One Small Slip Can Ruin Great Outcome, Just Ask Denny Hamlin

July 15, 2012 By 1 Comment

After Denny Hamlin suffered a miscue on his final pit stop, Kasey Kahne inherited the lead at New Hampshire and led the final 66 laps to earn his second victory of the season.

Sometimes we tend to forget that when it comes to success in racing, a fast car and a savvy driver don’t always generate it.

The odds for victory improve greatly when you have both – obviously. But given that racing is a team sport that involves a lot of people performing many different tasks, car and driver alone guarantee nothing.

We all know how pit stops, both good and bad, can make a difference in the outcome of any event.

Pit stops are not just about crewmember speed and skill. They are also about driver conduct on pit road – speeding or missing a stall can be ruinous – and communication.

The most essential communication is, of course, between driver and crew chief. If there is any misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what is required during a stop, it can make all the difference in the outcome.

Ask Denny Hamlin. Or his crew chief Darian Grubb.

Hamlin was enjoying a Sunday drive in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup event at New Hampshire. In his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, the Virginian was steamrolling the competition.

Which, in fact, was not entirely unexpected. Hamlin qualified third, two positions behind pole winner and teammate Kyle Busch, and was fastest in final practice.

By lap 234, Hamlin had led 150 laps, more than any other driver. But then the race’s third and final caution period began after David Reutimann suffered a blown engine.

Hamlin led the parade down pit road in what was assumed to be a routine stop. But, unlike so many other competitors who underwent a two-tire change, the Gibbs team put four on its Toyota.

As a result Hamlin was no longer the leader when he returned to the track. He was in 14th place that was, obviously, a huge loss of track position.

It was quickly learned that a four-tire change was never intended. Hamlin said via radio he needed only “tires.” From that Grubb interpreted his driver wanted four, which, in his defense, is nearly always what drivers want when they say, “tires.”

Grubb said, indeed, that was the case. He added that once teams learned, via radio scanning, what was happening in the Hamlin pits, they opted for two-tire changes.

Poised for the restart Hamlin wanted to know what happened. Grubb told him. Hamlin sighed. Grubb fell on the sword and accepted the blame. “My bad,” he said.

He also encouraged his driver to give it all he had until the finish. Other than a lack of time there was no reason Hamlin couldn’t rally. His car had been the model of perfection all day.

In the space of 20 laps Hamlin moved from 14thto sixth. He was in fifth five laps later and then, after five more laps, he settled into fourth place.

With his victory Kahne improved his chances of making the Chase. He is 12th in points with two wins, more than any other driver outside the top 10. Only seven races remain before the Chase begins.

On lap 273, Hamlin was second, 2.9 seconds behind leader Kasey Kahne with 28 laps to go.

When Hamlin closed to within a second of Kahne with five laps remaining it seemed he had a real chance.

But it went away with just two laps to go when the hard-charging Hamlin slid high in the fourth turn.

For Hamlin a potentially great day was spoiled by a small miscommunication.

Of which he was acutely aware.

“It was just a miscommunication,” Hamlin said. “I said I needed tires and that was taken to mean I needed four of them.

“It was just a little miscommunication that turned into a second-place finish. You never know what could have happened on that last restart if we were taking two tires.

The 5 (Kahne) still may have been better, you never know.”

Fact is Hamlin shouldn’t have become the pursuer. But he made as much of it as he possibly could.

You try to be as optimistic as possible, but you know in your head that the stop was a death sentence, basically, for us,” Hamlin said. “I honestly didn’t think that we would get back to where we did.

“Kasey stretched out so far on that lead when we were about 10th. I was thinking top-five and then I was thinking I could get to the top three and then we made some good ground up there at the end.

“But I needed four or five more laps. I just needed to get within striking distance because I was going to rough him up.”

 

***** While a victory at New Hampshire would have certainly cemented Hamlin’s place in the Chase, with two wins and a fifth-place standing in points, it seems he doesn’t need it.

But for Kahne, his second win of the season may propel him into the “playoff.” He is 12th in points, 66 out of the top 10, but two wins put him No. 1 among the “wildcard” challengers.

“The first win with Hendrick Motorsports (at Charlotte) was pretty cool,” Kahne said. “The second one is really special to be a part of, especially as good as the cars are each and every weekend. “To be able to win two races now, and have a shot at the Chase – we’re still definitely not in it, but we have a better shot now than we did.”

Kahne admitted that he gained the most favorable track position following Hamlin’s pit miscue. But he added that he felt confident he could hold it – even as Hamlin made his assault during the closing laps.

“I was definitely focused on the lapped cars I was going by and how I could clear them quick,” Kahne said. “But I lost a ton of forward drive. I was getting pretty loose and Denny was coming on four tires.

“So I was paying attention to where he was, but I felt pretty good about the lead we had.”

Busch ranks No. 2 among “wildcard” contenders. He’s 13th in points with one victory. He’s one position ahead of Joey Logano and two ahead of Ryan Newman, the only other drivers outside the top 10 with at least one victory.

Busch, incidentally, ran strong at New Hampshire as he led 72 laps. But when he pitted for the final time on lap 232, he overshot his pits. The error cost him time and track position.

He fell out of second place and wound up 16th at race’s end.

With seven races remaining before the Chase begins following the conclusion of the Richmond race on Sept. 8, it appears the drivers who rank among the top 10 should make the Chase – some of them easily.

But outside the top 10, a couple of competitors face formidable challenges.

Carl Edwards, at No.11, is 46 points out of the top 10 with no victories. It seems certain now he has to win.

For four-time champion Jeff Gordon, 17th in points without a victory, the prospects for making the Chase continue to dwindle.

He has missed the “playoff” only once in his career and to avoid a second occurrence, at the least he has to win twice – certainly a daunting task.

 

 

 

 

 

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Hendrick Teams Differ In Season Performance, But All Able To Win 600

May 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Although he hasn't won since Michigan in 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has enjoyed a revitalized season in 2012 and has become a strong suit at Hendrick Motorsports. But he has yet to win.

CONCORD, N.C. – While Jimmie Johnson is considered a strong favorite to win the Coca-Cola 600, and thereby continue the resurgence of his Hendrick Motorsports team, his teammates won’t share his status.

