Quest for the Sprint Cup: Chase Thoughts after Martinsville

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October 29, 2012

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]Seven down, three to go. In three races we will crown the 2012 Sprint Cup Champion. A very telling race occurred Sunday in afternoon in Martinsville and we saw some drivers lose, keep and gain some championship momentum. Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski were the front running championship contenders coming into Martinsville and now that list has taken a shake-up. Hamlin just about lost his chances at the championship and Johnson gained some championship momentum.

Four out of the last eight years, the winner of the Martinsville race has gone on to win the championship and Jimmie Johnson has done that three times. Johnson pulled into victory lane for the first time in the Chase at Martinsville. Johnson dominated the race and he is on the verge of dominating the championship run. Johnson not only won the race but he surpassed Brad Keselowski for the championship lead. Johnson is starting to look like the Johnson that won five straight championships and dominated the final races in each of his championship winning Chases. Johnson has caught some momentum and he won’t be giving the momentum up anytime soon.

Brad Keselowski avoided a disastrous day by having a somewhat different pit strategy and moving up through the field swiftly. Keselowski started the race thirty second and at one point in the race he was the leader. Keselowski got himself a much needed top ten finish. Keselowski avoided what could have been a major blow to his championship chances. Keselowski now trails Johnson in the point’s standings by two points. Keselowski and Johnson are starting to become the Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart of last season. It will be a dog fight until the final lap in Homestead and Keselowski will be keeping up with Johnson until then.

The only championship contender that essentially remained still in the standings was Clint Bowyer. Bowyer gained a position in the point’s standings but he lost a point. The misfortunes of fellow Chaser Denny Hamlin allowed Bowyer to move up into the third in the Chase standings. Bowyer hasn’t been known to perform well at the next few tracks but he will need to show some true championship performance in the next three races if he wants to compete for the championship come Homestead. Bowyer will need some luck and great finishes in the final three races if he wants to keep up with and beat Keselowski and Johnson for the championship.

Denny Hamlin had a terrible run at Martinsville and that has just about taken him out of championship contention. Hamlin’s bad day started early in the race when he was issued a speeding penalty and then his day got worse and worse. Hamlin then suffered some power issues and his No.11 car started having off and on power for multiple laps before he brought out the caution. Hamlin would go to garage under the caution and his team would attempt to fix his car. Hamlin eventually returned to the track, multiple laps down. Hamlin ended up placing thirty-third. Hamlin has now fallen to fifth in the standings and he is 49 points behind Johnson. Hamlin is now more than a full race out of first place in points. What many believed to be Hamlin’s championship season is looking like he will not hold the trophy in Homestead this season.

Three legitimate championship contenders remain in Sprint Cup title contention. Johnson, Keselowski and Bowyer will be battling it out for the championship for the next three races. Johnson has the championship experience but Keselowski and Bowyer will be attempting to take down the five time champion and his experience. Texas will be a tough beast to conquer this weekend and the remaining championship contenders will look to take a big ‘ol Texas victory.

Jamie Little Ready to Host Fourth NASCAR After the Lap Event

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SM Staff

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October 29, 2012

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]She is a new mom and an intrepid ESPN pit reporter but in just a few weeks Jamie Little will be host as she returns to one of her favorite events, NASCAR After the Lap, in her hometown Las Vegas during Champion’s Week.

For the fourth year and since its inception, Little will be trying her best to herd the NASCAR champion and the other top 12 cats during the special event, which serves as a prequel to the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Awards banquet.

“I have been the host since it was created,” Little said. “NASCAR was trying something new when they brought the championship to Las Vegas and they asked me to host it.”

“And we hit on something and people just really liked it and the drivers really enjoyed themselves,” Little continued. “It was a hit and I can’t believe it’s already the fourth time.”

Little said that although the venue is new, this year at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, she is preparing for what always is a spontaneous, fly by the seat of your pants evening. And she does her best to loosen up the tongues of the driver with her questions, from the quiet drivers to those that need no encouragement.

