Two Champions, Two Races, One Victor
NASCAR is gearing up for a duel in the desert with the penultimate event of the longest season in sports just a few days away. With 3rd place Kevin Harvick facing a 40 point deficit, this title bout has become a showdown between two proven champions and worthy adversaries. Jimmie Johnson is seeking a 6th title which would only further solidify his place among racing’s immortals while Matt Kenseth hopes to secure a second championship ten years after his first. The two went into Texas deadlocked and despite the now seven point advantage Jimmie Johnson holds, it’s nearly impossible to ascertain who will emerge victorious when the checkered flag falls in Miami.
Phoenix International Raceway
Jimmie Johnson vs. Matt Kenseth
20 starts vs. 22 starts
6.4 av. finish vs. 17.3 av. finish
4 wins vs. 1 win
13 T5’s vs. 5 T5’s
16 T10s vs. 9 T10’s
932 laps led vs. 212 laps led
Homestead Miami Speedway
Jimmie Johnson vs. Matt Kenseth
12 starts vs. 13 starts
15.3 av. finish vs. 17.6 av. finish
0 wins vs. 1 win
4 T5’s vs. 3 T5’s
7 T10’s vs.5 T10’s
99 laps led vs. 305 laps led
The stats say that Jimmie will most likely augment his points lead at Phoenix and that it could go either way at Homestead. As Matt Kenseth has proven on more than one occasion this year though, the stats mean very little in the whole scheme of things now that he’s with JGR. We went to Martinsville and most were ready to just hand 5-time the grandfather clock before the race even commenced but at the end of the day, Kenseth had shocked us all by retaking the points lead after out-performing Johnson in what has become his playground. At Texas, the pendulum swung back in the 48’s favor and the gap between these future HOF’ers grew to seven points.
To put it in perspective, Jimmie Johnson didn’t even have one championship to his credit the last time Kenseth won a title nor did the chase even exist so I guess you could say that JGR’s newest edition is starving for another Cup. The way this chase has gone, it seems that every time one of these titans of NASCAR outdoes one, the other steps up to the plate the following weekend evening the score. If that pattern persists, we may see a deadlock at the top of the standings going into the finale; a track the two seem evenly matched at based on previous races.
I see one of two scenario’s unfolding in the penultimate event at PIR; either Jimmie Johnson extends his points lead by a few markers or Kenseth digs deep and washes away the small, but crucial separation between the two at the moment. Seven points may not seem like a lot (and it isn’t), but check out this stat regarding the 2013 chase…
Chase Race #1: Matt Kenseth gains 8pts on Jimmie Johnson
Chase Race #2: Matt Kenseth gains 7pts on Jimmie Johnson
Chase Race #3: Jimmie Johnson gains 10pts on Matt Kenseth
Chase Race #4: Jimmie Johnson gains 5pts on Matt Kenseth
Chase Race #5: Matt Kenseth gains 1pt on Jimmie Johnson
Chase Race #6: Jimmie Johnson gains 8pts on Matt Kenseth
Chase Race #7: Matt Kenseth gains 4pts on Jimmie Johnson
Chase Race #8: Jimmie Johnson gains 7pts on Matt Kenseth
The largest points swing in this entire chase between Kenseth and Johnson was when Jimmie gained 10 points on Matt at Dover. In my honest opinion, if Matt loses anymore ground at Phoenix, he won’t be able to win the championship without Johnson being plagued by problems with the kind of results these guys have been laying down on a weekly basis. I mean they are making 6th place finishes look like bad days! It is imperative that Kenseth chips at least a couple points off of Jimmie’s lead heading into Homestead where fate will probably have the two stuck together the whole day so if he’s trailing by too much, a win may not even be enough to secure him the crown if his title rival is close by.
This clash of the titans is sure to come down to the wire and I believe it will be just as epic and riveting as the duel between Stewart and Edwards back in 2011. These two have been performing at a level that everyone, including their own teammates can only dream of and I don’t see either one of these rock solid racers fumbling in the final two events. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are interchangeable with their demeanor, their driving style and their raw talent behind the wheel of a race car. They can’t be rattled by mind games, they can’t force the other into a mistake, neither has an obvious weakness or Achilles Heel if you will. They are near infallible. I obviously can’t foretell a mechanical failure or blown tire but I don’t see this one coming down to a foolish mistake by one or the other but rather an on-track battle that ends with one prevailing by the slightest of margins in an enthralling dogfight for the coveted Sprint Cup championship.
Additional notes:
The stats say that Jimmie will most likely augment his points lead at Phoenix and that it could go either way at Homestead. The odds are certainly in Jimmie’s favor too as Bwin.com see him as their favorite for Sunday’s race. As Matt Kenseth has proven on more than one occasion this year though, the stats mean very little in the whole scheme of things now that he’s with JGR. We went to Martinsville and most were ready to just hand 5-time the grandfather clock before the race even commenced but at the end of the day, Kenseth had shocked us all by retaking the points lead after out-performing Johnson in what has become his playground. At Texas, the pendulum swung back in the 48′s favor and the gap between these future HOF’ers grew to seven points.
Hot 20 over the Chase Eight – Good just isn’t good enough when great is what it takes in the Chase
Average a Top Ten finish and you are doing good. Very good. Yet, good is not good enough when it comes to the Chase. Such is the case when there are those who are running great.
Over the past eight Chase events, Jimmie Johnson is averaging better than a fifth place finish. Matt Kenseth has a couple of wins and an average result of just over sixth place. Mere mortals can not compete against that, at least not until someone develops clay feet and returns to earth. If there is any Kryptonite out there, it better turn up at Phoenix and/or Homestead if it is going to do any good for those who have been, well, just good.