Make no mistake, certainly they would like to win and it’s very possible that one of them will.

But, truth be known, they would likely be very pleased if they could finish among the top five – maybe even the top 10 – in the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.

Unlike Johnson, who has won the last two NASCAR events within a week, his three teammates have experienced different results this year.

Critics would give them “mixed” reviews.

One of them has had a solid year, but he still hasn’t won.

Another started his inaugural season with Hendrick horribly. But he has rebounded with top-10 finishes in each of the last five races.

The third has had such an uncharacteristically poor season that he’s even joked about it. Unless things improve dramatically he won’t make the Chase and get a shot at a fifth career championship.

Along with Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be considered a potential 600 winner. He, too, has been on a streak of sorts.

He won the Sprint Showdown and one segment of the Sprint All Star Race, won by Johnson. In the 600, Earnhardt Jr. will race the same Chevrolet in which he won the Showdown.

All of this seems to bode well for Earnhardt Jr. Additionally, even though his record in the 600 hasn’t been particularly good over the past several years, he was en route victory last year when he ran out of gas.

“You definitely feel you let one get away,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “When you come close to winning a race you definitely think about what you might have done different, or ‘If only this or that.’

“But you don’t think about that too much. You can get distracted and not really be thinking about what you’re trying to do that moment.”

Earnhardt Jr. was once the weakest link in the Hendrick chain. No longer.

This season he has finished out of the top 10 only twice and has five runs of seventh or better – including two runnerup and two thirds.

He’s been hovering near the points lead for most of the season. Going into the 600 he was in third place, just 14 points leader Greg Biffle. He’s two positions and 25 points ahead of Johnson.

Earnhardt Jr., who earned his last win at Michigan in 2008, has been flirting with victory so often that many supporters say it’s now only a matter of time.

That time could come at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I think we’re confident,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We know what kind of potential we have and we are all expecting to improve over some of the things we did last week.

“It’s (crew chief) Steve Legate’s and his group’s job to get together and squeeze a little more speed out of the car. We need to try to work harder to go better and to go faster.

“If the car is good enough and we do everything we need to do, we’ll be right there with an opportunity to win a race. That’s what you have to concentrate on.”

Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon (left) and Kasey Kahne have had their struggles this season. Kahne is making advances but Gordon is still slumping.

Team owner Rick Hendrick was among the many who thought Kasey Kahne would be a perfect fit at his organization.

After all, Kahne, who replaced the departed Mark Martin, came with excellent credentials. At age 32 with eight full seasons under his belt, he had won 12 races, including one with the lame duck Red Bull team last year at Phoenix.

But his season started miserably. Because of several misfortunes, his best run was a 14th at Fontana. He finished 29th or worse in four races. By the sixth race of the year he was 31st in points.

He been on a rally ever since. He came to Charlotte with a five-race string of top-10 finishes. He has climbed to 16th in points.

Obviously Kahne would like keep his good roll going at Charlotte.

“To me, the season hasn’t been great,” said Kahne, who will make his 300th career start at CMS. “But I do think some people may have thought it was much worse than what it was.

“I feel like we’ve been running pretty well since the start of the season. But we really haven’t made those big gains yet. We have speed and it’s obvious it’s right there. We just need to put it all together.”

Kahne isn’t sour about how his season started. He believes it was a result of certain circumstances.

“I am happy for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports over what’s been accomplished so far,” he said. “And as for the way we’ve run, I don’t think it’s necessarily me. Our team isn’t running as well as we would like – for now.

“But it is nice to know that everything we need is right there. We have the same stuff everyone else has and we’ve been able to use some of it to get better.

“If we hit on things hopefully we can run as good as the No. 48 (Johnson) has been running.”

Jeff Gordon is now in his 20th NASCAR season, all of which have been spent with Hendrick.

He has won 85 races and four championships. He was, without a doubt, the star player at Hendrick until Johnson’s rise, marked by five consecutive titles.

In 2012 what was once Gordon’s “star” has become a black hole.

He has only two finishes among the top 10 and seven of 20th or worse – including four beyond the top 30.

He’s been hammered by a series of improbable, unfortunate incidents that include everything from engine failure to poor pit stops to a tire that goes flat not once, but twice.

Gordon’s luck has been so bad Hendrick declared on national TV that he wouldn’t get in an airplane with him.

Even Gordon has been upbeat in post-race interviews following another disappointing race. He said there is a reason for that.

“What are you going to do other than keep your head up and work hard?” Gordon said. “You go to the next race and try to change it.

“We’ve got too good of a team and too good of a race cars to try to get down on ourselves about the way things are going. It’s tough.

“The timing gets tougher and tougher all the time because the more races that go by that we don’t get the results, the harder and harder that mountain is to climb.

“We just have to stay positive and say, ‘Hey, this is our week, this is our week.’ You can do that for only so long. We’re still doing it. Hopefully, we’ll see the results.”

For Gordon, who is 24th in points and in need of at least one victory to have any chance at the Chase as a “wildcard” entry, the results could come in the 600. He has won five times at Charlotte, one less than Johnson.

“I am excited about this weekend,” Gordon said. “At the All Star Race we learned a lot and also learned from Jimmie’s bunch, who dominated the race.

“We learned, as a team, on what we can do to be really, really good this weekend.”

In the 600 there will be four Hendrick teams on four different levels of performance. All of them, of course, hope for a good, productive outing.

One of them may have the ultimate performance.

That’s because any one of them could win. That’s a given.

 

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A Tale Of Two Drivers On One Team: Dale Jr. And Kasey Kahne

April 3, 2012 By 5 Comments

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added to what has already been a very strong start to the 2012 Sprint Cup season with a second-place finish at Martinsville. It was his third finish among the top five and fourth among the top 10 in six races.

This is a tale of teammates, if you will.

Two guys racing for the same organization yet, so far in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, with decidedly different results.

As far as competition goes they are poles apart.

One, who has been with the team since 2008, is having what many consider to be his best season in perhaps a half-dozen years.

The other, a newcomer to the team, was expected to do very well with a fresh opportunity and reach the potential he has shown more than once during his career.

