NASCAR Notebook: Atlanta
Barry F. Hess
October 27, 2006
Southern Comfort
Just when drivers, crew chiefs and fans alike all thought they had a pretty good grip on the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup…bang, Martinsville happened and everything you thought you knew was completely wiped out of the picture.
With just 99 points separating the first and eighth position in points and just four races remaining until the champion is crowned the pressure to win races has never been higher.
If ever there was something the chasers could smile about these days it’s the fact that Atlanta Motor Speedway has been kind to them in the past, at least the majority of them anyway.
Jimmie Johnson did everything but win the spring Atlanta race last year before eventually earning a photo-finish second place to Carl Edwards.
Johnson, who just a few short weeks ago was considered to be out of title contention, suddenly finds himself third in points and just 41 markers out of the lead after finishing second at Lowe’s and first last week at the paperclip.
After a solid sixth place finish in the spring look for Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy team to qualify near the front and lead as many laps as possible.
Johnson may not have the car to beat Sunday but that doesn’t mean you won’t see the No. 48 team celebrating in Victory Lane at day’s end.
Greg Biffle waved bye-bye to title aspirations a long time ago, at least for this year, but that doesn’t mean last year’s runner-up in points is not coming to race hard every Sunday.
After starting eighth Biffle sped to the front and led a race high 128 laps the last time the Nextel Cup circuit traveled to Atlanta only to finish 16th in what would be a telling race in his 2006 campaign.
Look for Biffle, 13th in points, to challenge for the pole position and drive a similar race as in the spring.
Don’t expect to see Biffle let off the gas to help his Roush Racing teammates in the Chase as he looks to right the ship for 2007 and earn his second trip to Victory Lane in 2006.
Jeff Burton led one lap in the spring Atlanta race…and that is about the most positive thing he and the rest of the No. 31 Cingular Chevy team could take from the trip to the peach state.
Burton finished off the lead lap after starting third on the qualifying grid but the veteran racer is calm, cool and collected heading into Sunday’s race, despite losing the point’s lead he held for four weeks last Sunday in Martinsville.
The No. 31 team’s intermediate package has been decent for the majority of 2006 and after a sixth place finish at Lowe’s two weeks ago don’t be surprised if you don’t see Burton in that very same car.
Despite dropping three positions in points Burton is still just 48 points out of the lead, a deficit a solid top five finish could all but erase just as quickly as he lost the lead one week ago.
The last time Kasey Kahne was in Atlanta he was celebrating his second career win and his first of five in 2006.
Look for Kahne, 99 points out of the lead, to make a run at his seventh pole of the year as he continues to battle back after a less than stellar start to his first Chase appearance.
After winning the spring race from the pole expect to see the No. 9 in the front of the pack yet again and challenge for the most laps led bonus as well.
With three of the final four tracks on the schedule of the variety Kahne has dominated this season we could point back to this race as the point where Kahne won or lost his first Nextel Cup championship.
Prediction: Not only did Matt Kenseth survive what has been his worst track of recent memory last week in Martinsville but he left with the point’s lead as well.
Kenseth, who has led the points three different times this year, is now poised to make a serious run at his second championship inside his Roush Racing Ford as he travels to the first of three cookie-cutter tracks remaining on the schedule, tracks that Roush has dominated in recent years.
Look for Kenseth to seize the opportunity and make a serious run to the front after his usual middle of the pack qualifying effort.
The quicker Kenseth gets to the lead the harder it will be for the rest of the field to keep up with him.
Expect solid pit stops all afternoon from arguably the best over the wall team in NASCAR as the killer bees and company look for win number five this year.
Dodge and Chevy Announce New Models for 07’
With final approval from NASCAR looming in the very near future it was learned this week that both Dodge and Chevy will be making model changes for the 2007 season.
Just three years after making the switch from the Intrepid to the Charger Dodge will once again make a body change, this time to the Avenger, which has only been released and available to the public since September of this year.
