The hot 20 over the past 10, but Las Vegas is Johnsonville
I never knew how much I liked beer soaked sausage until I saw those commercials. In fact, I haven’t really tried one yet from the good folks at Johnsonville, but the guy who has been real brat at Las Vegas in recent years is back for more. Sure, after a three year run Jimmie Johnson did allow Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch to each win one, but Five Time was back in 2010 to take it all back.
Over the past ten events, he is still averaging nearly 38 points earned per race, or a steady run of 6th place finishes. To maintain his pace, he’ll need to match or better his second place result last October in Kansas. Kevin Harvick was third that day, with a point bonus, so the most either can gain is six points. Of course, both could lose as much as 41.
Greg Biffle is the one with the most to lose, having won on the plains last fall. That would be certainly a welcome result considering the 35th at Daytona and last Sunday’s 20th at Phoenix.
Here is a look at our hot 20 over the past 10 races.
Pos – Driver – Points – Kansas Pts
1 (1) Jimmie Johnson – 379 pts (42)
With four wins in the last six at Vegas, I like his odds.
2 (3) Kevin Harvick – 363 pts (42)
Still waiting on Jimmie to crap out.
3 (2) Denny Hamlin – 359 pts (32)
FedEx guy must be getting FedUp waiting his turn to emerge on top.
4 (4) Mark Martin – 348 pts (30)
Another wise crack about his age? Nah, they’re starting to get old.
5 (5) Carl Edwards – 323 pts (39)
As Labonte felt about Dale, Carl feels about Kyle.
6 (8) Tony Stewart – 311 pts (42)
Where there’s Smoke, there’s a bruised Australian.
7 (7) Matt Kenseth – 310 pts (38)
Loved him with Crosby, Kenseth, Nash, and Young.
8 (6) Joey Logano – 295 pts (27)
At least he could claim the best finish among 20 year olds at Phoenix.
9 (11) A.J. Allmendinger – 287 pts (34)
Takes more time to sign an autograph than anybody on the circuit.
10 (12) Ryan Newman – 285 pts (35)
5 foot -11, or 6-3 with a neck.
11 (10) Paul Menard – 280 pts (37)
Does his sponsor offer him discounts?
12 (13) Greg Biffle – 273 pts (47)
Moving in the right direction, but 35th to 20th??
13 (16) Kyle Busch – 273 pts (23)
Ah, dang, sorry about your little car, Carl.
14 (18) Jeff Gordon – 272 pts (40)
Forget 0-for-66. Now he is 1-for-1.
15 (9) Jamie McMurray – 271 pts (34)
What a difference a year makes.
16 (14) Kurt Busch – 270 pts (31)
Once known for his mouth, now best known for his brother’s.
17 (15) Juan Pablo Montoya – 264 pts (15)
Juan Pablo sounds so much cooler than J.P.
18 (17) Clint Bowyer – 262 pts (29)
If you need body work, Clint knows some guys.
19 (21) Martin Truex Jr – 258 pts (24)
Making some noise, but just not enough sweet music.
20 (20) Regan Smith – 245 pts (18)
Needs to step it on up before he is asked to step it on out.
In case you were wondering where NASCAR’s most popular driver is sitting…
23 (23) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 232 pts (22)
It will take a while to exorcise the ghosts of 2010.
Race Talk Radio’s Dennis Michelsen and Lori Munro host a weekly poll of the top 20 drivers, as selected by pundits that include yours truly, Bob Dillner, Monte Dutton, Tom Bowles and a host of others. Check it out at racetalkradio.com
Set for a makeover, Phoenix ends an era with a bang
The day started with Carl Edwards in his Subway Ford Fusion on the pole for the Subway Fresh Fit 500. It ended with a driver snapping his 66 race winless streak.
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[/media-credit]In between, there was a whole lot of action that will have everyone talking about Phoenix for a while to come. The seventh annual spring event had a new qualifying record and record number of lead changes (28 among 12 drivers). But while there was no helmet throwing or punches exchanged on pit road, there were wrecks and harsh words.
For Phoenix it was the best way they could go out, not permanently, but with the last race on the current pavement and configuration. When NASCAR returns later this year for the fall event – and a Sprint Cup Series Chase race – the track will be completely different and provide a new challenge.
A challenge on Sunday was for the driver of the No. 18 Combos Toyota, Kyle Busch. After dominating and winning the Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night, then spanking the competition on Saturday in the Nationwide race, Busch was looking for his second ever – as well as NASCAR’s – three wins in a weekend.
While he came up short to Jeff Gordon, who won for the first time since Texas in April of 2009, Busch still had an eventful day. On lap 59 Busch was shoved out of the groove while racing Ryan Newman. Carl Edwards wasn’t too far behind and got alongside Busch.
In a split second Busch swung to the left, trying to get back in line, but in doing so made contact with Edwards. At first it looked like Busch had swung intentionally towards Edwards, but later apologized and said he lost control.
“I got a little bit loose,” said Busch.
“When I caught it, I just kind of steered down to try to get down underneath or back in behind the 39 car and I never even looked in my mirror. I was just watching out in front of me. The spotter didn’t even have time to react and say anything; Carl was there. I just turned down right across him.”
The polesitter and favorite for the day was sent to the garage. As Edwards’ team repaired the damage, many waited in anticipation of whether he would retaliate against the younger Busch brother.
He didn’t; however, he did make the rest of the day a long one for Busch. Whenever the two were around each other he made sure to race him a little bit harder than normal.
“He was mad, for sure and he was frustrated, definitely,” Busch said.
“You can see that entirely out there the whole rest of the race; any time I got within five car lengths of his rear bumper he would start checking up early, getting into the corners and slowing down and getting more space between me and the other guys. Finally after about 20 laps of that, he let me go. It was weird. He just — he was playing. You know, it didn’t cost me anything at the end of the day so, it didn’t hurt anything on our side, you know, but again, from what happened with us yesterday and how we raced each other, I thought that was great. And I made a mistake today. I’ve admitted that, time over again and again.”
If that wasn’t enough to get fans riled up just eight laps later Phoenix tried to do its best Daytona and Talladega impersonation.
Coming off turn two Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers were racing hard and made slight contact. It could have been what cut Vickers’ left rear tire and soon he was spinning in front of the field. When the dust cleared 13 cars were destroyed and headed for an early exist.
Clint Bowyer was visibly angry, saying it was embarrassing to race out there like that. Some others said it was too early in the race to be racing that hard and pushing the issue. The highs and lows of the sport were already making an appearance in race No. 2.
Then, there was Vickers, the man who was at the front of it all. According to him, Kenseth just flat out ran him over and he didn’t appreciate it.
“Matt wrecked us,” said Vickers.
“He just door-slammed me in the middle of the corner in what, 75 lap or 67 laps into a race. It’s going to back to him.”
A door slam it was not. The two did make contact but nothing more than a rub. But it was enough to get Vickers out of shape. He too returned to the race but appeared to stay away from Kenseth’s No. 17.
It was boys have at it all in rare form on Sunday.
After Gordon took the checkered flag and made his way to victory lane, bulldozers were already moving onto the frontstretch to start tearing up the pavement. After Gordon finished all his obligatory media interviews he made his way out and climbed aboard one and did his own digging.
NASCAR says the project should take between five and six months. The track will be repaved for the first time in 20 years and the dogleg will be stretched out and the banking will be added onto.
Kurt Busch, a past Phoenix winner, said on Friday that he feels it was smart of NASCAR to shake up the Chase. Other drivers have taken the stance of some of the fans in being that they aren’t in favor of the project and say that Phoenix should be left alone.
After Sunday’s race there can only be hope that the new Phoenix will be like the old.
With TV Ratings and Attendance On The Rise, NASCAR Is Rebounding
Everyone is familiar with the current economic downturn the United States is currently facing, and all have felt the effects in one way or another.
Such is the case for NASCAR, the country’s second largest spectator sport, which trails the dynasty that is the National Football League.
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[/media-credit]During the past few seasons, TV ratings ratings and track attendance for the sport have plummeted as Americans have found it harder to make end’s meet.
Fans have been unable to make the trip to their favorite track and in some cases, had to cancel their television service.
Television ratings for the 2008 and 2009 seasons fell drastically, to lows that hadn’t been experienced in years. For those who did tune in for a NASCAR race, could easily notice many empty seats in the grandstands and fewer campers parked in the infield.
All of these shortfalls didn’t fall unnoticed to the executives at NASCAR, who quickly looked into the reason, but nothing wasto blame completely.
In an attempt to breathe new life into the sport, NASCAR announced major changes to their points system last month, as well as new criteria for the post-season playoffs known as the chase. Last year, they completely revamped their schedule, which hadn’t seen a major overhaul in almost ten years. While at it, a new front end for their Sprint Cup cars was set to be rolled out for the 2011 season.
With a sense of freshness in the air for the 2011 season, things appear to be returning to their pre-recession numbers. The Daytona 500, broadcasted by FOX, saw a 17% rating increase as over 30 million viewers tuned in to see newcomer Trevor Bayne win in only his second career Sprint Cup Series start in front of a packed Daytona International Speedway.
Again yesterday, the stands were sold out for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix where Jeff Gordon won for the first time in nearly two years. FOX’s broadcast of the series’ second race of the season, accumulated a 5.3 TV rating compared to the 5.0 of last year that was held at Auto Club Speedway in California.
If NASCAR were looking to hit a home-run and get things back on track, they sure are getting it. With a 20 year old unknown winning the sport’s biggest race last week, and one of the sport’s greatest stars winning for the first time in 66 races, fans are getting exactly what they are looking for- storylines, excitment and an excellent product.
Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that this trend continues, and the sport we all love so much returns to it’s glory.
For the latest NASCAR news and information, follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleBrandtSM.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Kyle Busch: With wins in the Camping World and Nationwide series already logged, Busch fell just short of the triple, finishing second to Jeff Gordon in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Busch took the lead at Phoenix on lap 291 and held on until lap 304, when Gordon muscled by him for the lead. Busch now leads the Sprint Cup point standings with a 3-point edge over older brother Kurt.
“Natalie Portman dazzled with her Oscar-winning role in Black Swan,” Busch said. “Next up for Ms. Portman? Playing the lead role in the story of Teresa Earnhardt, in a film entitled White Loon.”
“There may be room for only one black swan in ‘Swan Lake,’ but in the Busch family, everyone, relatives and competitors alike, will tell you there’sroom for two ‘black sheep.’”
2. Jeff Gordon: Gordon snapped his 66-race winless streak, capping a dominating day in Phoenix by passing Kyle Busch with 8 laps to go and cruising to the victory. Gordon tied Cale Yarbrough for fifth on the all-time wins list, with 83, and ended a near two-year run of frustration.
“In the spirit of Aron Ralston, subject of the Oscar-nominated movie 127 Hours,” Gordon said, “I’d like to have my left arm raised in victory as opposed to my right. Ralston showed great courage in the face of a harrowing predicament, just like me, except I did it for nearly two years, as opposed to a measly 127 hours.”
“I’m just thankful my winless streak has been halted. It was long and grueling. Now, some other famous driver will be known for his winless streak, and I’m thrilled I’ll no longer be known for having the ‘longest skid’ mark.”
3. Carl Edwards: Edwards set a track record in Saturday’s qualifying in taking the pole, but his opportunity to show off that speed fizzled when he was forced off the track when Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Combo’s Toyota got loose on lap 60. Edwards’ No. 99 Subway Fusion ran over the curb and into the grass, causing serious front-end damage. Repairs cost Edwards 60 laps, and he finished 28th.