Instead he has fallen into a competitive abyss.

Again, these two drivers are on the same team – and not just any team. They race for Hendrick Motorsports, arguably the best organization in NASCAR which has won 199 races and

10 championships.

Hendrick’s standing in NASCAR, in fact in all of motorsports, is so lofty that when Dale Earnhardt Jr. came on board four years ago, he declared he was a member of a team with which he could win races and championships.

He hasn’t won a race since 2008. He hasn’t come close to a championship.

It reached the point where Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet, was considered the weakest link in the Hendrick armor.

He was the also-ran, the afterthought of an operation in which Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were the star players – Johnson especially so with five consecutive championships.

Even Mark Martin, who joined Hendrick in 2009 for the first of his three seasons with the team, did far better in his inaugural season.

He won five times and finished second to teammate Johnson in the final point standings.

That same year, a winless Earnhardt Jr. had only five top-10 finishes and wound up 25th in points – well out of the Chase.

Earnhardt Jr. put up better numbers over the next three seasons. But he still did not win.

It got to the point where some questioned his dedication, his focus and even his driving talent.

While his many, many fans were undoubtedly disappointed that their man couldn’t win, they never questioned his skill or desire.

They may get their ultimate reward this year.

Earnhardt Jr. is off to what is unquestionably his best start with Hendrick. In the first six races of the year he has earned four top-10 finishes.

Three of those have come among the top five and are a runnerup finish in the Daytona 500, a third-place run at Fontana and another second-place finish at Martinsville earlier this week.

Most important, Earnhardt Jr. ranks second in points, only six behind leader Greg Biffle, who, incidentally, is the only driver who can match Earnhardt Jr.’s record to date.

So what has made the difference? What has transformed Earnhardt Jr. from an afterthought to a potential championship challenger?

I’d be hard-pressed to explain it. I would assume there are many reasons.

But then, I would venture to say Earnhardt Jr.’s relationship with crew chief Steve Letarte is blossoming.

I recall once that Earnhardt Jr. said he had faith in Letarte and had to learn how to better communicate with him; to give him the information needed to improve competitiveness.

And I think Earnhardt Jr.’s confidence is back, perhaps even his optimism. During his pre-race press conference at Martinsville, if he said the word “confident” once, he said it a thousand times.

But if he knows what has created the turnaround, apparently he’s not saying – other than to, again, reveal his increased confidence.

“I don’t know what we have done and our team has done really,” he said. “But I’m happy with the way our car is running.”

He added that all the Hendrick teams have been faster so far in 2012.

“I think we are actually have more speed as a group, as a whole, than we did last year,” he said. “It’s encouraging.”

Kasey Kahne, the newest driver at Hendrick Motorsports, has not had the kind of season he, or anyone else, expected. He has yet to earn a top-10 finish because he's been plagued by misfortune on the track.

Reckon “encouraging” is about as far as Earnhardt Jr. needs to go. For him to make any grandiose pronouncements at this point would be foolish.

After all, the season has barely begun.

For which Kasey Kahne is thankful.

The newest member of the Hendrick team, who drives the No. 5 Chevrolet, has plenty of time to reverse what has been a disastrous beginning.

Kahne hasn’t gotten a whiff at a top-10 finish, much less a victory.

Fact is, he’s been awful.

He was 29th at Daytona, 34th at Phoenix, 19th at Las Vegas, 37th at Bristol, 14th at Fontana and 38th at Martinsville.

He’s presently 31st in the point standings.

Understand, all of this has been the result of circumstances well beyond Kahne’s control, such as wrecks and mechanical failures.

Call it bad luck, which has been so bad for Kahne it’s been suggested he’s been smacked with a voodoo mojo.

It’s certainly not what Kahne expected. Most of us didn’t either, for that matter.

He came to Hendrick with established credentials as a winner. He had 12 career victories, including six in 2006 with team owner Ray Evernham.

He even won a race with Red Bull Racing during that team’s lame duck 2011 season.

He knew then that he would join Hendrick in 2012 as Martin’s replacement.

And, as it was for Earnhardt Jr., it was going to be the revitalization of his career. He was going to be a part of a team with which he could win races and championships.

He may well be so, but certainly not at this pace.

For his part, Kahne appears stoic. He realizes things can change. He said so at Martinsville where, after he won his second pole of the year, he had engine problems.

“Well, I mean it is disappointing and yet it isn’t,” he said. “I am upset that we haven’t run great this year, but we were great on Friday and Saturday and we were fast again today.

“We have the speed. So when it’s our time we will be ready to take advantage of it.”

We have two drivers on the same team who are, at present, at different ends of the competitive spectrum.

Earnhardt Jr., at the top end, is cautiously optimistic that he can remain there – and enjoy a reversal of fortune.

Kahne, at the bottom, hopes his desperately needed reversal of fortune comes quickly.

For both, much time is left in the 2012 season. And time will tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sponsors Today May Have More Power While Spending Less

January 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

Single team sponsors, like Miller Lite, whose names and logos were on cars for the vast majority of a single season, are not as prevalent today. The economy has a lot to do with that as teams have to find funding from several sources to make it through a year.

That has never been more obvious than it is today, a time when, amid economic uncertainty, teams are scrambling to find every dollar they can.

Sometimes it’s not successful. You don’t have to be told about the teams that have folded or the high number of employees who have been laid off because of economic hardships.

This situation continues into 2012.

A dozen years ago things were far, far different.

It was a boom time for NASCAR. Its popularity soared. Races were sold out. National television came calling and paid huge fees for the rights to broadcast events.

With this “gold rush” teams found it easy to expand for at least one simple reason – they could ask for big dollars from companies that wanted to take advantage of a huge, relatively new market that fit their ideal demographics.

For NASCAR and its competitors it was an easy sell.

For corporate America, which was also flourishing at the time, it was an easy buy.

I’ve often said that NASCAR over a decade ago was not unlike America in the 1920s, when it was prosperous and carefree. But when the stock market crashed in 1929 everything changed and the world became more difficult and darker.

What has happened over recent years isn’t as dramatic, of course. But, and make no mistake, it’s close – and it could have been worse.

