NASCAR Notebook: Atlanta
Barry F. Hess
March 17, 2006
Atlanta Brings Possibility of Another Tight Finish
After one of the most exciting finishes in the history of NASCAR saw Jimmy Johnson beat Matt Kenseth by half a car length in Las Vegas last week the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit travels to what is generally considered the fasted track in the sport, Atlanta, where Johnson was involved in a photo finish last year with rookie Carl Edwards.
After earning two checkered flags and a second place finish to begin the season Johnson may never invite crew chief Chad Knauss back after he serves the last of the four-race suspension NASCAR imposed due to failure to pass post qualifying inspection before the Daytona 500.
Just as he did last year Johnson heads into Atlanta with the lead in points and will look to continue his electrifying start to the season in what he hopes will be his first Nextel Cup Championship.
I was slowly catching Matt before that last caution,? Johnson said. ?I think we could have got up there to race with him but if it stayed green I believe Matt had it in the bag. Then we got that last yellow.?
Despite leading just one lap, the last, Johnson put together a solid race and once again put the entire Lowes Race Team on his back without Knauss in the pits.
Look for another strong performance form the No. 48 car this week in the last race before Knauss? suspension is lifted, even more momentum heading into Bristol may give Johnson the shot in the arm he needs to finally win a championship.
After winning in California and leading several dozen laps in Daytona Matt Kenseth, while disappointed he couldn?t make it two in a row, has to be pleased with the way his team is racing.
I was running in the groove where my car was the fastest,? said a devastated Kenseth after the race. ?If I had to redo it right now, I don't think there was anything I could have done different.?
Currently second in points it?s obvious the No. 17 Dewalt team means business this year.
Crew chief Robbie Reiser and his pit crew are by far the most talented group in the Cup Series this year.
Kenseth has put together strong rides in every race of the season thus far and this Sunday at Atlanta won?t be much different.
Of course Kenseth?s teammate Carl Edwards won both races in Atlanta last year and will look for the tree-peat this weekend.
In actuality Edwards has won three of the last four races he?s ran in Atlanta after a Busch Series win in the Spring lat year.
A disappointing 26th place finish last week will have Edwards chewing at the bit to get back up front in this his sophomore season while driver of the No. 16 National Guard Ford, Greg Biffle, should also run well this weekend.
Biffle improved 13 positions in the points after an eighth place finish in Vegas and will look to continue his rise after bad finishes in the first two races of the year.
It is apparent after three races that both Casey Mears and Kasey Khane are here to stay this year.
Mears rode his way to his third consecutive top 10 finish and his currently fourth in the points, while Khane won the Busch Series race last Saturday and finished third in the Sunday race.
Both should share similar success in Atlanta.
Our goal this weekend is to get a top-10 or top-five finish,? Mears said. ?Obviously we want to win because you know we want to win every weekend. The way that our season started, if we can continue to rattle off those top-10 and top-five finishes, it gives us a good run at making the Chase.?
Rookie driver Denny Hamlin is also proving he belongs with the big boys.
After a 10th place finish last week Hamlin is beginning to look like this year?s Carl Edwards so don?t be surprised if you see the No. 11 FedEx car in both victory lane and the Chase for the Nextel Cup by season?s end.
Prediction: After a less then stellar performance last week look for Roush Racing?s newest driver, Jamie McMurray, to take home the checkered flag. McMurray has put together strong runs in Daytona and California but has yet to break away from the pack and prove he is worth all the money team owner Jack Roush paid to get him in the seat of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford. Known for their success on the ?cookie-cutter? mile and a half tracks McMurray will make it three in a row for Roush Racing.
When Busch-waker Attack
This week the subject of Nextel Cup drivers participating in the Busch Series once again came up.
Obviously NASCAR officials love the fact that fans of the Busch Series can also see the best Nextel Cup drivers compete along side the Busch regulars, I mean, who wouldn?t?
From a marketing perspective it?s genius.
But then again, it isn?t my pockets all that money is lining so I have to go ahead and agree with several Busch drivers and say the current system just isn?t fair.
The fact that Nextel Cup drivers can take 40 or 50 laps of practice just 30 minutes before getting into a Busch car and race is ridiculous.
I understand fans love to see both series represented but let?s use our heads a little bit shall we?
Drivers like Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart dominate most every Busch Series race they drive, and this year up to 20 Cup drivers have been experiencing the same success.
Last week in Las Vegas, however, the situation reached a new low (or high as it may be).
The first 10 drivers to finish the race were Nextel Cup drivers but only three are racing for the Busch Series Championship, which means seven drivers stole valuable points from full-time Busch drivers that they don?t even care abut.
So what?s the solution? Well that?s easy: All drivers must declare at the beginning of the season whether or not they intend to race for the Busch Series title or not. Those who will not should not receive any points, not driver points, not owner points, nothing.
This will either increase the amount of Cup drivers that race full time in the Busch Series or eliminate many Ryan Newmans and Tony Stewarts of the world that just enjoy beating up on the less experienced Busch drivers. With a rulebook that seems to change daily and a degree of technology unparalleled to any other professional sport this change should not be all that difficult for NASCAR to impose and makes the most sense of any of the options.
Stewart Back to His Old Ways
After running Matt Kenseth off the track at Daytona to make a point it could have easily been stated that Tony Stewart cost Matt Kenseth the checkered flag.
Last Sunday in Las Vegas one could make that same argument though the two never touched each other once.
In the second to last lap of the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 the caution flag Kenseth prayed wouldn?t come out, did. This forced a green, white, checkered flag and allowed Jimmy Johnson to catch up and pass Kenseth on the high side.
The caution came out because of Tony Stewart, whose latest target on his hit list appears to be Kyle Bush.
Bush and Stewart have been trading paint back and forth since Daytona after what Stewart believed to be overly aggressive moves on the track.
This time it was Stewart who fell victim to his own ways, however, after he slid into the wall after getting into it with Bush yet again.
I guess this means I?ll have to go back and get another talking too,? Bush said after the race, referring to a conversation he and Stewart had after California.
While Bush has been guilty of making overly aggressive moves in the past, race fans in Mexico are still furious after he took out hometown favorite Adrian Hernandez in Mexico City two weeks ago, I have to wonder who died and made Tony Stewart the almighty enforcer of the NASCAR rule book as pertaining to driver etiquette, in fact, if any driver was to be given that title it certainly wouldn?t be him.
Maybe last weekends? incident in which Stewart single-handedly prevented himself from earning a top 10 finish (he finished 21st after several cars with new tires past him on the final lap) will remind him that he too has to follow the rules.
The bottom line is Tony Stewart isn?t Dale Earnhardt and people are not going to just move out of his way when they see that orange No. 20 car coming up behind them.
Kyle Bush, oh by the way 6th in points compared to Tony Stewart?s 21st, should be commended for standing his ground last week and not letting Stewart bully him into moving out of the way.
It?s moves, or lack of moves in this case, that turn an average driver into an exceptional one.
Lester Looking to Make History
This weekend at Atlanta Craftsmen Truck Series driver Bill Lester will attempt to become the first African-American to qualify for a Nextel Cup race in 20 years since Willy Ribbs qualified for three different races in 1986.
There are a lot of black people out there who are closet NASCAR fans,? Lester said. `?They feel uncomfortable about coming to the racetrack because it's hard to identify with anyone there. I'm in a position to change that.'?
At 45-years old Lester has only two top-five finishes in the Truck Series despite taking back-to-back poles last year.
Though he is a long shot to qualify the No. 23 Bill Davis? Waste Management car for Sunday?s race it is still a good thing for the sport and despite the odds staked against him Lester is more than confident he can not only qualify but compete for the win.
