NASCAR Notebook: Texas
Barry F. Hess
April 07, 2006
Texas Two-Step
The last time Greg Biffle raced at Texas Motor Speedway he had visions of a Nextel Cup Championship in his head and the points lead to his credit midway through the fall race in Fort Worth.
A loose lug nut and one untimely pit stop later Biffile?s chances of winning his first championship went up in smoke.
In his first race at Texas since that ill-fated September evening Biffle is looking to win his second race at Texas in three attempts.
After dominating the spring race one year ago look for Biffle to continue the mile and a half success he and many of his Roush Racing teammates have shared over the last few seasons.
Though he has to be a legitimate favorite Biffle will have the odds stacked against him Sunday.
In the 10 races the Nextel Cup circuit has raced in Texas there have been 10 different winners.
After starting the season with two DNFs Biffle has climbed back to 18th in points and a win on Sunday could catapult him right back into the hunt as we prepare for the heart of the Nextel Cup schedule.
After the first six races of the 2006 season it?s hard to find someone surprised to see K. Busch?s name in the top five of the point standings.
What is a surprise is that it?s Kyle and not Kurt Busch.
Kyle has jumpstarted to the best start of his young career with four top ten finishes in six races, all the while running 100 percent of the possible laps to this point.
After finishing third at Las Vegas and fifth last week in Martinsville Busch is hungry to get his third career win and first of 2006.
Just as Roush has shown in recent years Hendrick Motor Sports has shown tremendous success at the ?cookie-cutter? style tracks, giving cars like the No. 5 Kellogg?s Chevy a chance to not only qualify well but finish near the front as well.
In one of his best finishes of a disappointing 2005 Jaime McMurray earned a second place finish in the spring race at Texas.
McMurray, who has yet to create the stir many anticipated when he announced the signing with Roush Racing, is fresh off his best finish thus far in 2006 with a ninth place finish in Martinsville last week.
The driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford along with his crew chief Jimmy Fenig have identified several of the issues they believe have prevented them from contending for a win thus far and have corrected them in time to still qualify for the Race for the Chase later in the year.
Look for a strong qualify performance from McMurray and his new set up this week followed buy a strong performance on race day.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished last week?s race in Martinsville with barely enough sheet metal remaining on the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy to hold it together.
But two crashes and a boat load of work by his pit crew and Junior managed to salvage an impressive fourth place finish out of the day and remain sixth in the point standings.
Earnhardt has been flirting with victory lane off and on all season and Sunday at Texas may just be the race he finally breaks through and wins.
Earnhardt is no stranger to victory lane in Texas, winning the 2000 race, and a win Sunday is just what he needs to cement his place in the top 10 for the remainder of the season.
Just as Jeff Gordon as shown last year?s failure to qualify for the Chase was a fluke so too has Earnhardt thus far.
Prediction: This Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway is quite possibly the most open field of drivers we have seen thus far in 2006 and it is really anyone?s race to win.
But when you crunch the numbers and narrow it down you have to pick the driver with the most consistency and experience to win at a fast track like Texas and no other driver epitomizes experience and consistency like the driver of the No. 6 AAA Ford, Mark Martin.
Martin, a former Texas winner, is currently second in points and has yet to finish outside the top 13 all year.
In what is almost certainly his final chance at an elusive Nextel Cup Championship look for Martin to not only lead laps at Texas but dominate the race and claim possession of the point?s lead.
The Smoke Starts Early
It is easier to predict than snow in the Rocky Mountains and rain in the Florida wetlands.
In each of their seven previous years together Tony Stewart and Joe Gibbs Racing have started the season slower than Speedy Gonzalez?s cousin Slow Pock at a Enchilada eating contest.
And in recent that system of sorts has been surprisingly successful.
In 2002 Stewart finished the Daytona 500 dead last and had an average finishing position of 17th in the first 10 races of the season.
26 races later he was hoisting the Championship trophy over his head in Homestead, Florida for the first time in his career.
In 2005 it was a similar story.
Stewart finished his first 10 races with the exact same average of 17th position after the first 10 races of the season and it was looking bleak for his chances at qualify for the Race for the Chase.
Then June hit and Smoke won an amazing five races in seven weeks on his way to yet another championship.
But 2006 has been very different though Stewart and company are hoping for similar results.
The No. 20 Home Depot team have gotten off to their best start ever in 2006, already winning in Martinsville and finishing in an average position just outside the top 10.
Last year at this time we were all scratching our heads and asking what we had to do to get caught up,? Stewart said. ?From a driver's standpoint this year is a lot better situation than what it was a year ago. Greg [Zipadelli] and I had talked before the race about not worrying about leading the most laps, but to lead the right one.?
Stewart is the only driver to lead at least one lap in every race of the 2006 season and is currently eighth in the point standings.
Sunday?s win in Martinsville gave him the most wins of any driver in the state of Virginia in history and with two road courses, the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and three more restrictor plate races remaining on the schedule it could be bad news for the 42 other drivers competing for a championship when they cross paths with the No. 20 car.
This year we've had a fast car everywhere and haven't gotten a win until here [Martinsville],? Stewart said. ?But just the fact that we have led and been competitive in all the races and having your program where it needs to be is the toughest battle.?
Team Versus Team
Each week 43 drivers compete against one another for the shot at driving their ride into victory lane.
But in recent years battles between some of the more competitive race teams have also begun to form as each race progresses.
This year, however, it has been a two team war between the five-car team of Roush Racing and the four-car team of Hendrick Motor Sports.
Between the two they have won 41 races over the last two and a half years and six championships over the last 10 years.
But after Jack Roush saw one of his drivers hoist the championship trophy in both 2003 and 2004 and all five of his drivers qualify for the Chase in 2005 it appears Rick Hendrick and company have the edge on ?The Cat in the Hat? in 2006?at least so far.
After six races the No. 48 Lowes team has won two races, including the Daytona 500, and is currently third in points.
The No. 5 Kellogg?s team has four top five finishes in six races and is currently fifth in points.
Four time series champion Jeff Gordon is running in midseason form while the young Brian Vickers and the No. 25 GMAC team are in 19th in points.
Last Sunday in Martinsville all four drivers finished inside the top 10, taking a page out of the Roush book from last season.
Thus far in 2006 Roush has struggled, at least according to their standards.
Matt Kenseth, currently third in points, has run strong in every race and led laps in all but one yet he only has a lone win at California to show for it.
Mark Martin has earned a top 10 finish in all but two races this year and is currently second in points.
But that is where things start to change.
Last year?s runner-up to the championship, Greg Biffle, started the year with two DNFs and is currently 18th in points in a year many picked him to win it all.
Sophomore driver Carl Edwards, 19th, is also wishing for some of the midseason success he experienced in 2005 while newcomer to the team, Jamie McMurray, is still struggling to find a comfort zone with the award winning team.
But just like a heavyweight prize fight Roush Racing has taken Hendrick?s best punches and will now look to rebound in the next round of races.
It will be terribly entertaining to watch the two teams battle it out each week but the question of will they fight each other right out of the chance for a title looms over the heads of both owners?
With so much competition spread out among the nine teams it?s also possible for drivers like Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt. Jr. to sweep by unnoticed and take home the crown.
With 30 races remaining and the heart of the season right around the corner it will be more than interesting to watch the battle between the two teams.
Can one defeat the other or will they both take each other to the wire for a title?
Only time and thousands of laps can determine the answer to those questions and more.
The last time Greg Biffle raced at Texas Motor Speedway he had visions of a Nextel Cup Championship in his head and the points lead to his credit midway through the fall race in Fort Worth.
A loose lug nut and one untimely pit stop later Biffile?s chances of winning his first championship went up in smoke.
In his first race at Texas since that ill-fated September evening Biffle is looking to win his second race at Texas in three attempts.
After dominating the spring race one year ago look for Biffle to continue the mile and a half success he and many of his Roush Racing teammates have shared over the last few seasons.
Though he has to be a legitimate favorite Biffle will have the odds stacked against him Sunday.
In the 10 races the Nextel Cup circuit has raced in Texas there have been 10 different winners.
After starting the season with two DNFs Biffle has climbed back to 18th in points and a win on Sunday could catapult him right back into the hunt as we prepare for the heart of the Nextel Cup schedule.
After the first six races of the 2006 season it?s hard to find someone surprised to see K. Busch?s name in the top five of the point standings.
What is a surprise is that it?s Kyle and not Kurt Busch.
Kyle has jumpstarted to the best start of his young career with four top ten finishes in six races, all the while running 100 percent of the possible laps to this point.
After finishing third at Las Vegas and fifth last week in Martinsville Busch is hungry to get his third career win and first of 2006.
Just as Roush has shown in recent years Hendrick Motor Sports has shown tremendous success at the ?cookie-cutter? style tracks, giving cars like the No. 5 Kellogg?s Chevy a chance to not only qualify well but finish near the front as well.
In one of his best finishes of a disappointing 2005 Jaime McMurray earned a second place finish in the spring race at Texas.
McMurray, who has yet to create the stir many anticipated when he announced the signing with Roush Racing, is fresh off his best finish thus far in 2006 with a ninth place finish in Martinsville last week.
The driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford along with his crew chief Jimmy Fenig have identified several of the issues they believe have prevented them from contending for a win thus far and have corrected them in time to still qualify for the Race for the Chase later in the year.
Look for a strong qualify performance from McMurray and his new set up this week followed buy a strong performance on race day.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished last week?s race in Martinsville with barely enough sheet metal remaining on the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy to hold it together.
But two crashes and a boat load of work by his pit crew and Junior managed to salvage an impressive fourth place finish out of the day and remain sixth in the point standings.
Earnhardt has been flirting with victory lane off and on all season and Sunday at Texas may just be the race he finally breaks through and wins.