Today, this means a couple of things: Where teams could once demand $15-20 million for a single sponsor for one season – personally, I never believed they really needed that much money – they cannot today.

That is obvious, given the number of teams that have had to scramble to acquire multiple sponsorships to make it through a single season has increased significantly, so much so that it has become the norm.

You have, no doubt, noticed the various sponsor names and color schemes that have appeared on several cars during one season.

You will see it again in 2012.

And, as said, you already know that teams that have been unable to find suitable sponsorship, by whatever means, no longer exist.

That’s not unusual, given that it has happened in each of the last three seasons.

What’s happened has, in my opinion, created a shift in power, so to speak.

I believe that sponsors now have more control over the teams they support than at almost any other time.

Understand, sponsors have always been able to make demands when they fork over their dollars.

Contractually, they have been able to extract a certain number, or level, of driver personal and commercial appearances, performance requirements, logo placement on the cars, personal conduct standards and more.

And, for the most part, teams and drivers have cooperated fully. To do so was just common sense. They, and their drivers, were obligated.

For example, when Miller Lite sponsored Rusty Wallace, you would never find him with a Budweiser in his hand. Other drivers always acted in kind.

Here’s the major difference that exists today: Sponsors can make all the demands they once did – and even more – for a whole helluva lot less money.

In other words, they wield more power for less expense.

Think of it. If a company has the wherewithal to become a NASCAR sponsor today – and certainly fewer of them do – and teams are desperate for money, the balance of power has changed.

I believe it’s the sponsor who has control.

Proper driver conduct has always been a part of any sponsorship agreement. Today it might be more far-reaching than ever. When Kasey Kahne made controversial comments on Twitter it may well have prompted concerned response from Hendrick Motorsports supporters.

I think it’s logical to assume that the CEO of any company interested in NASCAR team sponsorship would, and should, make a high number of specialized demands to any organization pleading for dollars – and then settle for as many as agreed upon.

Notice I did not say it was happening. I only said that, given the overall economic situation, it could. And we should not be surprised if it has.

Evidence indicates that one thing that ranks as most important to sponsors is driver professional and personal behavior.

Which makes sense, by the way.

Surely any company would have a very difficult time explaining to its stockholders why it spends money for a race team that has a jackass as its driver.

Sponsors have, indeed, reacted to boorish driver behavior in the past. Home Depot, for example, responded to Tony Stewart’s physical confrontation with a media member by matching NASCAR’s punishment of a $50,000 fine.

But it’s likely that we will see ever more of this. It could be that we already have.

Perhaps it’s why M&Ms took its logos off the Joe Gibbs Racing car for two races after Kyle Busch deliberately wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. in a truck race.

Maybe Miller Lite suggested to Roger Penske that it was time to dump Kurt Busch after his profanity-laced tirade at Homestead on national TV.

It could be that after Kasey Kahne tweeted his disapproval of public breast feeding – and received a landslide of disapproval – that his new sponsors at Hendrick Motorsports suggested it would be in the team’s best interest if the matter be cleaned up as quickly as possible.

As an aside here, in addition to the public and the media, drivers now have to be aware of their comments, and interpreted behavior, on the social networks.

I don’t say that the sponsors involved in the aforementioned scenarios became directly involved in the resolutions.

But common sense dictates they were very aware of what happened and that, at the very least, someone on the team had some explaining to do – and for one ultimate reason: to keep the money coming in.

Again, I stress all of this is really nothing new.

However, I think there is one major difference. Sponsors today can wield as much, or more, influence over the teams as they once did.

But now they can do it by spending far less money.

Given the economy, teams have no recourse. It could be as simple, and dramatic as this: Do what it is asked – or go out of business.

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Kasey Kahne and “BoobGate”, Formula One Musical Chairs: What’s Next In 2012?

January 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Kasey Kahne finds himself in hot water with Women’s rights groups after tweeting disparinging remarks about the practice. Kimi Raikkonen draws friends and foe alike in his return to Formula One. The top story in 2011? Dan Wheldon is killed.

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Improbable Phoenix Finish Sets Up Edwards-Stewart Title Showdown

November 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Kahne

Kasey Kahne won at Phoenix for his his first win of the year and the 12th time in his career. For his Red Bull Racing team, the victory was a tremendous lift in a long season that, when over, could mean the team's demise.

I’m not sure even Hollywood would touch a script based upon what happened in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

The two guys vying for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship came into the race separated by a mere three points. Each one stages a terrific performance in an effort to keep, or take away, the points lead.

As it turns out neither one wins the race. But, remarkably, they finish second and third. Even more remarkable, their separation in points remains at three with just one race left in the season.

Hollywood ain’t buying.

Oh, it gets better. The guy who does win at Phoenix is not only ineligible for a championship, he also hadn’t been victorious in the last 81 races – over two years ago.

There’s more. The team for which he races will lose all its financial support at the end of the year and, unless it is sold, will no longer exist – which means that many talented people will become unemployed.

So with the victory the team gains a full measure of satisfaction and, if it should dissolve, at least it knows it had a glorious moment in the limelight before the end.

And yet, perhaps, its performance has been enough to prove its worth and entice a buyer who pulls it back from the brink of extinction.

Trust me, Hollywood sure ain’t buying this tale. I’m not sure even Disney or Spielberg would have anything to do with it.

But, as has been said often, sometimes reality can be far stranger than fiction. So it is after Phoenix.

When the race began Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards held a slim three-point lead over Tony Stewart, who moved into the role of title contender based upon his four wins in the Chase – easily more than any other driver.

At Phoenix, Stewart did all he could to overtake Edwards. Among other things, as he made a strong bid for win No. 5 in the Chase, he led the most laps.

But in the end circumstances dictated that Stewart would finish one position behind Edwards, who also made a strong run for victory but wound up in second place.

Edwards second; Stewart third and, as improbable as it sounds, they remain three points apart as the season comes to a close on Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne, who was 21st in points and hopelessly out of championship consideration when the Chase began at Chicago on Sept. 18, won at Phoenix to give Red Bull Racing its first, and to date only, victory of 2011.

