Quest for the Sprint Cup: Chase Thoughts after Phoenix

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November 12, 2012

[media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Nine down, one to go. In just one more race we will crown the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion. The season has flown by and we could crown a first time champion next weekend. The standings were flipped after Phoenix. Coming into Phoenix, Jimmie Johnson had a decent sized lead over Brad Keselowski but after Phoenix, Keselowski has a very comfortable lead over Johnson. With Johnson’s misfortunes, Keselowski took over the points lead and he seized the opportunity exceptionally well.

With 78 laps remaining in the race, Johnson hit the turn four wall. Johnson then brought his No.48 Lowes Chevy behind the wall and he went 38 laps down. If Johnson doesn’t have a miraculous comeback next weekend at Homestead-Miami, his Phoenix wreck will be the reason he doesn’t bring home his sixth championship. Johnson lost 27 points total to Keselowski Sunday in Phoenix and Johnson will need to make up twenty points next weekend in Miami if he wants the championship. If Johnson wins the race, Keselowski will need to finish 16^th or worst for Johnson to win the championship. Impossible? No. Will it be difficult? Yes. In all five championship seasons for Johnson, he has never had to make up a deficit in the final race this big. If Johnson pulls the feat off, he will be known as the best current driver. It won’t be easy but if one driver could do it, that driver would be Jimmie Johnson.

A perfect race occurred in Phoenix for Brad Keselowski. Keselowski finished ahead of Johnson, he took over the points lead and he didn’t wreck. Keselowski ended up finishing sixth and he was involved in the last lap wreck. Keselowski was hit by Kurt Busch but Keselowski managed to cross the finish line without spinning out. Keselowski is now one top fifteen finish away from the championship. If Keselowski finishes fifteenth or better, he will win the championship regardless of what Jimmie Johnson does. The task at hand for Keselowski won’t be easy. This will be the first time Keselowski’s has been in this situation and he could handle this like a true champion and take home the championship trophy.

The whole season has come down to a two horse race. Five time champion Jimmie Johnson will be matched against young-gun Brad Keselowski. Johnson will need to have a clean and miraculous race if he wants to win the championship. Keselowski will just need to stay inside the top fifteen and he will be crowned champion. The quest for the sprint cup will wrap up on Sunday in Homestead. This race promises to be full of excitement and will be one for the history books.

The Final Word may belong to Keselowski at Homestead

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Ron Thornton

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November 12, 2012

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Well, it is about damn time. NASCAR had a race that actually provided some television entertainment. Yes, you had to go through a few hours of round and round, but you have to admit that it was well worth the wait.

First, the race in Phoenix. This late in the season, it came down to watching if anything bad would befall one of the two leaders battling for the title. Jimmie Johnson seemed to be falling back on the track, the points about equal on the season, when his tire let go. Into the fence he went as he went from points leader to almost out of it. They got the beast back out there, but Johnson finished 32nd compared to Brad Keselowski’s 6th place result. Heading into Homestead next week, all Keselowski has to do is finish 15th or better and the crown is his.

Kyle Busch led most of the laps, yet wound up third. Kevin Harvick led the one that mattered, for his first win of the season. After it was announced this weekend that Harvick was moving on to Tony Stewart’s outfit in 2014, not much in the way of hugs were forthcoming from his present boss, Richard Childress. The driver might be Happy, but his owner sure is not, win or no win.

The highlight of the afternoon came courtesy of Jeff Gordon’s temper. His title hopes are long gone, and he made sure the suspense ended for Clint Bowyer as well. Bowyer and Gordon tangled running side by side. Jeff tried a little payback, but all he managed to do was put himself into the wall and that did not help his disposition. NASCAR black-flagged Gordon so he would get his battered vehicle off the track and in for repairs, but he had another idea. He waited for Mr. Bowyer to cruise by, clipping him to send both into the fence, collecting Aric Almirola, Joey Logano and, almost, Keselowski. Then the fun really began.

In the pits, Jeff took off his helmet while others thought of taking off somebody’s head. The two crews had a little brawl, causing the broadcast team to get more excited than they had been all day. Bowyer, parked on pit road, went sprinting to join the fray but got held up outside of Mr. Gordon’s rig. NASCAR brought the boys in for a talk, even providing security people so they could return to their abodes without being molested. The action on the track has turned into a snoozefest in recent seasons, but the beating and banging on and off the asphalt turned hardcore last Sunday.

Consistency is a big thing in NASCAR, not that you would know it from the flag stand. Harvick was leading, about to take the white flag, when Gordon and Bowyer had their set to. The caution waved right away and Harvick was denied victory. Off they went again, this time with Danica Patrick wrecking behind them. No caution this time, lots of oil, and as Harvick and runner-up Denny Hamlin went skidding through on their way to the line, others were not so successful. A lot of torn up cars were the result with Patrick, limping along to the finish, hit from behind as some in the field became pin balls.

Whatever it takes to provide entertaining, exciting, and competitive visual stimulation is a good thing, but even I think the wreck to conclude Phoenix was a bit much. Give me a race with no crashes but lots of passing and you got racing folks will tune in for. Maybe next year.

Next week it all comes to an end for 2012 as the final waltz is played at Homestead. It will all come down to Keselowski staying out of trouble, especially if he manages to keep some air in the right front. Enjoy the week.

So You Wanted Excitement? Gordon Delivers

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SM Staff

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November 12, 2012

[media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Phoenix brings back a lot of memories. It takes me back to 1992 when the championship was down to three drivers in many pundit’s opinions—Bill Elliott, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki. All drove Fords, but Allison had the upper hand with a lead and with the Robert Yates Racing team’s stout engines. Elliott and Kulwicki were considered two drivers that would finish in second and third in no particular order. It was Davey Allison’s to win. And then came Phoenix. Many of you know the story. An unfortunate tangle with Ernie Irvan, and Allison was out of the championship picture. I thought about that as I watched Brad Keselowski take a pretty solid lead in the 2012 Chase for the Championship.

All it took was a right front tire failure for Jimmy Johnson. Most of us have watched the flawless execution of the No. 48 Chevy team for the last seven seasons. Even in defeat, they always have appeared to be invincible. Unfortunately, this was not the case this time. Just like Allison in 1992, it was not preparedness nor was it the car, it was dumb luck. For Allison it was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For Jimmie Johnson it was the failure of a tire. The result was the same. Both drivers were put in a hole that would be difficult to escape from with only one race remaining.

In 1992, they finished at Atlanta. Kulwicki went on to win the championship despite Elliott winning the race. We may see the same scenario next week. I cannot imagine the Lowe’s team not being fired up and bringing their best piece to Homestead, but I also cannot see the Penske team bringing less than a car that could win the race. Gone are the days when drivers rode around hoping for 15th place to insure a championship—the place that Keselowski needs to clinch his first championship (like Elliott and Rusty Wallace did in their championship years). Anything can happen, but history tells us that Keselowski is in the driver’s seat. Whether he makes it or not will have to wait until November 18th, as it should be.

On this day, I am more concerned about the incident that happened near the end of the race. When accidents happen in the course of racing, I have no problem with it. I like rubbing during racing and one thing we haven’t seen enough of is drivers moving cars to get an advantage. That used to be a staple of what NASCAR was. With the advent of the Chase and so much attention being paid to the championship and not winning races, it’s almost disappeared. What Jeff Gordon did today was not what I had in mind.

It was a surprise. Gordon is a four-time champion, but things have been a little lean lately. He’s watched teammate Jimmie Johnson win five championships. He’s watched Dale Earnhardt, Jr. get more attention at Hendrick Motorsports. It has been more frustration than he can bear. We saw him push Matt Kenseth at Bristol with his helmet on, and walk down and push Jeff Burton when things didn’t go his way. Frustration is a horrible thing. Unfortunately, today was over the line. We’ve seen this behavior from Carl Edwards and we’ve seen it from Kyle Busch. Edwards stalked Keselowski after he punted Edwards at Talladega and Kyle Busch take out his frustration on Ron Hornaday in a truck race, Edwards was put on probation and Kyle Busch was parked for a race.

When Gordon’s car crashed, it was obvious from 2,500 miles away that debris from the crash was obvious. A yellow flag would have probably ended the result that we saw played out live. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Gordon was allowed to slow down and wait for Bowyer and the end result was good television, but not good for racing. Sure, many have said that ticket sales will be brisk for Homestead, but what about the state of the sport?

When the crews took it into their own hands and television showed Bowyer sprinting to get in the fight of running up to the hauler of the No. 24, all I could think of was WWE. Sorry, but I did. To many that was a good thing, but to me it was not that at all. The other problem was that NASCAR didn’t throw the yellow when Danica Patrick spun. Although Robin Pemberton said they couldn’t see any oil, I was sitting in West Virginia, 2.500 miles away and saw the oil. I saw the cars having a hard time negotiating in the oil and the final wrecks were not s surprise. How could someone sitting maybe a football field away not see that? You be the judge.

Most drivers were upset on this day, and may say they lost respect for a four time champion. Whether that transfers to the final race at the Ford Championship weekend is not determined. We will soon know.

Hendrick Motorsports Statement

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SM Archive

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November 12, 2012

Statement From Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition, On Today’s Penalties

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SM Archive

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November 12, 2012

NASCAR penalizes Gordon, Bowyer, Keselowski after PIR

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SM Archive

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November 12, 2012

Did an oily track create excitement?

By

SM Staff

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November 12, 2012

[media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]For the second time this season, an oily race track had an effect on the outcome of the race. Back in Watkins Glen in August, a track scattered with oil led to two passes for the lead on the final lap. When race leader Kyle Busch spun in the oil it led to Marcos Ambrose and Brad Keselowski battling it out for the win. Ambrose eventually slid to the victory. Sunday in Phoenix, the main grove on the frontstretch was littered with oil from Danica Patrick’s wrecked car and once the leaders hit the home stretch, they started slipping everywhere and a pile-up ensued. Point’s leader Brad Keselowski suffered damage in the wreck but he was able to cross the finish line successfully. If NASCAR threw out the caution when Danica Patrick wrecked on the second to last lap, we likely wouldn’t be talking about this.

NASCAR wanted a green flag finish and after an extended red flag under the last caution, NASCAR didn’t want to have another lengthy caution that prolonged the race. The result of that is a pile-up of cars scattered across the front stretch. Since NASCAR didn’t throw the yellow with two laps to go, more “excitement” occurred on track. I don’t think many teams in the garage area consider torn up race cars “excitement.” Fans might have enjoyed the melee that formed on the final lap but many teams in NASCAR didn’t.

Even with the wreck on the final lap, many drivers involved placed in the top ten. Ryan Newman finished fifth and he may consider the finish successful but the result of his car was not. The wreck started when Greg Biffle slid in the oil and got into Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. Busch then shot down the track and hit Paul Menard, sending Menard into the back of Danica Patrick’s wrecked car which was moving slowly on the frontstretch. Menard’s impact to the back of Patrick’s car sent Patrick’s car up into the air. The car came back down but the rear end of the car was absolutely destroyed.

Then, Ryan Newman got hit by Kurt Busch’s car after Busch’s car hit Menard and Newman got into Mark Martin, sending Martin hard into the inside wall. Once the dust or smoke settled from the wreck, there were four plus cars destroyed and sitting on the frontstretch.

If NASCAR wanted to create an exciting finish every week like we have seen in two of the most “exciting” races of the year at Watkins Glen and Phoenix, they should just lay oil on the track before the final restart. Some of the decisions NASCAR is making are questionable and many teams who have to bring destroyed race cars back across the county would agree. NASCAR’s definition of excitement should be close, competitive racing not cars slipping in oil coming to the checker. Phoenix could be called an “exciting” race but NASCAR’s decisions played a key role in the outcome of the race and therefore, NASCAR created the excitement. Overall, some may think the oily track created “excitement” on the final lap but in reality, it was a poor decision by NASCAR that created the “excitement” on the final lap.