To all the nay sayers who argued that the Chase is nothing more than a sham, and a waste of time, the joke's on you. Never in anyone's wildest dreams would you have such a close Chase between the top two. To top it off, those top two are teammates. Jeff Gordon holds a nine point lead over teammate Jimmie Johnson with just three races to go in the Chase. The nine point difference is the closest in the history of the Chase, with three races to go. This week, the Chase takes the points leaders to Texas Motor Speedway, a track where neither driver has a victory. Things are heating up in, and no one is sure about who is going to get this Championship.
It all began with Greg Biffle. At the start of the race, he was complaining that his engine was going away, and that he felt he was going to blow up. Then, on lap 39, the #22 CAT Toyota of Dave Blaney loses power. 1 lap into the restart, Kurt Busch radio's his team indicating that his car "hiccupped" on the back stretch. On lap 267, Ryan Newman goes behind the wall because of an engine problem. Then the big one. On lap 322, Hamlin loses power as well, causing a major wreck on the restart. All these problems appear to be coming from the same source: water in the fuel. NASCAR and Sunoco are investigating the problems, but at this point they cannot pinpoint the source of the water.
In what was one of the most painful races to watch, David Reutimann won the Sam's Town 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Reutimann domiated the race leading the most laps, though it was hard to pass him because he had a strong car and caution flags kept coming out, especially when anyone was trying to make a run for the lead. Reutimann's win marks the second win for Toyota in the NASCAR Busch Series. More importantly, Reutimann's win and the many cautions forced Carl Edwards to wait another week to clinch his Busch Series Championship.
Kurt Busch was the third qualifier, and landed the pole. He pulled a strong time of 28.811 seconds around the mile and a half Atlanta Motor Speedway. For a period of time this season, Busch was dominating in the series, and looked like he had the potential to win another Championshio. Little did Busch know that 33 cars later, Greg Biffle would come and shatter his hopes of a pole with a lap time of 28.807 seconds. The former teammates will be on the front row on Sunday and have potential to dominate the race. But you cannot count out the usual suspects who have the potential to dominate and win the race. Here are my picks for the Pep Boys Auto 500:
After the race on Sunday night, Matt Kenseth was doing an interview with Speed TV, when teammate Carl Edwards interrupts, pushes Kenseth back a few feet, and the men begin to argue, all while Speed is recording. The Speed crew indicated that unfriendly words were spoken, and at one point, Carl Edwards prepares to (jokingly?) punch Kenseth. This could have escalated to something worse than the situation already is. Just take a look at the video (courtesy of Speed TV) which discusses and shows the altercation.
It was yet another great race at Martinsville Speedway, and Jimmie Johnson wins for the 7th time this season. The race, like most on short tracks, provided for exciting side by side racing, and lots of bumping and banging. There wasn't one car that didn't come off the track without at least tire marks on the side. There were tight quarters both on the track and in the pits, with little space for mistake. To top it off, many of the drivers were having trouble with their brakes overheating. When the brakes overheat, there is nothing a driver can do. This race was the "Hendrick Motorsports Show". Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson dominated the race; Gordon dominating the beginning, and Johnson dominating the end.
Last year, Mark Martin decided that he no longer had the energy to run a full NASCAR Cup season. Martin felt that he wanted to spend more time with his family at home. Martin had to make the decision that every race car driver fears. Starting the 2007 season, Mark Martin was beginning his retirement. Luckily for Martin, he got to move into it gradually and on his terms. Martin moved to Ginn racing, which was going to allow him to run a partial season. Little did Martin know, he would have the best beginning to his season this year.
(Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
It was definitely another one of the chase races this weekend at Lowes Motor Speedway, where Jeff Gordon managed to beat all the odds and win the 5th race in the chase for the championship. Gordon had been fighting a slump at Lowes, where he had not finished the last 5 races. For a period of time, near the end of the race, it seemed as if Gordon would not be able to finish. With a few laps to go, Gordon was complaining that his engine was sputtering, and thought that he may have been out of gas. Fortunate for him, he was not out of gas, and was able to hold off Clint Bowyer for the win.
As we enter the 5th week in the Nextel Cup Chase, all but 6 drivers have been virtually eliminated from the Chase. Even then, Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick have to rely on the top 4 having bad days and have to place in a top 5 for every race left in the Chase. It is obvious that this is not impossible, since Jimmie Johnson did it last year, but it is definitely not probable. The competition will be high, and drivers will not be holding anything back like they did last week at Talledega. The situation is rising where it is do or die, and Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick have the most pressure to do so, as they can be eliminated from the Chase this week. If things continue as they are, this Chase for the Championship is going to come down to two teammates. Johnson is the defending champion, but Jeff Gordon has had one of the best seasons of his life, and the only logical way to end it is with a series championship. But there are still races to be raced, and as such, here are the drivers to look for at the Bank of America 500:
