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Hot 20 over the Chase 10 – Jimmie Johnson was not perfect, but more than good enough in 2013

By
Ron Thornton
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Photo Credit: David Yeazell

A mulligan is a do over, a chance to remove from consideration what one has done in the hopes of replacing it with something done better. This year in the Chase, a mulligan was no more than the name of a steam shovel operator from a book in primary school.

So, what would constitute a mulligan in Jimmie Johnson’s world? The closest he came during the Chase would have been his 13th place finish at Talladega. It was the only track he failed to record a Top Ten, one of just three he was not in the Top Five in those ten events. Matt Kenseth was 20th at Talladega and 23rd at Phoenix. Kevin Harvick was 20th at Loudon. Dale Earnhardt Jr had a 35th place result in Chicago, and 15th at Charlotte. All in all, pretty darn good, just not good enough when compared to the six time champion.

Johnson won the title by 19 points over Kenseth in the official standings and he was best over the ten Chase races by 22. Even if we went old school with a 36 race tally, Six Pack would have beat out Harvick by 41 points over the season and Kenseth by 56 to claim the crown. In short, Johnson did not allow any mulligan’s to be used, as a finish outside the Top 13 pretty much ended one’s hopes. His average finish in the Chase was a very hot 5.1.

The good news is that his standard, this hot streak, can, and has been done better. From August 12 through October 1st in 1967, Richard Petty’s average finish was 1…with a record of ten straight victories. Yes, it can be done but something tells me that this might not offer much solace to those hoping to keep J.J. from tying the King and the Intimidator in season championships in 2014.

Here is a look at our hottest 20 drivers over the ten Chase races.

Driver

W

T5

T10

Ave

Pts

1

Jimmie Johnson

2

7

9

5.1

407

2

Matt Kenseth

2

6

7

7.4

385

3

Kevin Harvick

2

3

8

7.3

379

4

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

0

5

8

8.5

363

5

Kyle Busch

0

5

7

9.5

352

6

Jeff Gordon

1

3

5

11.3

337

7

Clint Bowyer

0

2

6

10.9

336

8

Brad Keselowski

1

2

5

12.9

321

9

Joey Logano

0

3

5

12.6

320

10

Greg Biffle

0

1

3

12.6

318

11

Kurt Busch

0

3

3

13.3

309

12

Martin Truex, Jr.

0

1

4

13.4

307

13

Jamie McMurray

1

2

3

16

286

14

Ryan Newman

0

0

6

16

286

15

Kasey Kahne

0

3

3

16.2

283

16

Jeff Burton

0

0

1

16.5

278

17

Carl Edwards

0

1

3

16.9

276

18

Denny Hamlin

1

1

4

17.8

268

19

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

0

1

2

17.6

265

20

Paul Menard

0

1

2

18.9

251

The Best Season Ever? Surely not 2013

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: David Yeazell

It took me awhile to collect my thoughts after the 2013 NASCAR season. What did I think of the racing? I didn’t think much of it and it has nothing to do with who did or did not win the championship. I couldn’t care less about that. Once upon a time, winning races mattered, but today it’s the Chase from February until November.

The problem of the Chase takes away some of the appreciation of other drivers who had good seasons, but realistically those who had no chance at a championship. For example, let’s look at the season turned in by guys like Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, 2012 Champ Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, and Martin Truex, Jr. They all won this year, and yet who paid any attention to them?

Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards won twice this year, but did it mean anything? Apparently not, because there wasn’t much coverage of them on television. The whole season revolved around six time champ Jimmie Johnson (6 wins), Matt Kenseth (7 wins), Kyle Busch (4 wins), Jeff Gordon (1 win), and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (0 wins). Even Kevin Harvick, despite his four wins was under the radar most of the season. Once upon a time a win, even a lone win by someone like Ricky Rudd or James Hylton was special. Today, you don’t even have to win to get national coverage. That is, unless you happen to be Austin Dillon, but that’s another story. Try to find a diecast in your local Wal-Mart for anyone but Johnson, Earnhardt, Gordon, Edwards, McMurray, or Stewart, good luck!

I was in the press box at North Carolina Speedway when Matt Kenseth clinched the 2003 championship. The No. 17 crew celebrated, but not many people noticed. All the attention was on Bill Elliott who won the race. Elliott was escorted to the press box for media interviews, but nowhere was Kenseth to be found. It was the win that mattered. Yes, Kenseth celebrated at a race later on, but he was forever to be chastised as the champion who only won one race. He was the father of the Chase, something that I imagine he’s not too proud of, if truth be told. It all changed in 2004. After Kurt Busch won in 2004 and Tony Stewart’s win in 2005, seven of the last eight championships have been won by Hendrick Motorsports or satellite teams. Six of those championships were won by Jimmie Johnson and the other by Tony Stewart, whose team had a technical alliance with Hendrick.

