The All-Star Hot 20 is led by its hottest driver; Mr. Johnson, I presume
When it comes to driving for a championship, nobody has done it better this past decade than Jimmie Johnson. Collecting six of the past eight season titles gives a fellow a certain reputation. Add to that four All-Star race victories, and eight Top Fives in just a dozen events, and I think we have discovered our favorite for Saturday night.
Before they just hand over the million bucks, there will be challengers. The 42-year old Jeff Gordon has been in this thing for half of his life. He will be in his 21st event, a competition he has won three times to tie him with Dale Earnhardt for the second most decisions. Eight others taking the auto out for a spin know what it is like to win this Charlotte exhibition once. Carl Edwards has a win in eight attempts, while Matt Kenseth has a single win but has been in the Top Ten in ten of his 13 attempts. Dale Earnhardt Jr won it his first time out in 2000, with his dad by his side in Victory Lane. Since then, he has rang up an additional ten Top Tens himself, to go with the 2012 Showdown to get into the Saturday night feature.
As for the Friday night Showdown this year, Clint Bowyer could well get in to Saturday’s fun by finishing amongst the top two. The fan vote selection could go to Danica Patrick, though rookies Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson should get some well deserved consideration. I would expect one of them to make it by finishing alongside Bowyer at the finish line, if both do not actually find themselves ahead of the veteran at the end.
If you like what you see each and every week, you are in luck. Those very same faces will be under the helmets this weekend, but points matter not and winning means a million reasons to celebrate. History tells us the winner will be a name we might already know, and destined to be one we shall always remember. Let the fun begin.
- Jimmie Johnson 12 races, 4 wins, 8 top fives, 8 top tens
- Jeff Gordon 20 races, 3 wins, 6 top fives, 9 top tens
- Tony Stewart 15 races, 1 win, 8 top fives, 9 top tens
- Kurt Busch 12 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 7 top tens
- Matt Kenseth 13 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 10 top tens
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 14 races, 1 win, 4 top fives, 11 top tens
- Carl Edwards 8 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top tens
- Ryan Newman 12 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 7 top tens
- Kasey Kahne 10 races, 1 win, 2 top fives, 4 top tens
- Kevin Harvick 13 races, 1 win, 2 top fives, 7 top tens
- Kyle Busch 8 races, 3 top fives, 4 top tens
- Joey Logano 3 races, 2 top fives, 3 top tens
- Denny Hamlin 7 races, 2 top fives, 4 top tens
- Greg Biffle 10 races, 2 top fives, 3 top tens
- Brian Vickers 3 races, 1 top five, 1 top ten
- Martin Truex, Jr. 4 races, 1 top five, 2 top tens
- Brad Keselowski 5 races, 1 top five, 2 top tens
- David Ragan 3 races 1 top ten
- Jamie McMurray 7 races, 2 top tens
- Danica Patrick 1 race
Helio Castroneves continues to show speed, quickest at Indianapolis
At the end of the fifth practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was Helio Castroneves topping the charts with the quickest lap of the day. No surprise, right?
Castroneves’ lap of 227.166 mph (39.6186 seconds) is the quickest lap of practice so far this year as drivers got in a clean day of testing without weather playing havoc today. In total, Castroneves has logged 297 laps this week.
“We will keep working,” he commented. “The weather dropped a lot today, but right now the car is handling really well. Certainly the draft counts a lot here and I feel very confident in the Pennzoil No. 3 machine, so right now we will keep going and keep working. Right now the conditions are really, really good. It has cooled down, which means that it is good for the tires, it’s good for the engine, and downforce as well, so we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. They are calling for rain, but right now we are looking quite happy.”
The speed isn’t a surprise as Castroneves is one of hte most successful drivers on the oval with four victories and 11 top 10 finishes in the 13 starts. Castroneves is always a threat to win and that shouldn’t be different this year.
Castroneves showed speed and consistency all season last year as he finished second in points, and that hasn’t slouched at all this year. Castroneves has a pair of podiums so far this year and sits fourth in points. In reality, Team Penske looks quick across the board this year with Will Power contending and winning while Juan Pablo Montoya picks up more speed as he gets more comfortable.
The only thing that may play havoc on Castroneves’ chances is how he and his team handle the new two-day qualifying format that IndyCar has chosen to go with this year.
“The team is going to have a meeting tomorrow so that they understand more of the new format,” Castroneves said. “For me, it is just about understanding what the car is doing. Right now, I really like what I have, but tomorrow we will go to the boost, and you are going to see big numbers up there too. So, we are really looking forward to tomorrow to see those numbers keep going higher.”
Castroneves added that qualifying at Indianapolis is always stressful.
“I always repeat myself because it’s true. Rick Mears always said there are two type of races, and it is true, it is qualifying and then the race,” he continued. “Now we definitely have to go for Saturday and for Sunday, so that is going to be nerve wracking, I will tell you. To go four laps at this place, I know how tough it is. So, to do two days in a row, it will be really tough. I don’t think I will or I don’t think my guys will have much sleep.”
It’d be no surprise if Team Penske was to win the race with any of their drivers based on speed so far, history and the caliber of talent in the organization. However, if Castroneves was to win, it’d be neat to see based on the throwback yellow Pennzoil paint scheme that he is running.
