Tonight NASCAR got what they wanted when the Chase for the Championship came down to two drivers. Both Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart raced hard all night long with the overall lead changing hands a few times. In the end though the Indiana driver prevailed. The championship did not come easy though as Stewart had to fight through the pack multiple times to get the win. It reminded me of an ARCA race that I saw at DuQuoin Raceway ten years ago. Stewart came through the pack multiple times showing just how good of a driver he is. I normally don’t watch much NASCAR, but while I was waiting for the Purdue game to start tonight I couldn’t stop watching it. I ended up watching both at the same time because it was such a good race. Basically with Carl Edwards on his back bumper Tony had to win the race. It was his fifth win of the ten chase races. Even with the five wins Tony only tied Carl for the championship. The reason Tony is the champion is the races that he won. A great night for Tony as he wins for his own team. Continue reading →
The rumors the last couple of days have Danica Patrick close to a deal with JR Motorsports to run a limited schedule next season in the Nationwide Series. JR Motorsports is run by Dale Earnhardt Jr. This pairing will mean that two of the biggest names in racing will be paired together. It also pairs two drivers who have a much bigger reputation then their racing would warrant. Both of these drivers should be hungry for a win. Patrick has won once in the IndyCar series, and Dale Jr. is in another slump. With Jr.’s marketing power behind Danica the sky is the limit for the two of them. If they can win with the pairing it would be an unstoppable pairing. Danica will still be racing with Andretti-Green racing next season full time. She apparently though does not see the IndyCar series in the future for herself. She is drawn to NASCAR for the same reason that most drivers are. Money. Some IndyCar drivers have not done so well in Cup. Others like Tony Stewart have excelled when given the chance to drive the big car. It will be interesting to see if she can live up to the hype when she moves over.
Danica Patrick scored her first ever win yesterday in Japan. The win came in her 50th race, and the last race of the two car Inday split. The race was not on won on speed, but fuel mileage. Of course a win is a win no matter how you look at it, and now that she has broken the seal you can expect a couple more to follow. She no longer has to answer the question “When are you going to get your first win?” The nature of racing being what it is though they will just change the question to “When are you going to get your next win?” She picked up the first win though, and is no longer the Anna Kournikova of racing. The picture on this post was taken in 2006 at the season ending race in Japan. It is amazing how close that they will let you get to the drivers during introductions. They bring the drivers right up into the stands for the ceremony. What is even more amazing is the fact that nobody seemed to care. We walked down from our seats near turn one to watch the event at the start-finish line. If that sort of introduction was done at a NASCAR race you would have pandemonium.
Last year I tried to forecast the NASCAR season, but missed on a few counts. This year I will once again try and prove that I really don’t know much about the sport anymore. After an entire off season of waiting today we will finally get to see Dale Jr. in his first points race for Hendrick Motorsports. I think the switch to Hendrick will be what he needs to get back into the chase. Here are the twelve drivers that I think will make the chase this year:
Jeff Gordon
Jimmie Johnson
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Casey Mears
Carl Edwards
Tony Stewart
Kyle Busch
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
Matt Kenseth
Jeff Burton
Brian Vickers
As you can see a couple big names are not included, and I have put a couple in there that maybe shouldn’t be. I think that Vickers is a good driver, and he will be my sleeper pick to make the chase. Greg Biffle is my pick to be the biggest name to miss the chase this year. I had to pick someone, and I don’t care for Greg so he was the one. Pretty scientific, huh? Who will win the chase? Whoever is hottest for ten races. I really think that Gordon learned something last year, and will come out firing this year for wins. That being said I don’t know how you can bet against Johnson getting the three-peat.
Rookie of the Year will go to Regan Smith because I just don’t have the faith in the other two teams that have rookies going. They are both great open wheel drivers, but I don’t think that they will be in enough races to win the award. Both Villeneuve and Carpentier missed the 500, and that puts them in a big hole just to make races the rest of the year. Ask Brian Vickers what that did to his season last year.
I will also make one bold prediction for 2008. I will attend at least one NASCAR race this year. I was supposed to go to Bristol this spring, but that fell through. Maybe it is time to find a new track to see a race at. Martinsville or Richmond sound good right about now. I guess we will have to wait and see on that one.
This year was sort of a disappointment for me as far as NASCAR is concerned. Jeff Gordon dominated the entire year and has nothing to show for it. He went into the chase leading by over 300 points, and wasn’t even in first when they started the race at New Hampshire. I think something needs to be done about the current system. Gordon should get something for winning the ‘regular season’. In the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL they have division and league champs. There should be some sort of trophy for finishing first in the first 26 races. I know it won’t mean as much as the title does, but it is still something. Gordon had an amazing year. He had 30 top 10’s on the season. Think about it. In 36 races he only finished 10th or worse six times. He had a season that would probably be considered his second best behind the 1998 season. Jimmie Johnson his teammate was hot when it counted. He won four races in a row to all but lock up the chase at the end. His team reminds me of the old days when Gordon has Ray in the pits. Whatever call was made was the right one. One thing that did get to me watching the Homestead race was how the announcers kept saying that Gordon had been chasing Johnson all year. That is untrue! They love to jump on the bandwagon of the new pretty boy don’t they? If it was up to them Edwards would win everything.
Here is how I did on my pre-season predictions: Daytona 500 Winner: My pick was Tony Stewart. He of course did not win. Kevin Harvick spoiled the day for Mark Martin by passing him at the last minute for the win. Daytona 500 Rookie of the Race: Montoya. I really did not go out on a limb here. See rookie of the year. Race of the Year: I picked the spring Bristol race because of the track history, and the debut of the car of tomorrow. In my opinion the race of the year was the duel between Gordon and Johnson at Martinsville. Rookie of the Year: I picked Juan Montoya because I am a smart man. He is such a good racer it would have taken a tragedy for him not to get this. Nextel Cup (Soon to be Sprint Cup) Champion: I picked Stewart. I really thought it would be his year. His season was summed up at Homestead when he backed the car into the wall, and then keyed the mike and said “Fix it now.” He was loose all day, and finally lost it. The team did put four tires on him so he could go back out. The actual champ. See above rant. Big Name to Miss the Chase: Dale Jr. I was right here. I think next year will be much different though. Surprise Driver in the Chase: I had a hard time picking between Stremme and Yeley. They both were let go from their teams so that shows what I know. Bowyer was by far the biggest surprise in the chase. He was in the hunt for quite some time. Drivers in the Chase: Here are the drivers that I thought would be in:Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, David Stremme, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Jeff Burton. I was only off by a couple. Here are the drivers that made the chase. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., and Clint Bowyer.
The Cup will be called the Sprint Cup next season, but that is not the sad issue. The saddest thing for me is the fact that the Busch Series will be called the Nationwide Series. This is one of the last parts of NASCAR that has not changed since I started watching. Now that is gone as well. I suppose I will just be stubborn and call it the Busch Series.
Next year I will be going to the spring race at Bristol. I haven’t been to a Cup race since 2004, and it was the spring race at Bristol. We are over 4 months away from leaving, but I am already excited. I posted a small clip I found on YouTube that I thought was pretty cool.
Today Jeff Gordon got his 77th win by besting the field at Talledega. I actually had a shot to go to the race with a group from LaPorte, but declined. Part of me was sad that I was not there to see him pass Dale Earnhardt. The fans littered the track with whatever they did not want to take back to their trailers just because Earnhardt did not win. It was a good win for Gordon, and on Dale’s birthday no less. NASCAR fans who can enunciate are rejoicing today.
Confessions of a Sports Junkie 