View From the Couch: Three Contenders and Everyone Else
September 1st, 2008 by mikeI’m happy to win and win on a big track, because the bulk of the races are on these big downforce tracks, and I feel like we’re doing the right things to have a fighting chance at the championship and that’s really all we can ask for.
-Jimmie Johnson
As far as the Chase goes, Sunday night’s race changed nothing. It is going to be a three man battle for the championship and it’s been that way since July. Granted, Jimmie Johnson hasn’t garnered the attention that Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch have received, but just like last year the #48 team has kept the big picture in mind all season. While winning additional races during the regular season is nice, Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson will surely have their strongest cars ready for the Chase. Edwards and Busch will also be there every week, but as I’ve said since February, Jimmie Johnson is the Champion until someone takes it from him.
In the same way that Johnson reasserted himself as a Chase threat, others proved how great the gap is from the big three to the rest of the field: Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon continued their indifferent seasons, Dale Earnhardt Jr was again left wondering who swapped his early season cars with Johnson’s, and the RCR cars gave more ‘B’ performances (good, but never great).
Notes and Thoughts
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While Johnson did his best to make the action at the front non-existent, the racing was actually pretty decent. Drivers were using different lines all over the track and featured lots of three-wide racing. Like in any sport, sometimes a team will show up, dominate and make the race less exciting. When it happens in football or basketball no one cries for rule changes or to switch the venue. When it happens in NASCAR, too often it leads to pleas for changing something in the name of improved racing. Sunday night was not one of those cases.
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The race had a dearth of adversity. Aside from Martin Truex Jr’s loose wheel and Kurt Busch’s flat tire and spin, none of the drivers in the top 20 had any problems. Of the top 20 drivers, only Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray failed to finish on the lead lap. David Reutimann, Patrick Carpentier and AJ Allmendinger were the only drivers outside the top 20 in points to finish in the top 20 on Sunday night.
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While Allmendinger hurdled five drivers to land at 31st in the owners points, Robby Gordon’s spin through the grass (I hope he replaced his divot) pushed the #7 car to the edge of the top 35 cliff. Falling outside the safe zone probably wouldn’t affect Gordon’s one car team this year. But if he were to enter 2009 without a guaranteed spot, it could spell disaster. The top 35 provisional is one of the major assets for a team when talking to sponsors and without it, Gordon could be in serious trouble.
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Drew Carey is a serious sports fan and obviously entertaining. His enthusiastic starter’s command was fantastic (More on this tomorrow). It was one of the best I’ve seen all season. It’s a small thing, but when someone gets that into the Three Most Famous Words in Racing it starts the night out with some fun.
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Not much changed in the competition for the final Chase slots. 14th place Kasey Kahne shaved eight points off his deficit and 13th place David Ragan lost another five to 12th place Clint Bowyer. Barring major disaster from Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon, Bowyer’s spot is the only one within reach. Bowyer’s 17 point gap over Ragan is the difference between tenth and 17th place. To add to the drama, Ragan, Kahne and Bowyer are good at Richmond.
How was the race for you? Were you entertained, bored or off grilling somewhere? How many drivers have a realistic shot at the championship?
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