If our test at Kentucky Speedway last week was any indication, we'll do something that's historical, and that a lot of people can take a lot of pride in,? said Lester.
After one of the most exciting finishes in the history of NASCAR saw Jimmy Johnson beat Matt Kenseth by half a car length in Las Vegas last week the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit travels to what is generally considered the fasted track in the sport, Atlanta, where Johnson was involved in a photo finish last year with rookie Carl Edwards.
After earning two checkered flags and a second place finish to begin the season Johnson may never invite crew chief Chad Knauss back after he serves the last of the four-race suspension NASCAR imposed due to failure to pass post qualifying inspection before the Daytona 500.
Just as he did last year Johnson heads into Atlanta with the lead in points and will look to continue his electrifying start to the season in what he hopes will be his first Nextel Cup Championship.
I was slowly catching Matt before that last caution,? Johnson said. ?I think we could have got up there to race with him but if it stayed green I believe Matt had it in the bag. Then we got that last yellow.?
Despite leading just one lap, the last, Johnson put together a solid race and once again put the entire Lowes Race Team on his back without Knauss in the pits.
Look for another strong performance form the No. 48 car this week in the last race before Knauss? suspension is lifted, even more momentum heading into Bristol may give Johnson the shot in the arm he needs to finally win a championship.
After winning in California and leading several dozen laps in Daytona Matt Kenseth, while disappointed he couldn?t make it two in a row, has to be pleased with the way his team is racing.
I was running in the groove where my car was the fastest,? said a devastated Kenseth after the race. ?If I had to redo it right now, I don't think there was anything I could have done different.?
Currently second in points it?s obvious the No. 17 Dewalt team means business this year.
Crew chief Robbie Reiser and his pit crew are by far the most talented group in the Cup Series this year.
Kenseth has put together strong rides in every race of the season thus far and this Sunday at Atlanta won?t be much different.
Of course Kenseth?s teammate Carl Edwards won both races in Atlanta last year and will look for the tree-peat this weekend.
In actuality Edwards has won three of the last four races he?s ran in Atlanta after a Busch Series win in the Spring lat year.
A disappointing 26th place finish last week will have Edwards chewing at the bit to get back up front in this his sophomore season while driver of the No. 16 National Guard Ford, Greg Biffle, should also run well this weekend.
Biffle improved 13 positions in the points after an eighth place finish in Vegas and will look to continue his rise after bad finishes in the first two races of the year.
It is apparent after three races that both Casey Mears and Kasey Khane are here to stay this year.
Mears rode his way to his third consecutive top 10 finish and his currently fourth in the points, while Khane won the Busch Series race last Saturday and finished third in the Sunday race.
Both should share similar success in Atlanta.
Our goal this weekend is to get a top-10 or top-five finish,? Mears said. ?Obviously we want to win because you know we want to win every weekend. The way that our season started, if we can continue to rattle off those top-10 and top-five finishes, it gives us a good run at making the Chase.?
Rookie driver Denny Hamlin is also proving he belongs with the big boys.
After a 10th place finish last week Hamlin is beginning to look like this year?s Carl Edwards so don?t be surprised if you see the No. 11 FedEx car in both victory lane and the Chase for the Nextel Cup by season?s end.
Prediction: After a less then stellar performance last week look for Roush Racing?s newest driver, Jamie McMurray, to take home the checkered flag. McMurray has put together strong runs in Daytona and California but has yet to break away from the pack and prove he is worth all the money team owner Jack Roush paid to get him in the seat of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford. Known for their success on the ?cookie-cutter? mile and a half tracks McMurray will make it three in a row for Roush Racing.
When Busch-waker Attack
This week the subject of Nextel Cup drivers participating in the Busch Series once again came up.
Obviously NASCAR officials love the fact that fans of the Busch Series can also see the best Nextel Cup drivers compete along side the Busch regulars, I mean, who wouldn?t?
From a marketing perspective it?s genius.