It was announced weeks ago that Red Bull would cease its NASCAR operations after this season. Not that it would affect Kahne – who is headed to Hendrick Motorsports next season as Mark Martin’s replacement – but it would mean yet another wave of job losses unless the team is sold.

Finding a buyer has been a pressing task for team general manager Jay Frye. Maybe the job has now become a little bit easier because anyone interested in NASCAR team ownership must have sense enough to know that all the talent involved – not just that of the driver and crew chief – is the true measure of success.

Simply put, the victory certainly doesn’t hurt Frye’s efforts a darn bit, does it?

Kahne’s victory should come as no surprise. Given his performances in recent weeks many thought it was just a matter of time

Edwards-Stewart

As improbable as it sounds, Carl Edwards (left) finished second at Phoenix while Tony Stewart wound up third. That means the two are still only three points apart, with Edwards in front, in the fight for the title as the season comes to a close at Homestead this weekend.

During the Chase he has been the best among the non-qualifiers. In five of the six races preceding Phoenix, he did not finish lower than sixth – including a second place at Kansas and a third at Texas.

“It means a lot,” said Kahne, who last won at Atlanta in September of 2009 and now has 12 career victories. “Some of these guys haven’t won before and it felt like I haven’t won, either.

“For Kenny (Francis, crew chief, who will join Kahne at Hendrick) and the whole team that’s been together for a while at Red Bull, it’s been a long season. The guys haven’t given up. We keep getting better as the season goes and it takes time to finish things up. I just wanted to win for them really bad before the switch.

“Man, they’ve been a big part of NASCAR. I just hope in some way they are still a big part of NASCAR because I know everyone really enjoys them being here.”

The race-closing series of green-flag pit stops made the difference at Phoenix. With 21 laps remaining in the 312-lap race, Edwards pitted to surrender his lead.

Stewart pitted two laps later and suffered after an air pressure adjustment negatively affected his car’s handling.

With 14 laps to go leader Brad Keselowski pitted to give Kahne the lead he would hold until the finish.

On the last lap Stewart passed Jeff Burton to move into third place behind Edwards to set up the season’s most unlikely, and very dramatic, conclusion. It’s down to Edwards and Stewart. All other Chase contenders have been eliminated.

“We did almost everything we needed to do,” said Stewart, a two-time champion. “We led a lap, led the most laps, and just came up two spots shy. But it was just a little bit too loose on entry the last two runs there.

“We were able to run Jeff down and get back to third. So we’re keeping Carl honest.

“We have a third and two wins in the last three races so we’re going to keep the pressure on him. We’ll make him sweat it out.”

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Edwards, who has won two of the last three races at Homestead and may become the first driver to win a title with just one victory in a season since Matt Kenseth in 2003. “It is going to be fun. It is neat to go to Homestead and race it out.

“I love that place. It was a good hard fought day. I am really pumped for Homestead. I think it is going to be a good time.”

I don’t think there can be any doubt about that.

Nor should any of us be surprised if the race produces another scenario even Hollywood would not believe.

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To Be Sure, Talladega Race Lived Up To Its Billing

October 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Clint Bowyer won for the first time this season in a typical, unpredictable Talladega race. The win was especially rewarding for Bowyer, whose six-season tenure with Richard Childress Racing comes to an end after this season. Bowyer presented Childress with his 100th victory as a team owner.

The Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the sixth race in the 10-event Chase, was characterized as the “wild card” event of the “playoffs.”

That’s because of the typical unpredictability of the race. With high speeds and two-car “dance partner” drafting that is a part of the 2.66-mile Talladega track and its sister, Daytona, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint what is going to happen – much less an outcome.

Championship contenders could have poor finishes, or fall by the wayside, for many reasons – all related to the complexities of restrictor-plate racing. A driver in the lead on the last lap could very well find himself outside the top 10 by the time he got to the finish line. An unheralded, even unknown, competitor could find the means to win – consider young Trevor Bayne, who took the victory in the Daytona 500.

The Good Sam Club 500 lived up to its billing. It was indeed a “wild card” race.

The winner was certainly not unheralded or unknown. But he was unexpected. It’s very likely few, in any, predicted he would triumph at Talladega.

But that’s exactly what Clint Bowyer did. He won for the first time this season – his last victory came in this race in 2010 – he became the first Chase non-qualifier to win in the “playoff.” He earned the distinction of providing the 100th Cup series victory for Richard Childress Racing.

Ironically, it came five races before Bowyer’s tenure with Childress comes to an end. Largely because of a lack of sponsorship, Bowyer will move over to Michael Waltrip Racing next season and RCR may well be reduced from four teams to three.

As for the Chase contenders, overall, they fared worse at Talladega than in any other race since the title hunt began at Chicagoland on Sept. 19.

Only three of them finished among the top 10. Two placed 11th-20th and a whopping seven were 25th or worse.

Replacing them at the head of the pack were such drivers as Jeff Burton (second), Dave Blaney (third, his best finish of the season), Brian Vickers (5th), Kasey Kahne (6th), Waltrip (9th) and Martin Truex Jr. (10th).

Really, now, who could have predicted that?

And who could have predicted that the Chase leaders, those drivers atop the standings when the Talladega event began, would experience mediocre to dismal results?

Carl Edwards, No. 1 in the standings, finished 11th, his first run outside the top 10 since the Chase began. Kevin Harvick, who was hot on Edwards’ heels prior to the race, experienced on-track misfortune and wound up 32nd. Matt Kenseth, third when the green flag fell, could do no better than 18th.

Resurgence for Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch came to an end as they saw momentum die with finishes of 26th and 33rd, respectively.

For all of that, Edwards not only retains his lead in the point standings, he now has largest margin in the first six races of the Chase – largely because he finished ahead of all but two of his rivals.

Edwards now has a 14-point margin over the new runnerup, Kenseth. He’s 18 points ahead of Brad Keselowski, who ran fourth at Talladega, and 19 over Tony Stewart, who finished seventh and was a victory contender for a large portion of the race.

Harvick came into Talladega No. 2 in points, just five behind Edwards with steady Chase performances. But he was involved in a multicar accident after 107 of 188 laps and was forced to report to the garage area for repairs, including a broken oil line. He finished nine laps down and is now fifth in points, 26 in arrears.