After high hopes for the new Charger model Dodge teams, including Penske and Petty Racing, have struggled to find an aerodynamic friendly racing environment and even resorted to returning to the Intrepid when it was permitted within the rules.
Dodge teams have already been given the thumbs up from NASCAR for both next year’s requirements as well as the Car of Tomorrow version that will begin to be integrated into Nextel Cup Racing over the next three seasons, though an official approval has yet to be submitted.
No timetable has been announced as to the unveiling of the new Avenger.
Chevy, the majority leader in Nextel Cup racing, will make the switch to the Impala SS but unlike Dodge will only manufacture a racing version eligible for the Car of Tomorrow template.
Impala is our flagship passenger car and we feel it very appropriate to bring it back to the track for 2007 and beyond,” said Terry Dolan, manager of Chevy Racing.
The last time Chevy, who has won 25 of the last 34 manufacturers’ championships, won a Nextel Cup race with a model other than the Monte Carlo was back in 1994 when Dale Earnhardt went to Victory Lane in a Lumina.
Chevy will unveil the new model this Friday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
As of now the switch is being restricted mainly to the Nextel Cup level but will be integrated into the Busch Series as early as 2010 according to one source.
Random Thoughts
It was announced this week that David Regan, who is preparing to take over the No. 6 AAA Fusion next year in replacement of veteran Mark Martin, was not given clearance by NASCAR to run at tracks longer than 1-mile in length. After last week’s “adventure” in Martinsville where the young driver spun out three times and took out Kenny Schrader I’m not sure he should even have clearance to drive at any Nextel Cup track!
Tony Stewart failed to qualify for the Chase this season but never fear all you Smoke-heads out there. Stewart can win the 11th championship of his racing career Saturday in Atlanta where he will be looking to lock up the IROC championship…wow a two-time Nextel Cup champ winning the IROC Series that’s about as exciting as a Cup regular running away with the Busch Series title….oh wait.
Mark Martin announced this week he will run 5-10 races next season in the Roush Racing No. 6 Scotts Truck in the Craftsmen Truck Series. I would have loved to see him run for the championship but I’ll take what I can get and enjoy every minute of it!
Just when drivers, crew chiefs and fans alike all thought they had a pretty good grip on the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup…bang, Martinsville happened and everything you thought you knew was completely wiped out of the picture.
With just 99 points separating the first and eighth position in points and just four races remaining until the champion is crowned the pressure to win races has never been higher.
If ever there was something the chasers could smile about these days it’s the fact that Atlanta Motor Speedway has been kind to them in the past, at least the majority of them anyway.
Jimmie Johnson did everything but win the spring Atlanta race last year before eventually earning a photo-finish second place to Carl Edwards.
Johnson, who just a few short weeks ago was considered to be out of title contention, suddenly finds himself third in points and just 41 markers out of the lead after finishing second at Lowe’s and first last week at the paperclip.
After a solid sixth place finish in the spring look for Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy team to qualify near the front and lead as many laps as possible.
Johnson may not have the car to beat Sunday but that doesn’t mean you won’t see the No. 48 team celebrating in Victory Lane at day’s end.
Greg Biffle waved bye-bye to title aspirations a long time ago, at least for this year, but that doesn’t mean last year’s runner-up in points is not coming to race hard every Sunday.
After starting eighth Biffle sped to the front and led a race high 128 laps the last time the Nextel Cup circuit traveled to Atlanta only to finish 16th in what would be a telling race in his 2006 campaign.
Look for Biffle, 13th in points, to challenge for the pole position and drive a similar race as in the spring.
Don’t expect to see Biffle let off the gas to help his Roush Racing teammates in the Chase as he looks to right the ship for 2007 and earn his second trip to Victory Lane in 2006.
Jeff Burton led one lap in the spring Atlanta race…and that is about the most positive thing he and the rest of the No. 31 Cingular Chevy team could take from the trip to the peach state.
Burton finished off the lead lap after starting third on the qualifying grid but the veteran racer is calm, cool and collected heading into Sunday’s race, despite losing the point’s lead he held for four weeks last Sunday in Martinsville.