But then again, it isn?t my pockets all that money is lining so I have to go ahead and agree with several Busch drivers and say the current system just isn?t fair.
The fact that Nextel Cup drivers can take 40 or 50 laps of practice just 30 minutes before getting into a Busch car and race is ridiculous.
I understand fans love to see both series represented but let?s use our heads a little bit shall we?
Drivers like Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart dominate most every Busch Series race they drive, and this year up to 20 Cup drivers have been experiencing the same success.
Last week in Las Vegas, however, the situation reached a new low (or high as it may be).
The first 10 drivers to finish the race were Nextel Cup drivers but only three are racing for the Busch Series Championship, which means seven drivers stole valuable points from full-time Busch drivers that they don?t even care abut.
So what?s the solution? Well that?s easy: All drivers must declare at the beginning of the season whether or not they intend to race for the Busch Series title or not. Those who will not should not receive any points, not driver points, not owner points, nothing.
This will either increase the amount of Cup drivers that race full time in the Busch Series or eliminate many Ryan Newmans and Tony Stewarts of the world that just enjoy beating up on the less experienced Busch drivers. With a rulebook that seems to change daily and a degree of technology unparalleled to any other professional sport this change should not be all that difficult for NASCAR to impose and makes the most sense of any of the options.
Stewart Back to His Old Ways
After running Matt Kenseth off the track at Daytona to make a point it could have easily been stated that Tony Stewart cost Matt Kenseth the checkered flag.
Last Sunday in Las Vegas one could make that same argument though the two never touched each other once.
In the second to last lap of the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 the caution flag Kenseth prayed wouldn?t come out, did. This forced a green, white, checkered flag and allowed Jimmy Johnson to catch up and pass Kenseth on the high side.
The caution came out because of Tony Stewart, whose latest target on his hit list appears to be Kyle Bush.
Bush and Stewart have been trading paint back and forth since Daytona after what Stewart believed to be overly aggressive moves on the track.
This time it was Stewart who fell victim to his own ways, however, after he slid into the wall after getting into it with Bush yet again.
I guess this means I?ll have to go back and get another talking too,? Bush said after the race, referring to a conversation he and Stewart had after California.
While Bush has been guilty of making overly aggressive moves in the past, race fans in Mexico are still furious after he took out hometown favorite Adrian Hernandez in Mexico City two weeks ago, I have to wonder who died and made Tony Stewart the almighty enforcer of the NASCAR rule book as pertaining to driver etiquette, in fact, if any driver was to be given that title it certainly wouldn?t be him.
Maybe last weekends? incident in which Stewart single-handedly prevented himself from earning a top 10 finish (he finished 21st after several cars with new tires past him on the final lap) will remind him that he too has to follow the rules.
The bottom line is Tony Stewart isn?t Dale Earnhardt and people are not going to just move out of his way when they see that orange No. 20 car coming up behind them.
Kyle Bush, oh by the way 6th in points compared to Tony Stewart?s 21st, should be commended for standing his ground last week and not letting Stewart bully him into moving out of the way.
It?s moves, or lack of moves in this case, that turn an average driver into an exceptional one.
Lester Looking to Make History
This weekend at Atlanta Craftsmen Truck Series driver Bill Lester will attempt to become the first African-American to qualify for a Nextel Cup race in 20 years since Willy Ribbs qualified for three different races in 1986.
There are a lot of black people out there who are closet NASCAR fans,? Lester said. `?They feel uncomfortable about coming to the racetrack because it's hard to identify with anyone there. I'm in a position to change that.'?
At 45-years old Lester has only two top-five finishes in the Truck Series despite taking back-to-back poles last year.
Though he is a long shot to qualify the No. 23 Bill Davis? Waste Management car for Sunday?s race it is still a good thing for the sport and despite the odds staked against him Lester is more than confident he can not only qualify but compete for the win.
If our test at Kentucky Speedway last week was any indication, we'll do something that's historical, and that a lot of people can take a lot of pride in,? said Lester.
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