Kyle Busch, 33rd at Talladega after his involvement in a multicar wreck, is presently sixth in points, 40 behind Edwards. Johnson’s bid to win a sixth consecutive title took a serious hit with his 26th-place finish, which puts him seventh in points and 50 out of the lead. Kurt Busch wound up 36th at Talladega, also the victim of a wreck, and he’s eighth in points, 52 down.

The remainder of the top 12 in points has, for the most part, been removed from championship consideration. They are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman.

“I don’t know that I have ever been so excited about 11th place,” said a relieved Edwards. “This race was one that was nerve-racking for everyone but we came in here with a small points lead and so it was a huge day for us.

“I cannot believe how much Greg (Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing teammate) helped us today. I owe him a lot. Greg stuck with me all day. On the last lap he was driving my car from back there. It is good to get a good finish and even though it is not a win, it is a big battle in the war and a huge day for us.”

Edwards wisely added that although he’s boosted his points lead, competitively, he couldn’t let up.

“We’d have to have a 100-point lead to take a breath,” he said. “Anything can happen. I’m proud of our team, where we’ve come from, how far we’ve come in the last 18 months. We’re doing well.

“But I’m a little nervous about Matt, honestly, because I know how good he is and how good his team is. Having him in second doesn’t make me breathe easier, competitive-wise.”

Despite Edwards’ surge in the Chase, the most compelling Talladega tale was Bowyer’s victory.

The Emporia, Kan., native, who has spent all of his six full Sprint Cup seasons with Childress, finished among the top 10 in points in three of the last four seasons.

But he was 14th when the Chase began this year. And as the season wound down, it became clear that all attempts to secure a sponsorship package that would allow him to remain with Childress were going to fail.

Some lame duck drivers waddle toward the end of a season. Bowyer has clearly not done that.

To win at Talladega, Bowyer hooked up in the draft behind leader and teammate Burton when the race restarted from its ninth, and final, caution period with just two laps to go.

The two were well ahead of the pack when Bowyer made his move, pulling to the inside of Burton on the last lap. Burton retaliated, the two bumped, but Bowyer held on to win by a half-car length in yet another Talladega race decided by a last-lap pass.

“Trust me, I was prepared to push Jeff to the win no matter what the cost was if we would have had people breathing down or necks,” Bowyer said. “It just wasn’t meant to be for him. He’s been a great teammate and I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s already won a lot of races. I think he’s won like 20 or so. I’ve only won five.

“You owe it to your team and to your sponsors to go out and win the race.”

Bowyer quickly admitted he wanted to win to reward the efforts of his team and to indicate he wasn’t going to be the typical lame duck.

“It’s just so important to me to be able to cap off such a good relationship with Richard,” he said. “Everybody at RCR, it’s like family over there. It meant a lot for me to be able to win before we end this deal.

“The stars were lined up today with having the hundredth anniversary of Chevrolet on my race car. If I won the race, it was going to be Richard’s hundredth win.

“I’m excited that it was.”

 

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Johnson Remains On Title Path But Challengers Loom Large

October 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Yes, this has happened before – you read that here or elsewhere just a week ago.

But that it is happening again should alert observers, and his rivals alike, that Jimmie Johnson is following a familiar, well trod and ultimately rewarding path to another NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Johnson dominated the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway and then bested Kasey Kahne in a green-white-checkered restart to win the race by 0.548-second.

It was Johnson’s second victory of the year and his first in the Chase, in which four of 10 races have been completed. It was also the 55th win of his career and the 20th in 74 Chase races.

Johnson is now tied with Rusty Wallace for eighth place on the all-time Cup win list.

But while he’s no doubt pleased with that, he’s likely more satisfied with another major step taken toward an almost unfathomable sixth consecutive championship.

So far, he’s done almost exactly what he did last year when he won his fifth title. To date his record in the Chase is so identical to last year’s “playoffs” it’s downright eerie.

Johnson is now third in the point standings, just four points behind leader Carl Edwards and, with six races remaining, obviously well within striking distance.

Johnson stumbled out of the gate when the Chase began but his quick rise in the standings mirrors last year.

Johnson finished 10th at Chicago, and an uncharacteristic 18th at New Hampshire, the first two events in the Chase. As a result he ranked 10th in points, 29 behind then leader Tony Stewart.

OK, as has been said before – but certainly bears repeating – in 2010, Johnson finished 25th at New Hampshire, then the first race in the Chase, and was seventh in points.

Unlike 2011, Johnson quickly recovered with a win at Dover and was second in the standings after two races. Then, the following week at Kansas, Johnson moved into first place with a runnerup finish.

It took three races for him to move atop the heap.

In the third race of this year’s Chase, Johnson finished second at Dover and came to Kansas fifth in points, 13 behind co-leaders Edwards and Kevin Harvick.

And now comes the victory at Kansas, which has moved Johnson into third place.

No, he’s not the points leader after three races or even four. But he’s clearly in a good position to win another championship – and he got there through achievements that almost exactly mirror those of 2010.

He has made up a point deficit and, again, has come to the forefront of title contention.

If Johnson continues to perform as he has so far in the Chase – in other words match the pattern of 2010 – another title could well be his.

This is not to say that it will. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is assured with six races remaining.

“We ran really well at Chicago,” said Johnson, whose Hendrick Motorsports team has routinely done well on mile-and-a-half tracks such as Chicago and Kansas, “and we didn’t get the finish we kind of deserved there (10th) because the fuel mileage. We came here and backed it up with another strong performance on mile-and-a-halfs.

“We’re very excited going forward into the remaining mile-and-a half tracks, starting with Charlotte next week, and we’ll just keep fighting.

“This thing isn’t going to be over until Homestead. We came a long way from the opening race, or New Hampshire for that matter, but there’s still a lot of racing left.”

Obviously Johnson is best served if he continues to do what he did last season. At the very least he must remain consistent because, given how close the Chase currently is, any performance fade could make a difference.

Not to mention the fact that a few of Johnson’s rivals have shown no sign of capitulating.