The No. 31 team’s intermediate package has been decent for the majority of 2006 and after a sixth place finish at Lowe’s two weeks ago don’t be surprised if you don’t see Burton in that very same car.
Despite dropping three positions in points Burton is still just 48 points out of the lead, a deficit a solid top five finish could all but erase just as quickly as he lost the lead one week ago.
The last time Kasey Kahne was in Atlanta he was celebrating his second career win and his first of five in 2006.
Look for Kahne, 99 points out of the lead, to make a run at his seventh pole of the year as he continues to battle back after a less than stellar start to his first Chase appearance.
After winning the spring race from the pole expect to see the No. 9 in the front of the pack yet again and challenge for the most laps led bonus as well.
With three of the final four tracks on the schedule of the variety Kahne has dominated this season we could point back to this race as the point where Kahne won or lost his first Nextel Cup championship.
Prediction: Not only did Matt Kenseth survive what has been his worst track of recent memory last week in Martinsville but he left with the point’s lead as well.
Kenseth, who has led the points three different times this year, is now poised to make a serious run at his second championship inside his Roush Racing Ford as he travels to the first of three cookie-cutter tracks remaining on the schedule, tracks that Roush has dominated in recent years.
Look for Kenseth to seize the opportunity and make a serious run to the front after his usual middle of the pack qualifying effort.
The quicker Kenseth gets to the lead the harder it will be for the rest of the field to keep up with him.
Expect solid pit stops all afternoon from arguably the best over the wall team in NASCAR as the killer bees and company look for win number five this year.
Dodge and Chevy Announce New Models for 07’
With final approval from NASCAR looming in the very near future it was learned this week that both Dodge and Chevy will be making model changes for the 2007 season.
Just three years after making the switch from the Intrepid to the Charger Dodge will once again make a body change, this time to the Avenger, which has only been released and available to the public since September of this year.
After high hopes for the new Charger model Dodge teams, including Penske and Petty Racing, have struggled to find an aerodynamic friendly racing environment and even resorted to returning to the Intrepid when it was permitted within the rules.
Dodge teams have already been given the thumbs up from NASCAR for both next year’s requirements as well as the Car of Tomorrow version that will begin to be integrated into Nextel Cup Racing over the next three seasons, though an official approval has yet to be submitted.
No timetable has been announced as to the unveiling of the new Avenger.
Chevy, the majority leader in Nextel Cup racing, will make the switch to the Impala SS but unlike Dodge will only manufacture a racing version eligible for the Car of Tomorrow template.
Impala is our flagship passenger car and we feel it very appropriate to bring it back to the track for 2007 and beyond,” said Terry Dolan, manager of Chevy Racing.
The last time Chevy, who has won 25 of the last 34 manufacturers’ championships, won a Nextel Cup race with a model other than the Monte Carlo was back in 1994 when Dale Earnhardt went to Victory Lane in a Lumina.
Chevy will unveil the new model this Friday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
As of now the switch is being restricted mainly to the Nextel Cup level but will be integrated into the Busch Series as early as 2010 according to one source.
Random Thoughts
It was announced this week that David Regan, who is preparing to take over the No. 6 AAA Fusion next year in replacement of veteran Mark Martin, was not given clearance by NASCAR to run at tracks longer than 1-mile in length. After last week’s “adventure” in Martinsville where the young driver spun out three times and took out Kenny Schrader I’m not sure he should even have clearance to drive at any Nextel Cup track!
Tony Stewart failed to qualify for the Chase this season but never fear all you Smoke-heads out there. Stewart can win the 11th championship of his racing career Saturday in Atlanta where he will be looking to lock up the IROC championship…wow a two-time Nextel Cup champ winning the IROC Series that’s about as exciting as a Cup regular running away with the Busch Series title….oh wait.
Mark Martin announced this week he will run 5-10 races next season in the Roush Racing No. 6 Scotts Truck in the Craftsmen Truck Series. I would have loved to see him run for the championship but I’ll take what I can get and enjoy every minute of it!
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