In spite of what pundits say, there’s still a race on at the front. While I loved Brad Daugherty as a basketball player, I yell at him every time he says this Chase is over.
It isn’t.
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but it is still very mathematically possible for someone not named Jimmie Johnson to win the championship. What’s more, we’ve passed Johnson’s "sweet spot" tracks. Brad Keselowski’ victory- after being one of the slowest cars all day- is living proof of how wild it is at Talladega. Texas? Johnson is good, but let’s not forget third place Jeff Gordon won there earlier this season. As for Phoenix, Johnson is good there, but he’s nothing like he is at Martinsville, Dover or Lowe’s. Homestead- Miami is a place where’s he’s never had to race. It’s quite possible he might have to this time.
Time will tell. One thing, however, is certain: the field up front is smaller, and they’ve pulled away.
THE FAB FIVE
#5- Tony Stewart (ranked 4th last week)- Smoke’s chase performance does nothing to dissuade rumors that his Stewart- Haas garage is getting the short end of the Hendrick stick of late. Even if we threw the "points reset" from the start of the Chase, we’d show a narrowing gap between the regular season points leader and the current guy out front. Still, Stewart may provide "Exhibit A" for offering a better reward going into the Chase with the lead than what we have now. If you think about it, itsi a bit of a travesty. At least in the stick and ball world, the division winners get home field advantage. Just sayin’.
#4- Mark Martin (ranked 3rd last week)- "The Kid" was just a shade better than Stewart at Martinsville. Are we looking at Martin’s fifth runner-up finish for his Cup career? The biggest beneficiary of the points reset has been consistent and competitive (how can you really a 17th place run at Lowe’s a disaster?), but the way the champ has been going, it may just not be enough. Still, given what I mentioned earlier, somebody in this group will slip, and maybe this time at Talladega, it won’t be Martin.
#3- Juan Pablo Montoya (ranked 5th last week)- I give him props. JPM more than demonstrated that the finish at Lowe’s was just a bobble on not a forthcoming trend. When you think about where he’s languished most of his career, it’s quite remarkable that Montoya has an average finish of 9.8 over his last five races. He’s running with the big dogs and keeping a good pace. 2010 could prove to be a very interesting year for the "42" team.
#2- Jeff Gordon (ranked 2nd last week)- While it’s more tempting to feel sympathy for the "eternal bridesmaid" Martin, what about Gordon? This dude has an average finish of 3.8 over his last five starts! The good news? Gordon doesn’t need a compass to find victory lane at Talladega. All he needs is an insane amount of luck. Has anybody pondered what a wild story it would be if the Rainbow Warrior pulled out a championship in this chase?
#1- Jimmie Johnson (ranked 1st last week)- Even if you don’t like him, short of believing he’s here by ill-gotten gain, you have to admire what Johnson has pulled off: Three wins in six chase races, and an average finish of 2.8 in the last five races. It’s not quite Richard Petty’s 10 victories in a row in ‘67, but it’s still a performance worthy of a championship. IF the trend holds, and I still maintain it’s a BIG if, then I say he’s rightfully earned it.
READY TO STRIKE
Denny Hamlin gets big-time props for the win at Martinsville. He’s got nothing to lose and he’s running like it…teammate Kyle Busch, with his 4th place run Sunday reminds us he’s not disappeared…Ryan Newman has shown enough staying power to earn accolades for exceeding 2009 expectations.
DISTANT THUNDER
You have to believe 2010 will be a better year for Richard Childress Racing. Kevin Harvick seems a little happier these days and the results are improving. Give a shout to Jamie Mc Murray. His 6th place run can’t help but improve his prospects for landing a new ride in 2010.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I still wish someone in the media would put forth an effort to delve into the Stewart Haas engines… Since it is unlikely Stewart has forgotten how to drive and Grubb has forgotten how to setup cars…what is going on? Since about 3 races prior to the CHASE…the cars..especially Stewart..seem to head backwards when the green flag is dropped. Now, I realize unless you are Johnson, a car probably isn’t going to be good consistently from race to race..but it has gotten so intstead how..how many places did Tony pick up on a start…I wonder how many places he lost! I was looking forward to the half of the season where he and Grubb were on tracks they had already raced this season..thinking it would be a plus for them..but it has been anything but. So… I still think TS has nothing to be ashamed of…his record this year has been as good as Johnson’s…just a flip flopped reverse season.. AND..I won’t add…”but for the CHASE we would see TS in the points lead” cause we all know that’s not “reality”. But I am wondering about his cars and the Hendrick touch at this point in the season.
@ Josie, DITTO!!!!!