But they, too, must perform consistently. Ultimately that makes all the difference.

Tony Stewart, for example, rocketed into the Chase lead with two consecutive victories. Since then he’s finished 25th at Dover and 15th at Kansas. That is clearly not consistency, and thus, Stewart is now seventh in points. However, I quickly add that he’s 19 points in arrears and still in contention.

Meanwhile, Edwards and Harvick hold the top spots in points because their high performance levels have not wavered throughout the Chase.

In other words, they have remained remarkably consistent.

Combined, they have finished out of the top 10 in the Chase only once to date, when Harvick was 12th at New Hampshire. Edwards, in fact, has finished outside the top five just once, an eighth-place run, also at New Hampshire.

Consequently they were tied atop the point standings going into Kansas and the deadlock was broken – barely – when Edwards finished fifth and Harvick sixth.

A single point now separates Edwards and Harvick.

They lead what continues to be a very close competition for the championship.

“There is still so much racing left,” Edwards said. “We have run four races and it feels like we have run 400. There is a lot that can happen in the next six races. I have a feeling there will be more moments that define this championship, all the way up to the last lap at Homestead. I think you will have to be on your game.”

Behind the trio of Edwards, Harvick and Johnson, who are separated by four points, is Brad Keselowski, a “wildcard” Chase entry who is fourth in points, 11 in arrears.

Matt Kenseth, who is12 points back, and Kurt Busch, now16 down, follow him.

As said, Stewart is 19 points back and behind him is Kyle Busch, 20 in arrears.

None of them can be counted out.

In fact, it would not be wise to count out most – not all – of the remainder of the top 12 in points but, realistically, their chances for a title are slim.

What is clearly in focus now as the Chase enters its final six races is that Johnson is – again – a contender for the title who has – again – overcome early adversity.

But his foremost challengers are two drivers who have so far established exceptional on-track performances from the start of the Chase.

It will be as Edwards said. It’s clear there will be some defining moments in this championship until the Chase is complete.

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Menard’s Indy Victory Adds To Season’s Competitiveness

July 31, 2011 By 1 Comment

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has established itself as one of the most unique in many years for a couple of reasons:

It has provided a decidedly unexpected high number of surprising, first-time winners. In so doing it has suggested that, perhaps, competition on the circuit has reached a level of equality it hasn’t had in years – or, as some might argue, ever.

When Paul Menard won the Brickyard 400 (the sports books took a beating), he not only won for the first time in the 167 races of his career, he also became the fourth inaugural victor of the season and the 14th different winner in 20 races.

This year’s first-time winners include Trevor Bayne in the Daytona 500, Regan Smith in the Southern 500, David Ragan in Daytona’s Coke Zero 400 at now Menard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Have you noticed that these guys have not only won races, they have also been victorious in some of NASCAR’s biggest and most prestigious events?

Which, by the way, is something absolutely no one could have predicted. That adds to the season’s singularity and, to be honest, it’s made things entertaining for everyone. Most of us like surprises.

The record for most winners in a single season was tied at 19 in 2001, during which 36 races were run, the same amount for 2011.

Logic dictates that the odds are good the record will be broken given that there are 16 races yet to be run. The current season is not much past halfway over.

Unless the trend that has been established so far is disrupted we can anticipate more winners – and the odds are good none will be that much of a surprise.

After all, there are those who have won multiple times in their careers, some of whom have won championships, and yet haven’t been victorious this year.

They include Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton, Jamie MacMurray and others. Would anyone be truly surprised if any, or all, of them had won by now?

The point is they still have plenty of time to do so and increase the number of different winners.

Even if this season’s doesn’t provide a record it has, for some observers, indicated NASCAR is presently enjoying something for which it always sought – equal competition; the ability for virtually any driver to win a race.

Today that appears to be more truth than hype. The numbers prove it.

While this is certainly not the only reason for this, it assuredly is a major one: The so-called new car, its technology and accompanying NASCAR legislation, have been established to the point where dominance by one team over all others is unlikely.

Several crew chiefs have expressed this opinion. They have said that it might have taken a while, but the majority of teams now understand the nuances of the car. NASCAR’s cessation of repeated rule changes has helped.

Given that the car is singular, with just minor differences among manufacturers’ models (front ends and engine packages come to mind), and the same sternly enforced rules apply across the board, crew chiefs say there’s only so much teams can do.

They can push the envelope as much as they dare but creativity is long gone. NASCAR’s punishments have assured that.

If a team can utilize creativity only to a certain point it often cannot gain a sizable advantage over another. That, many suggest, is what we have now.

Make no mistake. Equal competition does not mean teams are now equal per se. That’s not the case by any means.

There are still the haves and have-nots, separated by sponsorship money and the equipment and in-shop talent, among many other things, it brings.

But it does suggest that this season is more equally competitive than others passed.

Bayne won with a part-time team that relies on assistance from a major organization. Smith was victorious (and has done well for a good part of the season) with a one-car outfit that is based in Denver, Colo.

Were either considered likely candidates for victory? Hardly.

Ragan is indeed part of a NASCAR powerhouse organization but, let’s face it, he was considered the weak link in a chain of formidable, winning competitors.

It’s the same thing for Menard. Funny thing, but both drivers have won while some of their teammates have not.

Again, this is not to suggest the car, and all that comes with it, is the only reason for this. Give credit where it’s due. Ragan and Menard have proven they have the talent to make the most of what they have.

In years past many drivers never had such an opportunity. A handful of teams with major sponsorship – and sometimes a sizable disparity among car models – allowed them to dominate others.

This was particularly true during the 1970s, the first full decade of NASCAR’s modern era. The number of different winners over those 10 years never reached double digits.

Hard as it may be to believe there were only five different winners in 1975.

That’s because you could count the number of teams expected to win on one hand. Equality never approached existence.

That began to change in the ‘80s when new, ambitious owners with sponsorship entered NASCAR. It carried through the following decade. There were multiple seasons with anywhere from 11-14 different winners.

Today it has risen to a new level. That is, certainly for NASCAR, a good thing.

 

** I’ve heard it said over the years that the only reason Menard has established a NASCAR career is that he can always bring major sponsorship via his father John.