“We try to set it up to elicit some comedy from the drivers but with some of them, it doesn’t take much to get them going,” Little said. “There is going to be some, shall we say, flash back photos from their high school days.”

“So, that will be fun.”

“The fun of the show is that it’s unscripted,” Little said. “And all I can say that with Clint Bowyer back in the Chase that will be a big hit because he just takes over and pokes fun at every other driver.”

“So, we’ll have some fun with Clint,” Little continued. “He is a loose cannon and has ADD as well.”

“I will use him to try to pull out things from Dale Junior, Matt Kenseth and the guys that are a little more quiet.”

Little acknowledged that she often does not have to look far for roasting inspirations, especially given her relationship with many of the drivers in the Chase. For example, she already has a bit of fodder to use on the current point’s leader in the Chase hunt.

“Obviously I’m covering the whole Chase so there are things during the final ten races that I’ll jot down and bring up so we can laugh about it,” Little said. “For instance, last week I ran back to interview Brad Keselowski right when he crawled out of his car.”

“So, he gets out of his race car and his phone falls out of his pocket,” Little continued. “And I’m like, ‘Did you just have your phone with you in the car? And he picked it up and said, ‘Of course I did,’

“And I looked at the screen and it was on Twitter.”

“So obviously he’s not tweeting from the car but he’s reading Twitter under all the caution laps that we had last week,” Little said. “So, things like that, we can bring up and have fun with.”

Little has had too many favorite moments in the NASCAR After the Lap event to count, but her highlight was a moment that happened just last year.

“One thing that really stands out was Jeff Gordon break dancing,” Little said. “That was a highlight.”

“It was peer pressure from the other drivers to get him to do it,” Little continued. “He did not want to do it but he came out and broke it down.”

While every moment of the event is interesting, Little said that what makes the event so special is that it is completely candid.

“These guys sit up there with a beer bottle in hand and it’s like having a fire side chat with the drivers,” Little said. “You might hear some swear words or some salty language but it’s just a casual, fun, ‘have at it’ time with the guys.”

“We’ve been through 36 races and all the fans have seen them interviewed, but this is so different,” Little continued. “They are up close and personal with the guys, watching them all interact.”

“These fans are so connected with their drivers and to see the drivers interact with each other is so much fun.”

Although the drivers are usually so scheduled, with multiple appearances at track, Little said that they absolutely enjoy the NASCAR After the Lap event because it is so relaxed, quick and fun.

“I think they really do get into it,” Little said. “The guys get to drive their race cars down the Vegas strip and they always have funny stories after that.”

“Then they come to us and there is a green room where they are all together,” Little continued. “There is beer flowing and they are already busting on each other at that point.”

“This event is just fun for them to kick back, make fun of each other and laugh at each other and themselves,” Little said. “They don’t have to be on guard and be so careful about mentioning all their sponsors.”

Little also enjoys being able to let her own hair down a bit during NASCAR After the Lap, giving herself a chance to leave the seriousness of the racing season behind.

“It’s fun for me to show another side of my personality, especially being loose and funny,” Little said. “I’m out of the fire suit and just get to be me.”

“I show our relationship and this is a good time for them to poke fun at me as well,” Little continued. “It’s just all in good fun.”

“That’s special for me as well.”

Little said another special aspect about NASCAR After the Lap is that it takes place right in her home town, giving her a bit of a chance to mix her family with friends and NASCAR racing. This year, however, she has plans right after the event involving one of NASCAR’s most recognizable names.

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“Since I’m here in my hometown, it is special,” Little said. “It’s fun to mix family and friends.”

“My brother-in-law is marrying Danica Patrick’s sister on December 1^st so I have to get on the plane right after the event and go to a wedding this year.”

An aspect of NASCAR After the Lap that has really taken off is the interaction on social media.

“We saw that last year how Facebook and Twitter were so involved in the event,” Little said. “And this year there will be an element where the funniest tweets of the year by the drivers will be showcased.”

“So, we will really be incorporating social media for sure.”

The event will also be streamed live on NASCAR.com and will be broadcast live on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Finally, Little acknowledged that the event was special for two other reasons, one that it benefits charity and the other that she gets to give away some really cool prizes.

