It has been said that there has been cheating going on in NASCAR since they first started. Yes, advantages were sought, but usually it was to make the car go faster in order to win, not to throw the race in order to fix an outcome.
Sometime over the next ten weeks, at one of ten tracks hosting the Chase, Clint Bowyer will be sailing along. He will feel a sudden nudge in his left rear quarter-final, just a touch but enough to cause him to feel the car getting out from under him. Bowyer will try to save it, and come close in doing so but, alas, his car will find the wall. His race and his Chase hopes, done in an instant.
With everything on the line as far as Chase berths, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
The cliché holds true this week as “it all comes down to this”. Six guys have already claimed their top-10 spots when The Chase begins next week at Chicago – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth…that’s 2 Chevy’s, a Ford, and 3 Toyotas in case you're keeping score.
While Ryan Truex’s Sprint Cup Series debut might not have turned out exactly as he had hoped, the 21 year old development driver for Richard Petty Motorsports and past K&N Series Champion left Bristol feeling ‘fortunate and lucky’ to be where he is at currently in the sport today.
From NASCAR children National Anthem singing to cars colliding and tempers flaring, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 53rd annual IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
While the contenders for the NASCAR Chase may still be uncertain at present, there are two NASCAR personalities who are most certainly looking forward to the special event, NASCAR Contenders Live Sponsored by Toyota, where fans will formally meet the twelve Chase competitors.
With the support of Richard Petty Motorsports and Phoenix Racing, the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver, Ryan Truex, will make his first Sprint Cup series start this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Three night races are all that remain before the 2013 chase field is set. The sand in the hour glass is running out and the time to make something happen is now. The tension in the garage is palpable and the intense feeling of trepidation among the teams in the danger zone is growing with every passing race.