His dad, incidentally, has been an integral part of motorsports for decades and his rewards, at least those publicized, haven’t been many. He spent 35 years competing at Indy before his son, appropriately, brought him the laurels.

It is true he’s had the financial means to support his son – and gain exposure for the family business over the years – and what, pray tell, is wrong with that?

It’s been long established in motorsports that fathers who have been a part of it in some form nearly always nurture the sons who follow them. They have done so by whatever means available to them.

These fathers have had names like Petty, Allison, Earnhardt, Andretti, Keselowski, Menard, Ragan – and far too many others to mention here.

Their reward has been to see their progeny succeed.

If you saw John Menard’s reaction to his son’s victory, you know it is a great reward, indeed.

 

** Menard’s victory means that he’s presently in the No. 2 position to earn one of the two “wildcard” entries into the Chase.

The top 10 will make it along with two drivers who have won the most races and still rank between 11th and 20th in points after Richmond, six races from now.

Denny Hamlin, who fell a position to 11th after his 27th-place run at Indy, has a victory.

Menard is 14th in points and, of course, has a victory. Ragan, once the only victorious driver among the top 20, is now 16th in points, just seven behind Menard and 41 in arrears to Hamlin.

Meanwhile, Tony Stewart, who had his good moments at Indy, rose from a tie for 10th with Hamlin to ninth in points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who also ran well at Indy for a time, finished 16th – his sixth consecutive finish out of the top 10 – and is now on the fence at 10th in points.

With time passing away some drivers clearly have work to do. Gotta admit it will be interesting to see how it all evolves.

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The Points System Has Provided Intrigue, With More To Come

July 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Maybe I’m wrong and you may disagree, but if nothing else, NASCAR’S new points system has, to date, made the season intriguing.

As I understand it, the modified system awards a winner 43 points. He gets three more points for winning and another for leading a lap, which means a minimum of 47 laps.

If the winner leads the most laps that means another bonus point. The total is now 48, the most any driver can earn in a single race.

The most points the second-place finisher can get is 44 points, 42 for second, one for leading and one for leading the most laps.

Putting bonus points aside – NASCAR wanted to maintain the race winner reward – the system is pretty basic. There’s only a one-point difference between each position, from the base of 43 for first place to just one for last place.

The unique change NASCAR made for this season, in addition to rewarding consistency of performance, was to allow the top 10 after 26 races to qualify for the chase. Spots 11 and 12 would go to the drivers who have compiled the most victories and rank among the top 20.

OK, that’s enough. I’ve dwelled long enough on something you already know.

But what I find interesting about the new points system is that it has kept things fairly undecided as we enter the final six races before the Chase.

While there are a few drivers who seem safe when it comes to the Chase, there are others whose status is very much uncertain.

And Carl Edwards, the points leader, by no means has a lock on the top spot. He’s just seven points ahead of five-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

Among the top 10 every driver except one has a victory. Kevin Harvick, fourth in points and eight behind Edwards, has three victories, as does Kyle Busch, who is fifth in points, 13 in arrears.

Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon have two wins each – and are ranked sixth and seventh in points, respectively.

I would think all four drivers are pretty much guaranteed spots in the Chase.

I’d say the same for Edwards, Johnson, Kurt Busch (third in points), Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin, who each have a victory and are among the top 10.

OK, here’s where the situation becomes a bit tense for some drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranks ninth in points largely because he’s been in a competitive swoon. He was once as high as third in the standings.

But he does not have a victory. Which means two things if he wants to make the Chase: He has to hang on to the top 10 over the next six races, or, at the very least, earn a victory, something he hasn’t done since 2008.

Tony Stewart faces a similar situation. He’s tied with Hamlin for 10th in points, but unlike Hamlin, he doesn’t have a victory.

So if the Chase started immediately, Hamlin is in and Stewart is out.

But it doesn’t start immediately so Stewart has a chance to secure his place. Most likely he would prefer to do it with a victory. He hasn’t had a winless season in a career that dates back to 1999.

Other notables, such as Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle, pretty much have to rely on winning to make the Chase.

Bowyer is 12th in points, Kahne 14th and Biffle 15th. They are 110 points or more behind the leader. Bowyer is 28 points out of 10th place. He can certainly make up the difference but the odds are quickly stacking against him.

It’s the same for Kahne and Biffle, who are each 47 points out of the hunt.

For these three guys, a victory would be the tonic. The last time Bowyer went winless happened in 2009. He won two races last year.

Kahne has had two consecutive winless seasons. Between 2003-10, Biffle had only one year without a victory, 2009.

I don’t think there’s much doubt any of them can win this year. The question is can they do it in time to help them make the Chase?

They are not alone. It’s going to take a win for several others who rank 11-20th in points to make NASCAR’s “playoff.”

They include A.J. Allmendinger, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joey Logano, Paul Menard and Mark Martin.

Fact is there’s only one driver out of the top 10 who is assured a position in the Chase – for the time being, anyway.

That’s David Ragan, who won at Daytona on July 2 to earn the first victory of his career. He’s presently 13th in points.

He’s 46 points out of 10th place. That’s not insurmountable, just as it is for Bowyer, Kahne and Biffle, and I’m sure that, like the others, gaining positions is what he’d like to do.

But he’s the only one with the luxury of a victory.

As it stands right now, the only other driver who has a shot at the Chase is Brad Keselowski. He has a victory but, in 23rd place, ranks out of the top 20.

He’s going to have to scrap his way in. He’s 25 points behind 20th-place Martin, again certainly not an insurmountable margin. He has six races to do it.

The next half-dozen races are worthy of our attention. For some drivers it’s obviously going to take victory to make all the difference.

Can they win? Certainly. The 2011 season has already produced 13 different winners, including three who won for the first time.

Since NASCAR’s modern era began in 1972, the all-time record for most winners in a single season is 19 and the record for most first-time winners was five twice, in 2001 and 2002.

We’re on a pace to have 25 winners this year, including six who won for this first time in their careers.

I don’t know if that will happen, but the point is this season’s variety of winners would indicate that anything could happen over the next six events – and thus alter the starting field for the Chase.

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