“What did they say after the last award was handed out at the Academy Awards?” Edwards asked. “’We just ran out of talent.’ That’s quite similar to what Kyle Busch said in his apology to me. But seriously, Kyle showed contrition and remorse, so there was no need for a confrontation. I think what we’re seeing this year are kinder, gentler versions of both Kyle and I. We both believe we can win the Sprint Cup, and we both realize rash behavior can quickly derail those hopes.”
“By no means am I a lover, and I’m definitely not The Fighter, the movie in which Christian Bale earned an Oscar for best supporting actor. On that note, what do you call it when Trevor Bayne goes all the way from winning the Daytona 500 to a 40th in Phoenix? A ‘Christian Bail.’”
4. Kurt Busch: Busch started second at Phoenix and posted his second top-10 result of the season, finishing 8th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Difficulty in the corners prevented the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge from challenging for the win, but Busch headed to Las Vegas content with a solid points-paying day and the knowledge that the Busch brothers occupy to top two spots in the point standings.
“If our parents ever doubted our decisions to race professionally,” Busch said, “I’d just like to say to Mom and Dad, ‘The Kids Are All Right.’ And while we’re on the subject of the Academy Awards, I’d like to congratulate Kyle for winning the ‘best actor’ award at Phoenix, for making his apology to Carl Edwards seem genuine. Now that’s acting!”
5. Tony Stewart: Stewart led 59 laps at Phoenix, second only to Jeff Gordon’s 138, and finished 7th, joining Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman, who finished 5th, in the top 10. Stewart is 4th in the point standings, 11 out of first.
“Two races into the season,” Stewart said, “and we’ve had a car capable of winning both times. I’m pleased that we’ve been so competitive early in the season. Usually, I don’t get warmed up until Winter’s Bone gives way to ‘Summer’s Boon.’”
“As you may know, Winter’s Bone tells the story of a meth-addled family in the Ozark’s. You may know it by its alternate title, Mayfield’s In The Mountains.”
6. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson qualified a disappointing 28th on Saturday, but the No. 48 Lowe’s team unlocked the speed in Johnson’s Impala, courtesy of numerous adjustments and quick work in the pits. Johnson moved up to third on lap 294 and held off Kevin Harvick to post his first top-5 of the year.
“I’ve got to hand it to Chad Knaus for making the right calls,” Johnson said. “It’s been said that everything Chad touches turns to gold. Once upon a time, that meant everything ‘turned to gold’ for NASCAR, assuming they converted fines levied against Knaus into gold.”
“There’s a lot of drivers claiming they can win the Sprint Cup championship. But, let’s face it, we all know whose name will be called come November. The Academy Awards has one thing NASCAR lacks when the words ‘And the winner is…’ are spoken: suspense.”
7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick rebounded from engine failure at Daytona to finish a solid 4th at Phoenix, leading one lap and collecting a valuable 41 points. The No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet found trouble early, with a slow pit stop followed by a spin triggered by contact in front of him.
“Daytona was hard to swallow,” said Harvick, “but our performance at Phoenix gives me confidence that this team is capable of a championship. Much like the themes in the Oscar-nominated film Inception, a ‘seed has been planted,’ instilling us with the confidence that we can do it. Those who doubt me may very well say ‘in your dreams,’ but just look on the hood of my car, where the words ‘Jimmy John’s’ appear. How can one say we’re not championship material when nearly the entire name of 5-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is on my hood?”
8. A.J. Allmendinger: Allmendinger validated his 11th in the Daytona 500 with a 9th at Phoenix, sporting Ford’s only top-10 finisher. He’s third in the Sprint Cup point standings, 11 behind Kyle Busch.
“As the driver of the No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports,” Allmendinger said, “a lot is expected of me. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Before every race, I get a pep talk from Petty, and I can tell you first-hand that nothing inspires more than The King’s Speech.”