Kevin Harvick has been damn good in the Chase. In fact, he would be considered great if not for those other two boys. Dale Earnhardt Jr has done better than a tenth place average. If not for that damn engine blowing up in Chicago.
Ordinarily, during the opening 26 races of the season, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Clint Bowyer would have been very pleased. If this had been their first eight, and not their last, they would have thought themselves walking in tall cotton. Even Jamie McMurray and Jeff Burton, both outside the ten best in the Chase events, would have had cause for optimism. Unfortunately for them, this is the time of year when good just is not good enough. Not even very good cuts the mustard.
So, unless bad things happen to good…er…great people at the top of the leader board, there are just two names being considered for etching onto the trophy. Then again, if Junior, Kyle, and Jeff can find themselves outside the Top 30 in a race, there is always a chance that great over eight might not be good enough, either. That is why we will be watching the action from Phoenix on Sunday and why Harvick is still optimistic he could yet leave Homestead, well, happy.
|
|
Driver |
Wins |
T-5 |
T-10 |
Points |
Ave. Finish |
Best |
Worst |
|
1 |
Jimmie Johnson |
2 |
6 |
7 |
330 |
4.87 |
1 |
13 |
|
2 |
Matt Kenseth |
2 |
5 |
6 |
320 |
6.12 |
1 (x2) |
20 |
|
3 |
Kevin Harvick |
1 |
2 |
6 |
296 |
7.75 |
1 |
20 |
|
4 |
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
0 |
3 |
6 |
280 |
9.75 |
2 |
35 |
|
5 |
Kyle Busch |
0 |
5 |
5 |
278 |
10.12 |
2 |
34 |
|
6 |
Jeff Gordon |
1 |
3 |
5 |
273 |
11.00 |
1 |
38 |
|
7 |
Clint Bowyer |
0 |
1 |
5 |
273 |
10.50 |
3 |
17 |
|
8 |
Greg Biffle |
0 |
1 |
3 |
266 |
11.12 |
3 |
16 (x2) |
|
9 |
Joey Logano |
0 |
3 |
3 |
248 |
13.62 |
3 (x2) |
37 |
|
10 |
Brad Keselowski |
1 |
2 |
4 |
248 |
14.00 |
1 |
37 |
|
11 |
Kurt Busch |
0 |
2 |
2 |
246 |
13.37 |
2 |
21 |
|
12 |
Jamie McMurray |
1 |
2 |
3 |
245 |
14.00 |
1 |
31 |
|
13 |
Martin Truex, Jr. |
0 |
0 |
2 |
231 |
15.25 |
8 |
22 |
|
14 |
Jeff Burton |
0 |
0 |
1 |
230 |
15.62 |
8 |
24 |
|
15 |
Ryan Newman |
0 |
0 |
5 |
224 |
16.62 |
8 (x2) |
38 |
|
16 |
Carl Edwards |
0 |
1 |
3 |
220 |
17.00 |
5 |
37 |
|
17 |
Paul Menard |
0 |
1 |
2 |
218 |
16.75 |
4 |
24 |
|
18 |
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. |
0 |
1 |
2 |
211 |
17.75 |
3 |
31 |
|
19 |
Kasey Kahne |
0 |
2 |
2 |
209 |
18.37 |
2 |
37 |
|
20 |
Denny Hamlin |
0 |
0 |
3 |
204 |
18.62 |
7 (x2) |
38 |
2013 Autumn Colours Classic Winner Mike Bentley to tackle Snowflake 100
Two feature wins, 11 top fives and 13 top 10s across the 14 feature races. 14 heat wins and 26 heat top fives in 28 races. Those numbers alone spell success and that was the result of Mike Bentley’s 2013 season at Sunset Speedway. His success culminated with him winning the track’s 2013 Limited Late Model Championship.
Though it’s not that success alone that has Bentley pinned as one of the top drivers in the province of Ontario.
He is a two-time winner of Barrie Speedway’s year end invitational – the Garry Reynolds Memorial. He finished second to Dwayne Baker this year.
He has won Sunset Speedway’s Velocity 250 and worked his way through the field to finish inside the top five despite making a mid-race pit stop.
He won the Ocktoberfest Classic in 2012.
Though beyond that, he is a back-to-back winner of the Autumn Colours Classic 113 Pro Late Model Feature, the biggest event of the Ontario racing season.
Well, now the Guelph, Ontario driver is taking his show on the road as he is heading down to 5 Flags Speedway to run the Snowflake 100, scheduled for December 7th, the eve of 5 Flags Speedway’s legendary Snowball Derby Super Late Model race.
“We’ve had so much success in Ontario these last 3 seasons, I can’t wait to see where I stack up against some of the best talent in North America,” Bentley told Spencer Lewis in an article released by Inside Track last month. “This is going to be our biggest challenge by far, but I’m confident that we can put together a package capable of competing alongside the best.
“We’re headed for Florida with the intentions of representing everyone back home. It’s tough enough just to make it into the show, but we’re heading down with full intentions of becoming the first Canadian team to ever win it.”
Bentley will look to become the first Canadian driver to win the event, driving a Grand American Race Cars-built chassis out of the shop of Mount Forest, ON’s Streamline Race Products.
“My whole team is so excited for this opportunity. Shaun [McWhirter, founder of SRP] and I have spoken a lot about putting something together for this event, and all the pieces are starting to fall into place”, Bentley said.
Sponsorship packages are available for the No. 51 Late Model and those looking to support the Bentley Motorsports team, can contact Mike via twitter – @MikeBentley51.