Earnhardt is no stranger to victory lane in Texas, winning the 2000 race, and a win Sunday is just what he needs to cement his place in the top 10 for the remainder of the season.
Just as Jeff Gordon as shown last year?s failure to qualify for the Chase was a fluke so too has Earnhardt thus far.
Prediction: This Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway is quite possibly the most open field of drivers we have seen thus far in 2006 and it is really anyone?s race to win.
But when you crunch the numbers and narrow it down you have to pick the driver with the most consistency and experience to win at a fast track like Texas and no other driver epitomizes experience and consistency like the driver of the No. 6 AAA Ford, Mark Martin.
Martin, a former Texas winner, is currently second in points and has yet to finish outside the top 13 all year.
In what is almost certainly his final chance at an elusive Nextel Cup Championship look for Martin to not only lead laps at Texas but dominate the race and claim possession of the point?s lead.
The Smoke Starts Early
It is easier to predict than snow in the Rocky Mountains and rain in the Florida wetlands.
In each of their seven previous years together Tony Stewart and Joe Gibbs Racing have started the season slower than Speedy Gonzalez?s cousin Slow Pock at a Enchilada eating contest.
And in recent that system of sorts has been surprisingly successful.
In 2002 Stewart finished the Daytona 500 dead last and had an average finishing position of 17th in the first 10 races of the season.
26 races later he was hoisting the Championship trophy over his head in Homestead, Florida for the first time in his career.
In 2005 it was a similar story.
Stewart finished his first 10 races with the exact same average of 17th position after the first 10 races of the season and it was looking bleak for his chances at qualify for the Race for the Chase.
Then June hit and Smoke won an amazing five races in seven weeks on his way to yet another championship.
But 2006 has been very different though Stewart and company are hoping for similar results.
The No. 20 Home Depot team have gotten off to their best start ever in 2006, already winning in Martinsville and finishing in an average position just outside the top 10.
Last year at this time we were all scratching our heads and asking what we had to do to get caught up,? Stewart said. ?From a driver's standpoint this year is a lot better situation than what it was a year ago. Greg [Zipadelli] and I had talked before the race about not worrying about leading the most laps, but to lead the right one.?
Stewart is the only driver to lead at least one lap in every race of the 2006 season and is currently eighth in the point standings.
Sunday?s win in Martinsville gave him the most wins of any driver in the state of Virginia in history and with two road courses, the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and three more restrictor plate races remaining on the schedule it could be bad news for the 42 other drivers competing for a championship when they cross paths with the No. 20 car.
This year we've had a fast car everywhere and haven't gotten a win until here [Martinsville],? Stewart said. ?But just the fact that we have led and been competitive in all the races and having your program where it needs to be is the toughest battle.?
Team Versus Team
Each week 43 drivers compete against one another for the shot at driving their ride into victory lane.
But in recent years battles between some of the more competitive race teams have also begun to form as each race progresses.
This year, however, it has been a two team war between the five-car team of Roush Racing and the four-car team of Hendrick Motor Sports.
Between the two they have won 41 races over the last two and a half years and six championships over the last 10 years.
But after Jack Roush saw one of his drivers hoist the championship trophy in both 2003 and 2004 and all five of his drivers qualify for the Chase in 2005 it appears Rick Hendrick and company have the edge on ?The Cat in the Hat? in 2006?at least so far.
After six races the No. 48 Lowes team has won two races, including the Daytona 500, and is currently third in points.
The No. 5 Kellogg?s team has four top five finishes in six races and is currently fifth in points.
Four time series champion Jeff Gordon is running in midseason form while the young Brian Vickers and the No. 25 GMAC team are in 19th in points.
Last Sunday in Martinsville all four drivers finished inside the top 10, taking a page out of the Roush book from last season.
Thus far in 2006 Roush has struggled, at least according to their standards.
Matt Kenseth, currently third in points, has run strong in every race and led laps in all but one yet he only has a lone win at California to show for it.
Mark Martin has earned a top 10 finish in all but two races this year and is currently second in points.
But that is where things start to change.
Last year?s runner-up to the championship, Greg Biffle, started the year with two DNFs and is currently 18th in points in a year many picked him to win it all.
Sophomore driver Carl Edwards, 19th, is also wishing for some of the midseason success he experienced in 2005 while newcomer to the team, Jamie McMurray, is still struggling to find a comfort zone with the award winning team.
But just like a heavyweight prize fight Roush Racing has taken Hendrick?s best punches and will now look to rebound in the next round of races.
It will be terribly entertaining to watch the two teams battle it out each week but the question of will they fight each other right out of the chance for a title looms over the heads of both owners?
With so much competition spread out among the nine teams it?s also possible for drivers like Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt. Jr. to sweep by unnoticed and take home the crown.
With 30 races remaining and the heart of the season right around the corner it will be more than interesting to watch the battle between the two teams.
Can one defeat the other or will they both take each other to the wire for a title?
Only time and thousands of laps can determine the answer to those questions and more.
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