Champs, Chumps & Sleepers Weekly High Score wins $50!

Get ready, things are about to get wacky. Excluing the Roush Romp in 2005, the Kansas race has been unusual during the Chase era. In 2004 Joe Nemechek narrowly edged Ricky Rudd and Greg Biffle at the finish line to win. None of the three drivers made that year’s Chase (and incidentally were all sponsored by Armed Forces). The 2006 race featured a fuel mileage finish with non-Chaser Tony Stewart coasting across the finish line with less speed than a Vespa. Last year everything was thrown into flux. Rain delayed the race once and then prematurely ended the race. Tony Stewart went from leading after the first delay to cutting a tire and deflating his Chase chances. That left the door open for Greg Biffle (non-Chase of course) to cross the finish line first, then stop on the apron. Competitors complained that he didn’t maintain caution speed and shouldn’t have won. Unpredictable, dramatic finishes are the norm at Kansas. Keep that in mind during the first 390 miles.

So what might happen this weekend? Here’s a few scenarios:

• Carl Edwards edges Jimmie Johnson for the win, performs his signature backflip and breaks his ankle ruling him out for the final seven races.

• After last week declaring himself out of the Chase, ESPN doesn’t follow Kyle Busch during the race. Brad Coleman in the #96 car wins the race, then in Scooby-Doo fashion rips off a mask revealing his true identity: Kyle Busch.

• During green flag pit stops, AJ Allmendinger stays out and catches a caution that leaves him as the only car on the lead lap. He holds on to win his first career Cup race, but Red Bull instead allows Scott Speed to accept the trophy in Victory Lane.

Other Notes

Joe Nemechek and Ken Schrader are the only two drivers to race in all 7 Kansas races without a DNF. That elite club is about to fall. Schrader isn’t entered and Nemechek has been collecting DNF’s (4 in last 8 races) this year like there was a worldwide shortage.

Brad Keselowski will attempt to qualify for two Cup races this year with a Hendrick Motorsports #25 car. The same #25 car last seen wrecking a lot over the years. It’s not a huge secret considering Keselowski’s Nationwide success and the fact that he’s seen as Mark Martin’s long term replacement. It’s also the third driver with DEI ties to defect to HMS. Next up in a Hendrick car: Paul Menard. Just kidding.

Red Bull Racing announced that AJ Allmendinger would not return to the #84 in 2009, and likely would be replaced by Scott Speed before the end of the year. GM Jay Frye gave the requisite, “we wish him nothing but the best.” My guess would be that Allmendinger’s best would be to stay in the #84 car. With help from Mike Skinner, Allmendinger has improved that team from miserable to respectable over the past two seasons. Now Speed, thanks to an ARCA/Trucks season that Allmendinger wasn’t provided, can capitalize on Allmendinger’s progress. Allmendinger deserves better.

Who Will Win?

It’s hard to go against the Roush cars right now. Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and occasionally Matt Kenseth have the 1.5 mile tracks figured out. Know another guy that has 1.5 mile tracks figured out? Jimmie Johnson. He has 1 top 5 and 4 top 10’s in six Kansas starts plus a 130.3 driver rating. Even if he doesn’t win, he’ll still likely finish in the top 5. Regardless of where he finishes, just remember that he doesn’t really catch fire in the Chase for another two weeks. And they said Matt Kenseth was a robot.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under 2008 chase, Cup Drivers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.