Tony Stewart feels his team is running so bad that if they make the Chase they will just be taking a spot away from someone more deserving. That might be how he really feels, but if he isn’t deserving, then what can you say about Dale Earnhardt Jr?
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[/media-credit]Hey, Junior’s my guy, but we have to face facts here. He might be 9th in the standings, but over the past ten events the #88 crew has not exactly been charging up the ladder. If you want to feel sorry for a guy, how about Joey Logano. He has the 7th best record in recent weeks, but those first five races of the year, when he could not even bust a Top Twenty, keeps him from contending now.
I love my mother, but I’m pretty sure I won’t ever see her on Dancing With the Stars. I’m sure my eyes will never glimpse her bungee jumping, walking a tightrope, or winning a Sprint Cup title this fall. I don’t see that last one coming to fruition for Junior either. Over the last ten events, driving to make the Chase, with everything on the line, he is 24th. That does not exactly instill one with the confidence to slap down a wager.
Junior missed the Top Twenty at Daytona in February, but it wasn’t until June when he suffered that same fate again. At the time, he was third in the standings, but slipped after his 41st place the next outing at Sonoma. Before Michigan he had eight Top Tens; since he has just one. In those past ten events Junior’s average finish has been 19th. If Tony Stewart is not good enough to be in the Chase, then I would expect Dale Earnhardt Jr to slide out of contention for the crown quickly, and quietly.
Here is a look at our hot 20 over the past ten, along with where they are currently ranked in the official standings…
1 (5) Jeff Gordon – 371 pts (0-3-7)
Jimmie has five, Jeff wants five.
2 (1) Kyle Busch – 369 pts (2-6-7)
Thirteen Top Fives. 13!!
3 (3) Matt Kenseth – 350 pts (0-3-6)
Might not be Mr. Excitement, but still on track to become Mr. Two-time.
4 (7) Ryan Newman – 345 pts (1-4-6)
Oh boo-hoo, it has to be tough to be with Stewart-Haas.
5 (11) Brad Keselowski – 344 pts (2-4-7)
Wins will get him in, but this boy has a few points to make.
6 (2) Jimmie Johnson – 344 pts (0-5-7)
Two more races to tinker, then it is back to business
7 (18) Joey Logano – 309 pts (0-3-4)
Maybe too late for this year, but good signs for the season ahead.
8 (4) Carl Edwards – 303 pts (0-3-5)
Is this the year?
9 (6) Kevin Harvick – 301 pts (0-0-3)
Like Jimmie, like Carl, the real deal will be at Chicago and beyond.
10 (10) Tony Stewart – 293 pts (0-1-4)
If this is bad, imagine what good would be like.
11 (14) A.J. Allmendinger – 293 pts (0-0-1)
Out of a Chase place since the Bristol disaster last March.
12 (8) Kurt Busch – 292 pts (1-2-4)
It was not good, but at least Bristol was better than Pocono and the Glen.
13 (17) Martin Truex Jr – 287 pts (0-2-4)
A pair of Top Fives in last three beats memories of Martinsville, Texas, Daytona…
14 (15) Kasey Kahne – 285 pts (0-1-3)
Easy to move to where the grass is greener when they sell the farm.
15 (22) Marcos Ambrose – 279 pts (1-2-4)
Can a win at Atlanta mean a million bucks AND a place in the Chase?
16 (20) Paul Menard – 270 pts (1-2-4)
Things were looking up until they went down the hole the past three weeks.
17 (12) Clint Bowyer – 269 pts (0-1-3)
Seeking a new deal, but what he really needs are two great starts.
18 (13) Denny Hamlin – 264 pts (1-2-3)
Needs a win.
19 (21) David Ragan – 257 pts (1-1-2)
See above.
20 (16) Greg Biffle – 255 pts (0-0-2)
You run 20th or worse ten times, including the past three, and you get this.
22 (19) Mark Martin – 250 pts (0-1-3)
Of course, in Hollywood, a writer has Mark winning the next two.
24 (9) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 246 pts (0-0-1)
Got a new contract, but we want the old Junior back (circa 2008)
25 (25) Regan Smith – 241 pts (0-0-1)
Winning is now the only thing, and he might need two.