Prior to the Chase, 25 of 55 champions were from different drivers. From 1980 until 2003, we had 14 different champions. What does it tell me? Lots of people dominated, but not everyone ran all the races. It just wasn’t that important. David Pearson and Fred Lorenzen had tremendous winning percentages. They didn’t run all the races (I can remember a time when there were over 50 races each year), and didn’t care. The win was more important. Today, we start counting points and calling people out at Daytona. The most exciting races I saw this season included Brad Keselowski’s tremendous moves at Charlotte at the fall race and Carl Edwards’ dramatic win at Richmond. Neither win had anything to do with the Chase. Neither mattered because it was all about the points.

Railing on about NASCAR’s playoff system falls on deaf ears. Someone somewhere is convinced the system is the way to go. Never mind tacks eliminating seats or somewhat lower television ratings, baseball, football, and basketball have playoffs, so it has to be the way to go, right? Here’s a hint. I travel to races about 10 times a year. I camp like so many do. Most of them are flying Dale Earnhardt flags. Why? It’s because although he won seven championships, he was exciting to watch.  I’ll always remember Benny Parsons as he yelled, “here comes Earnhardt.” I remember the late 60’s and 70’s when King Richard Petty was going through the field in the late laps.

Today, it’s all technology and money. That’s what is turning off fans. It’s hard to express the thrill of a Trevor Bayne win at Daytona or a David Ragan win at Talladega, not to mention a McMurray win anywhere. Only problem is, when you count up the points afterward, it’s still the championship that matters. We’ve created a monster and there is no turning back.

INDYCAR SERIES CONFIRMS 2014 TELEVISION SCHEDULE

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Tom Walters Riding High on Success, Inducted into Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin

There are drivers that they can say they won championships.

There are even fewer drivers that can they say won more than five championships.

There are even fewer that can say they have won more than 10.

There is one driver in particular in Canada to can say he has won 31 championships.

In his career of racing the short tracks of Ontario, Tom Walters has scored a total of 31 championships.

This past season, he won three features and scored 12 top fives and 14 top 10s in the 14 features this year to finish second in points.

For his accomplishments across his career, the Ontario veteran was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Though even with the induction, that didn’t slow him down. He missed day one of Velocity 250 qualifying at Sunset Speedway due to the induction ceremony. He showed up on day two and won the b-main to transfer to the a-main. He started 17th in the main event and worked his way through the field to win the event.

tomwalters2Walters got involved in racing after speaking with somebody on his way home from buying milk.

“I was going out to buy some milk one night and was walking down the street and there was a guy working on his racecar in the garage and I stopped in on my way back, and I’d never been involved in racing or anything or was with anybody, and I stopped on my way back and got talking to him and he says, ‘Do you wanna come on Wednesday night? I could use some help.’ I said, ‘Where do you go?’ and he said, ‘Sunset.” I said, ‘Geez, where’s that?’ and he said, ‘Innisfil’. I said, ‘Geez, my parents have a cottage in Innisfil. I don’t know the race track.’

“So we came up the first Wednesday night, it rained out. Came up the second Wednesday night, it rained out. It rained out three weeks in a row. On the way home after the third rainout, he said ‘I’m selling it. I’m done.’ I said, ‘How much?’ He said, ‘$375’ and I’ve been racing all these years.”

After buying the car, Walters got behind the wheel and hasn’t looked back since as he had success right off the bat.

“I towed the car here on a tow bar and the second race was at Wasaga Beach,” he said. “I actually won my first heat race so that was fun and then my first feature that I won was at Sutton Speedway.”

Since then, Walters has been winning multiple races and championships, including a pair of Autumn Colours Classic wins.

His accomplishments though go beyond solely just the track. At the track, the veteran is seen with young mechanics, helping them learn how to set-up racecars and more. Walters has also helped out many drivers with getting their cars set-up and learning how to be a racecar driver.

So congratulations to Tom Walters on a well-deserving accomplishment.

Carlos Munoz joins Andretti Autosport as they shift to Honda Power

By
SM Staff
-
Photo Credit: LAT Photographic

After running a couple IZOD IndyCar Series races for Andretti Autosport last year, Indy Lights standout Carlos Munoz will be tackling the full 2014 schedule.

“I’m excited for this new year,” Munoz said.

Munoz finished third in the Firestone Indy Lights championship standings this year with four victories and five pole positions.

“Carlos stepped up this season and showed outstanding potential on track in Indy and Fontana,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “We are looking forward to welcoming him as a full time IndyCar driver and seeing what 2014 has in store. We are confident that his success in Indy Lights will carry on into his IndyCar career.”

He also ran a total of three IndyCar races last year. His debut cam at the 97th Indianapolis 500, where he finished second.  He also competed in the second race of the Toronto doubleheader as a fill-in for Ryan Briscoe (fractured wrist in Race 1) for Panther Racing in addition to competing in the Firestone Indy Lights race, and also did double duty at Auto Club Speedway as the substitute for E.J. Viso.