“The first year we did this, it was free to see what kind of feedback and turnout we would get,” Little said. “When it became such a great event, we started charging $20, with all the proceeds benefitting the NASCAR Foundation, a non-profit that raises funds for children’s charities all over the nation.”

“There is also a sweepstakes where one fan gets the chance to win a 2013 Ford F150 and an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas to the event,” Little continued. “Every year, it’s so much fun to meet that fan, bring them up on stage, they get to meet a driver and get their pictures taken.”

“Then, to see someone win a truck is awesome,” Little continued. “It’s always fun giving stuff away.”

“Everyone’s a fan of that.”

NASCAR After the Lap will be held on Thursday, November 29^th from 5:00 to 6:30 PM at PH LIVE located in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. For more information about NASCAR After the Lap Sponsored by Ford and Coca-Cola or to purchase tickets, visit www.NASCARafterthelap.com.

Are Fans Fed Up With The Chase? What System Looks Better This Season?

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SM Staff

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October 29, 2012

There is no doubt that the 2011 Chase for the Cup made the points race a lot closer with the addition of the 1-43 points system, but do the fans just want to see the real champion crowned? The Chase hits its ninth season this year and in these nine seasons, we have only three champions. Isn’t that astounding? I’m a Jimmie Johnson fan, but I do not see see him as a 5-time champion in the sport. He has two championship in reality, but he is still an amazing driver. The Johnson-Knaus combination is very much like the Gordon-Evernham combination from the 90’s. Gordon-Evernham produced three championships and 47 wins. The Johnson-Knaus combination is into its 11th season in Sprint Cup competition and has produced two championships and 59 wins in reality.

In reality, Johnson could have had 9 championships by the end of this season. Think about it. Johnson has been in the championship hunt in every single single season minus his rookie season. 2003: Runner-Up to Matt Kenseth. 2004: Runner-Up to Jeff Gordon. 2005: Crashed in final race at Homestead. 2006: Champion 2007: Runner-Up to Jeff Gordon 2008: Runner-Up to Carl Edwards. 2009: Champion over Jeff Gordon 2010: Runner-Up to Kevin Harvick 2011: Finished 4th. Johnson entered the final ten races with the point lead, but had bad finishes at Charlotte, Talladega, and Phoenix.

Now, take a look at the 2011 final Chase points. In NASCAR’s fantasy land, there was a virtual tie in points between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. Tony Stewart took the tiebreaker based on wins and celebrated his fluke title. Reality shows us that Stewart was actually very inconsistent until the final ten races and started to win a lot of races. Despite the really, Stewart still came up 87 points shy of his third title. On November 13, 2011, Carl Edwards clinched his second championship. Plain and simple.

I completely understand that NASCAR wants to have a playoff system like other sports, but it is not the place for auto racing. How the heck are you supposed to make a Game 7 out of NASCAR? You can’t. It can’t be done. We are losing fans. While it is cool that more people have a “chance” to win the championship, it simply is unfair. It is just like the concept of the winning team getting ice cream after the game. Now, the losing teams can still get ice cream. The winners feel cheated out. Let the losers lose. Let the car companies go bankrupt and rebuild. It’s all the same concept.

In reality, we entered Chicago with five drivers within point range of the championship point lead. Those drivers include: Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Brad Keselowski. Where’s Denny Hamlin? All of this hype about Hamlin is just hot air. While the No.11 team has many wins this year, they have also had many DNF’s too close together. Jimmie Johnson is lucky. He has had six DNF’s this year, but he has made up for it with top-5 after top-5 week after week and the occasional win to go along with it. Hamlin cannot find that spark.

Brad Keselowski wins at Chicago!! What is the point difference? There is actually not much of a difference, but Martin Truex Jr. now is in point range of the championship lead. Remember that 48 points is the maximum amount of points you can earn in a race and at this point, Martin is 48 back.

Denny Hamlin wins at New Hampshire! What is the point difference? Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin are now in point range for the championship.

Brad Keselowski wins at Dover! What is the point difference? No change.

