Chase Drama: Is It Time To Shake Up The Chase?
[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]Ever since its inception in 2004, the Chase for the Sprint Cup has provided fans with a 10 race playoff style format that has made every race and every point critical all the way to the checkered flag at Homestead Miami Speedway.
While the competition on the track is at an all time high, many have wondered, myself included is it time for NASCAR to shake the chase up and change some of the venues for the 10 race chase? Five of the chase races are currently held on 1.5 mile race tracks. Many believe that if the chase included tracks of every discipline it would make for better competition throughout the 10 races. Here are the 10 tracks that I believe should make up the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
1. Chicagoland Speedway – The 1.5 mile speedway which opened in 2001 currently serves as the chase opener. Multi-groove race track which allows for great 3 wide racing and plenty of opportunities to pass makes for a perfect way to kick off the chase.
2. Pocono Raceway – The “Tricky Triangle” as it is affectionately known provides super speedway like speeds with a road course type strategy. This track is a true test of driver,crew chief and pit crew. Would make for an awesome chase addition.
3. Dover International Speedway – The “Monster Mile” is one of the series most popular stops among fans and drivers alike. The high speed one mile high banked concrete oval makes for a true test of man and machine. Chases can be won or lost at Dover.
4. Watkins Glen International – The 2.454 mile road course located in the finger lakes section of New York is a crowd favorite and provided of the best races of the entire 2012 NASCAR season. Another great test of driver ability as well as having the speed of superspeedways in some sections of the track. Road Racing in the chase has been something desperately needed for quite some time.
5. Richmond International Raceway – Usually the track that decides the race to the chase should be in the chase. The 3/4 mile oval provides NASCAR fans with a perfect blend of short track racing and speed. The “Action Track” as it has been dubbed would live up to its name with championship implications attached to it.
6. Darlington Raceway – No chase would be complete without one of the most historic tracks in NASCAR. The 1.366 mile egg shaped oval located in Darlington County would provide a big race throwback style feel to the chase. To add the Southern 500 and Darlington Raceway to the chase would make for a huge event and make winning there even more special.
7. Martinsville Speedway – NASCAR’s oldest track holds a special place among all associated with NASCAR. Martinsville has one of the most unique surfaces in all of NASCAR with asphalt straightaways and concrete corners. The “Paper Clip” provides drivers with long straightaways and flat narrow turns. No chase is complete without having this jewel of a race track in it. Tradition at its best.
8. Phoenix International Raceway – The 1 mile D shaped oval is the only track on the west coast that hosts two NSCS events every year. This newly repaved and reconfigured race track makes for some exciting side by side racing. One of my favorite stops of the season.
9. Kansas Speedway – The 1.5 mile tri-oval located in Wyandotte County ,Kansas was built in 2001 and has hosted two NSCS race weekend events since 2011. This newly repaved and reconfigured track will host the Hollywood Casino 400 in 3 weeks and will allow drivers and fans to get a good look at the improvements made to the race track.
10. Charlotte Motor Speedway – I can’t think of a better place for NASCAR to crown its champion than in the heart of NASCAR country. The home to many of the race teams in the NSCS. It would provide for a home field big game like atmosphere. Many race fans would flock to the Charlotte area for what would be the premiere weekend in all of NASCAR.
There are my 10 races. A good mix of tracks that would provide a little something for every race fan and would provide drivers and teams with a different test every week. I think it would make for a very exciting 10 weeks of racing and a championship that would go down to the final lap.
Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300
[media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”246″]
[/media-credit]From late-arriving pit crews to the second time around for the Cup Series at the mile track in Loudon, New Hampshire, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the second Chase race, the Sylvania 300.
Surprising: While being in Victory Lane is always special, it was a surprisingly big moment for the winner of the Sylvania 300, his team and his team owner.
For Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, it was truly a big moment as he delivered on his promise, via tweet, to win the race.
And it was a major accomplishment for his team, who after overcoming mistakes of the previous race and during their qualifying lap at New Hampshire, rallied around each other and their driver to score the victory.
But most of all, it was a huge moment for team owner Joe Gibbs, who achieved a milestone, his team’s 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup win, at the Magic Mile. The 100 wins were scored by Tony Stewart with 33, Denny Hamlin with 22, Bobby Labonte with 21, Kyle Busch with 20, Dale Jarrett with 2 and Joey Logano with 2 wins.
Joe Gibbs Racing is now only one of six teams in NASCAR history to achieve the 100 victory mark.
“It was a huge day for us,” Coach Gibbs said. “Bobby Labonte came into victory circle and I appreciated Bobby, Dale Jarrett, Jimmy Makar, everybody when we first started, Tony Stewart, so it took a lot of people down the road.”
“But, certainly, gosh, thinking back on my 21 years – just doesn’t seem like it was that long ago and you realize that we’ve got a hundred wins.”
“That was a huge deal for us.”
Not Surprising: Runner up for the second week in a row, Jimmie Johnson, continues to not only rack up the points, but count each one most carefully, right to the points lead.
This was Johnson’s 15th top-10 finish in 22 races at the Magic Mile and his 19th top-10 finish for the season.
“We had a great race car, just not an amazing car like the No. 11 had,” Johnson said. “To only leave seven points on the table in two races is pretty good.”
“We missed the win last week and this week and we didn’t lead the most this weekend,” Johnson continued. “But it is probably seven points total.”
“That’s not bad.”
Surprising: Brian Vickers did his own surprising Denny Hamlin impersonation, slicing and dicing his way from the back of the field after an engine change to a ninth place finish.
“Really proud of the guys – everyone at MWR, Toyota, just this 55 crew,” said the driver of the No. 55 Freightliner/Jet Edge Toyota. “All the guys did a great job.”
“We had a car good enough to go and race with them for a little while.”
Not Surprising: In spite of still being 45 points behind the leader and in the 12th Chase position, this driver continues to keep the faith, just like every other four-time past champion should.
Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, started on the pole and finished 3rd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“It was a really solid effort,” Jeff Gordon said. “It’s a shame what happened to us in Chicago last weekend because I think we would have back-to-back top fives.”
“There is no doubt we can get ourselves back into this.”
Surprising: It was surprising just how badly the Ford camp performed, especially Chase competitors Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, who finished 14th and 18th respectively.
“We were just battling overall grip,” Biffle, pilot of the No. 16 3M/GE Appliances Ford, said. “We chattered the front tires. We chattered the rear tires.”
“There at the end we chattered all four.”
“On a long run, we had about a 10th place car, which is probably a little bit better than we usually do here,” Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion, said. “But on short runs, we weren’t very good at all and then we got that caution there at the end and that didn’t work in our favor.”
“We weren’t that great overall.”
Not Surprising: As has his season gone, so did the New Hampshire race play out. Kyle Busch had a great outside pole start go south with engine woes yet again.
And while his crew chief Dave Rogers attempted to put the best spin on it, Busch was less then complimentary behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota.
“Unfortunately, we picked up a ‘miss’ under the hood,” Rogers said. “We just stayed out there and rode it out, and got the best finish possible.”
When told by his crew chief that he could not fix the car and to just ride it out, Busch said simply “Imagine that.”
Surprising: The two Michael Waltrip Racing teammates in the Chase had diametrically opposite experiences at the Magic Mile this past weekend. Clint Bowyer, in the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, finished fourth but Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, finished 17th.
“We had a solid race car,” Bowyer said. “But we needed a little bit more.”
“There’s a lot of racing left,” Bowyer continued. “It was a solid finish and kept us in the game going to Dover.”
Not Surprising: While Stewart Haas Racing had a seemingly solid day, with Tony Stewart finishing seventh and teammate Ryan Newman finishing tenth, both were disappointed when the checkered flag flew.
“It might’ve been a solid result, but we need to be better than that,” Stewart said simply.
“It was just not what we wanted,” Newman said. “Two top-10s aren’t bad, but we’d like to get Aspen Dental a win, too.”
Surprising: Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet, had a surprisingly consistent run at the Magic Mile. He finished in the same place as his number, position five.
“We had another consistent day,” Kahne said. “We have been pretty consistent so far so the first two are good for the Chase.”
“Hopefully, we can keep it going and get a little faster if we want to catch those other guys,” Kahne continued. “That would be pretty cool.”
Not Surprising: With a thirteen place finish and an issue with his pit stop, it was no surprise that the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was in a state of dislike.
“I didn’t like the car in practice and didn’t really like it all weekend,” Junior said of his No. 88 AMP Energy/Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet. “We’ve got to get our stuff together to compete with these guys.”
“This ain’t good enough.”
Surprising: Regan Smith, celebrating his 29th birthday and finishing 16th, got a real surprise. He found out that he was being replaced in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet.
“You just have to keep plugging away,” Smith said. “You need to figure out a way to make the best of the situation.”
Not Surprising: Brad Keselowski, scrappy as ever, could only talk about beating, banging, clawing and digging after his 6th place finish in the Blue Deuce.
“There was a lot of clawing in the race,” Keselowski said. “We’d have liked to have been a little faster but we still had a decent day.”
“Like my 2 crew does every week, they just keep digging and made something happen.”
When asked about his position in the point standings, now just one point behind Jimmie Johnson, Keselowski was direct and to the point.
“One point doesn’t seem too bad,” Keselowski said. “We’ll go to Dover and give ‘em hell.”
