do, I mean, only one driver wins it every year,” Martin said in an interview earlier this season. “To try and win it any year is tough but when you are in your last year and you only have that one last time to try and get it, it is even tougher but we are going to do our best and see what happens.”
Random Thoughts
How idiotic do the new commercials for the NASCAR 07’ video game look with Elliot Sadler walking around in his old M&M gear? I’m sure EA Sports and Sadler’s new sponsors, Dodge, really love that!
How great would it be if NASCAR put together an advertisement deal like we saw earlier this year in the World Cup of Soccer…a commercial free race imagine all the restarts and lead changes we WOULDN’T miss!
If the rumors from earlier this week are true, and we can only hope they aren’t, how odd would it be seeing Mark Martin drive anything but the No. 6 Ford…almost as odd as seeing Ted Williams in a Yankee uniform I would presume.
For the first time all season Ray Evernham saw his three Dodges run first, second and third and once again Elliot Sadler was able to lead laps in Jeremy Mayfield’s old ride….yea all those critics were so dead right about how Mayfield got screwed…NOT!
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