Matt Kenseth wins at Talladega! What is the point difference? No change.

Clint Bowyer wins at Charlotte! What is the point difference? Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Martin Truex Jr. have fallen out of the championship picture for the time being.

Matt Kenseth wins at Kansas! What is the point difference? Martin Truex Jr. had a good finish and is back in the picture.

Jimmie Johnson wins at Martinsville! What is the point difference? Hamlin and Truex are out of the picture for the time being.

This is what it looks like: 1. Johnson LEADER 2. Keselowski -14 3. Biffle -32 4. Kenseth -42 5. Bowyer -45.

These drivers are in the picture. In the Chase, Kasey Kahne somehow is only 29 points out of the lead. Where is he really? He would be in 9th and down about 116 points. NASCAR should dump the Chase. Let the best man win and never change this part of the system ever again.

The Final Word – Martinsville, the best of times, the worst of times

By

Ron Thornton

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October 29, 2012

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]It was truly a Tale of Two Cities kind of day at Martinsville last Sunday afternoon. You know, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… It could not have been much better for Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski, who came away from the contest two points apart on top of the standings with three to go.

Johnson dominated a good portion of the contest, at least when he wasn’t sharing the lead with Clint Bowyer or Jeff Gordon. Johnson was up front when it counted as he kept Kyle Busch at bay in order to take his 59th career victory, his seventh at Martinsville, and the fourth of this campaign. Keselowski just wanted to be close, to keep his hopes alive, and a sixth place finish did exactly that for him, with only Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead left on the calender.

Denny Hamlin thought a win was in order for him to keep his hopes burning brightly. Instead, they got as soaked as a boat cruise on the Hudson River this week. Twice he got caught speeding on pit row, twice he let out the reins to get back near the front. Fate then stepped in and stepped on him as a short developed in the master switch to kill the juice in the car. He wound up 33rd, 49 points out. Hamlin deserved better.

Fans got what they deserved, as this was an entertaining affair. It was short track racing at its best, as they busted down the straightaways at 120 mph before hitting the brakes, trying to stay off the guy running beside them. Sometimes it did not exactly work out. Dale Earnhardt Jr was doing well in his return until he met up with Carl Edwards in the final laps as the duo saw their hopes for a good finish spin away.

Good things came the way of Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. Both were in the Top Five at the end, and presently are the only two drivers in position to move up should our two leaders falter. Bowyer is 26 back, Kahne is 29. Ask Hamlin how easy it is to have things go bad unexpectedly. You could say that for a precious few, this remains a season of light, the spring of hope, but for most of their championship hopes it ‘tis a season of darkness, a winter of despair. The Dickens, you might say.

If we have indeed identified our final four, only Johnson and Kahne have won in Texas, and only once. Johnson averages a Top Ten there in 18 starts, Bowyer’s is just over 13th in 13 tries. As for Keselowski, his best Texas finish is 14th. It just might take a far, far better thing for him to do than he has ever done before just to stay in the hunt. What do you think?

Crash Course: 10/29: Martinsville Recap

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SM Staff

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October 29, 2012

SpeedwayMedia.com editor, Ed Coombs, will recap the weekend in NASCAR and update the latest Chase Standings after Martinsville.

Chasing the Chase – Week 7: Johnson’s win expected; Keselowski’s finish not expected

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SM Staff

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October 29, 2012

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson led eight times for 193 laps in route to his seventh career victory at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. With this win Johnson moved ahead in the series points lead to two points over Brad Keselowski.

“We just had a great race car. And I think we’ve also learned our lesson here in the past in not pitting late and that certainly came into play and we made the right decision there. I’m so torn with emotion right now with winning here; and I’m so happy to be in the point lead.” Johnson said.

Keselowski, who came into Martinsville with a seven point advantage over Johnson, battled to the front and finished sixth after starting 32nd.

“This team has a tremendous amount of heart and I’m just proud of them. This championship is going to come down to Homestead. You just have to be in position where you’ve got a shot at it and we’re doing the things it’s going to take to be in contention at Homestead. We’ve got Texas coming up, very similar to Chicago. I’m sure it’s going to be a duel.” Keselowski said.