“I was in the car once during the Toronto weekend, and everything was sort of new for me today again,” Munoz said. “My main goal was to make sure the seat, the pedals, everything was OK. I’m really happy that Andretti Autosport has given me the opportunity. Not a lot of rookies get to go up with a top team.

“I have to work a lot, but I’m ready for it. My first goal is accomplished. To be a part of this team, they believe a lot in me, and to pay them back would be to bring them great results.”

Garrett Mothersead, who worked with Munoz for the Indy 500 program, will be his race engineer.

“We worked together at Indianapolis and connected,” Munoz said. “He told me when I needed to push and when to hold back. I learned a lot that month, and I also learned from my experienced teammates at Toronto and Fontana. They always tried to help me.

“I don’t have the words to express right now how I feel. After so many years of racing and all the sacrifices — leaving my family in Colombia and going to Europe to race, then coming here to the U.S. — but finally, I’m a professional race car driver in the maximum category in America.”

While Andretti Autosport adds a new driver to line-up, they will also be switching from Chevrolet to Honda power in 2014.

2012 series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay was involved in part of the early development of Chevrolet’s new 2.2-liter, twin turbocharged V-6 engine two years ago. Now he is helping Honda Performance Development with developing their twin turbocharged engine.

“I’m very impressed with the power and delivery,” Hunter-Reay said. “We’re all happy with how we started testing. The development side of it is a lot of fun. You have an opportunity to customize and personalize and have your impact on a program. What we do right now is important, to get every bit of data out of every day, is crucial to the 2014 championship.

“All the hard work going into it will make a big difference come the season opener at St. Pete. It’s great to get back to it.”

Mark Martin to step out of driving seat and help out with SHR

By
SM Staff
-
Photo Credit: David Yeazell

“For nearly 40 years I have measured myself against the best stock car drivers of the era. It’s ben #1HellOfaRide.”

Before the final race of the year at Homstead-Miami Speedway, Mark Martin tweeted those words.

For 2014, the veteran will be stepping out of the driver’s seat to become an advisor at Stewart-Haas Racing.

“I’m kind of tired. I might not make the best decisions right now,” he said. “I’ll still have an opportunity to satisfy my competitive fire and still be able to be involved in the sport at whatever level I want to be. And we’ll let that kind of materialize as we move forward past Homestead.”

Martin says that he can still drive a racecar fast, but he also knows that he’s getting up there in age.

“I can feel it in everything I do – every time I get up and walk across the room, I can tell I’m not 35,” he said. “And anybody that says they can’t, I’d like to be sippin’ off some of their juice, because I can tell.”

Martin is not using the word retirement, though is saying this is a chance to open a new chapter in his career.

“I worked really, really hard the last 10 years to continue to be a formidable opponent in the garage, and from time to time when stuff was right, I was able to do it,” Martin said. “And I’m proud of that. But it’s time for me to open a new chapter and do some other things.”

SHR team owner Tony Stewart sees it as a good move for the entire organization heading into next year.

“I think Mark is a great liaison between us as drivers and the crew chiefs and Zippy,” Stewart said. “Mark’s got so much practical knowledge and experience. Mark is good with people and I think that is a lot of value to me. I think it’s a little easier for Mark to help Danica.

“But I think Mark can make me better. You’re crazy if you’re a driver and think you can’t learn and that you can’t be better. Having someone like Mark do that, if he sees I’m not driving in the corner hard enough or I’m arcing my entry too much or not enough, whatever. Mark can see that and tell you to think about this.”

When Danica Patrick was just starting her NASCAR career at JR Motorsports, she spent time with Martin for advice. She knows the benefit of having someone with his experience to lean on and looks forward to him being at SHR.

“I don’t think that you can ever have too much input,” Patrick commented. “Maybe from person to person they have different preferences to what they like, but I sure like it.  I sure like hearing advice about what to do.  It doesn’t mean you go out and implement every single thing and try every single thing, but there is going to be a situation that comes up and you are going to remember what somebody said and you are going to try it.  So, I like asking a lot of questions.

“No different than me walking down pit lane last night for qualifying and stopping by Mark’s car and talking to him and asking what he is going to do for qualifying.  Then we were just talking about working on things for next year and how nice it is when there is natural speed in the car and then you can work on little things to fine tune.”

She added that he’d be great to have not just from a driver’s perspective, but from a team prespective.

“He has seen a lot of different teams,” she continued. “That is a great perspective.  He is there to ask driving questions, but he is also there to just help overall from a team perspective.”

CASC-OR TO SHOWCASE CANADIAN ROAD RACING AT THE CANADIAN MOTORSPORTS EXPO

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