9. Mark Martin: Martin overcame slight damage after contact with Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 car to pilot the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to a 13th-place finish at Phoenix. It was a banner day for Hendrick Motorsports, as Jeff Gordon won for the first time in 66 races and all four HMS cars placed in the top 13. Martin is now 6th in the point standing, 65 behind Kyle Busch.
“As I very well know,” Martin said, “there’s no shame in coming in second, or coming in 13th, especially here at Hendrick. As the low man on the totem pole on a team consisting of a 5-time champion, a 4-time champion, and NASCAR’s most popular driver, The Social Network here affords me the chance to rub shoulders with greatness. I’m a popular driver in my own right. Heck, everybody ‘likes’ me. I expect one day, when I update my status to ‘retired’ for good, I’ll be honored with a lifetime achievement award.”
10. Ryan Newman: Newman led 7 laps and finished fifth in the Subway Fresh Fit 500, joining Stewart-Haas teammate Tony Stewart, who finished 7th, in the top 10. Newman improved 13 places in the point standings to 9th, and trails Kyle Busch by 16.
“This is a team to be reckoned with,” Newman said. “Tony and I have a great working relationship, unlike the one I had with former teammate Rusty Wallace. That association was abrasive, so abrasive that one could call it True Grit. Rusty and I never saw eye to eye, even when we both were wearing eyepatches.”
Jeff Gordon Is Back. Look Out! Other Races Sleepers
This past weekend we saw Jeff Gordon finally break the 66-race winless streak to score his second Phoenix win at the Subway Fresh Fit 500. We haven’t seen a Jeff Gordon performance like this in a while. He had a very strong car early, but many believed his day was done when he hit the wall going into Turn 3 pretty hard after Carl Edwards cut a tire. The tire was cut primarily after he was body slammed by Kyle Busch and after hitting the curbing with his left side, he was off for the ride and Gordon was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite the right side of his car looking scratched apart, he picked apart the field and led the most laps and won the race. Under this new 43-1 points system it is more important than ever now to win races.
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[/media-credit]Gordon is motivated and as passionate as ever in his pursuit for another championship and for those of you who believe he is a six-time champion this will make you even more ecstatic for this season. A seventh championship under the old way will put him amongst the greatest drivers of all-time. Dale Earnhardt, and Richard Petty. Who can forget the days when Gordon used his bumper on Rusty Wallace at Bristol or the daring move he made on Wallace at the Daytona 500 back in 1999. Ladies and gentleman, Jeff Gordon is back. When was the last time we saw Gordon win a race before his Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson? How about
Next week we have Las Vegas and as we all know, Gordon dominated that race last year and if not for Steve Letarte’s call to go for two tires, Gordon would have easily won that race. I expect a breakout year for Gordon after seeing his performance at Phoenix in person. The cheers that were heard were incredible and if he starts winning on a consistent basis like he did back in the 90’s, I expect some of those cheers to turn to jeers, but the fans that have followed and supported Gordon since his rookie season back in 1993 will always stick with Gordon.
I thought the race was really exciting from start to finish, unlike the previous two nights where fans were left bored out of their mind after they saw Kyle Busch win both. Now, I like Kyle. He is a great driver, but really? 200 of 200 laps led and Danica Patrick 4th in points? Yeah…the Nationwide Series is not that exciting anymore. I hate to say and the Camping World Truck Series is only exciting either at Daytona, or when someone else not named Kyle wins. What did you guys think of the race? Leave any comments or questions below and I’ll answer them.
You can email me with your comments as well at therhino.ryan@gmail.com, Facebook, or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/RyanOHaraNASCAR
Before I leave you today on this beautiful night, I have to say thanks to my good friend Shelby Kellerman for being an absolutely amazing friend and it’s an honor. Thank you guys and hope you enjoyed the races. Congratulations to Jeff Gordon and that leaves him just one victory shy of Darrell Waltrip’s modern era record of 84 wins.