Kasey Kahne finished a strong third and moved up one position to fourth in the standings, 29 behind.

“We had to battle pretty hard. But luckily all the Hendrick Motorsports cars were pretty good today and congrats to the No. 48 team. Those guys did a great job. We were right there.” Kahne said. “But we ended up third, which is my best run in a long time here and I felt pretty good all day.”

Clint Bowyer led 154 laps and finished fifth after a battle with Jeff Gordon on the final laps. Bowyer moved up into the third position in the standings, 26 points behind.

“The 24 at the end, I mean, I didn’t want to. I was door-to-door with him and he just turned left to block me and I was already there. I hit the brakes and wheel-hopped, I hit him so hard and tried to stay off of him. It was a bad deal right there.” Bowyer said. “It was a good day for us. It was a lot of fun out there. We led laps and did what we wanted to do. Just came up short from winning the race.”

Despite dominating portions of the race, Jeff Gordon, who led 95 laps, finished seventh.

“We were on the outside and I mean we were sitting ducks on the outside. I was just trying to get down. I felt like I got down in front of him but maybe I didn’t I don’t know I haven’t seen the video.” Gordon said.

Greg Biffle finished 10th and Matt Kenseth finished 14th.

Making his first start after sitting out for two weeks with a concussion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 21st after being involved in a late accident.

“I was just really pissed off about how we finished that race. That was really ridiculous. I mean you’ve got to use a little common sense that was not a good move.” Earnhardt Jr. said.

Martin Truex Jr. finished 23rd, Tony Stewart 27th and Kevin Harvick finished 32nd after a blown motor.

Denny Hamlin finished 33rd after an electrical problem. Before the problem Hamlin had battled back from two pit road speeding penalties and a horrible starting position. Hamlin dropped from third to fifth in the standings, 49 points behind.

“It ended in disappointment,” Hamlin said of his day. “We overcame the pit road penalties, things like that. We had a great car. When these things happen, you just got to suck it up and move on.”

Official Chase Standings/Stats
After race 7 of 10
Tums Fast Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/chase.php

Pos.	Driver	(+/-)	Wins	Top-5	Top-10	Bon.	Avg St	Ave Fin	Laps	Ttl Laps	Points	Bnd
1	Jimmie Johnson	1	1	5	6	12	8.9	5.4	2257	2257	2291	0
2	Brad Keselowski	-1	2	2	6	12	19.6	5.7	2256	2257	2289	-2
3	Clint Bowyer	1	1	3	6	9	5.9	8.3	2255	2257	2265	-26
4	Kasey Kahne	1	0	4	5	4	6.9	7.1	2253	2257	2262	-29
5	Denny Hamlin	-2	1	2	3	9	12.4	12.4	2222	2257	2242	-49
6	Jeff Gordon	2	0	3	5	6	10.9	11	2178	2257	2237	-54
7	Martin Truex Jr.	-1	0	1	4	0	10.4	11.4	2255	2257	2228	-63
8	Matt Kenseth	1	2	2	2	12	11.4	13.9	2226	2257	2226	-65
9	Greg Biffle	2	0	1	3	2	12.6	13.4	2214	2257	2222	-69
10	Tony Stewart	-3	0	1	3	3	18.9	14.3	2250	2257	2220	-71
11	Kevin Harvick	-1	0	0	0	1	17	15.1	2226	2257	2203	-88
12	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	0	0	0	1	1	22.7	21.3	1808	2257	2151	-140

*Note: These stats consist of only the final 10 chase races.
(http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/chase.php)

Biggest loser(s) after race 7: Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart. Stewart dropped three positions in the series standings to 10th and Hamlin drops to fifth, 49 points behind and out of the chase hunt.

Biggest gainer after race 7: Maybe not the biggest gainer, but Keselowski held his own and stayed right in the championship hunt despite a horrible starting position.

Biggest movers after race 7 (+/-): Clint Bowyer keeps moving closer into the hunt. Up one more position to third, 26 points behind.