There is nothing like the sound of an engine roaring past you during a NASCAR race. Now image the roar of ten engines in the narrow passes between the tall buildings of New York City. This is the 1.5 mile "victory lap" through Times Square, a customary event which helps wrap up the NASCAR season. As the 2007 NASCAR season officially winds down with the end of the season celebrations in New York, a new question is being asked, and strongly considered: Should NASCAR move the Champions Week Celebrations from New York City to Las Vegas? In a time when NASCAR is dealing with lower race attendance and lower TV ratings, there is a debate on whether having the celebrations in New York really makes sense for NASCAR.
NASCAR has announced the rookies of the year awards for its three national series. Juan Pablo Montoya snagged the top spot in the Nextel Cup Series, while David Ragan won the honor in the Busch Series and Willie Allen won in the Craftsman Truck Series. The battle for all three rookie of the year honors were close, with no more than 27 points separating drivers in any of the three series. In the truck series, the margin was as low as 8 points between rookie contenders.
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Matt Kenseth won the Ford 400, but Jimmie Johnson has won the 2007 Nextel Cup Championship. The race provided excellent racing, and drivers racing for the win as they had nothing to loose, and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson battling for the season championship. Jeff Gordon, who appeared to have the best season of his life, will end 2007 second in the points standings. Appropriately, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth did a side by side burnout at the end of the race.
Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 was the straw that broke Jeff Gordon's back. In a season where Jeff Gordon dominated the headlines, his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, has all but locked in his second straight Nextel Cup Championship. Gordon ran well the entire race, but Jimmie Johnson won his fourth straight race, and ultimately assured himself the Championship. Phoenix was not just the Hendrick Motorsports show, as other drivers brought some excitement to the race.
This week, the Chase brings NASCAR to Phoenix for the Checker Auto Parts 500. The race will also be the final for the freshman year of the Car of Tomorrow, which becomes the Car of Today in 2008. With two races to go in the 2007 NASCAR season, only two drivers, teammates, have a chance to win the Nextel Cup Championship. Jimmie Johnson is coming off his third win in a row, making nine total victories this season. Jeff Gordon is the man that no one doubted would win the Championship this year, and though second in the standings, Gordon still has the oppertunity to win the Chase. With only thirty points seperating them, fans can be sure that there is going to be door to door racing for the next two races between the two Chase drivers. Fans can also count on the Hendrick duo being at the front. Hendrick Motorsports has won eight of the fifteen races in the new car. Despite Hendrick dominance, you can never count out any of the other drivers. One thing to be wary of are the qualifying efforts of Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve. These two former open will drivers will try to make the race. As such, here drivers to look for in the Checker Auto Parts 500 on Sunday:
In recent years, there has been an influx of Cup drivers into the Busch Series (which will become the Nationwide Series in 2008). These Drivers have been deemed "Buschwackers", as they are a dominant force on the track for the development series. There in lies the problem, the series is a developmental series, not a series for Cup drivers to test at a track prior to a Cup race. The last two champions have been drivers pulling double duty in Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards. As a result of recent fan and team complaints, NASCAR is looking into this problem, and believes that it has some preliminary solutions to the issue.
The day began with three potential NASCAR Nextel Cup Champions. The day ended with a new points leader and two teammates fighting for the title this season. Jimmie Johnson won the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, his eight victory this season. This win is also the third consecutive win for the #48. Needless to say, this makes Johnson the favorite to win the Chase this year.
It took a little longer than he would have liked, but Carl Edwards finally clinched the 2007 Busch Series Championship with an eleventh place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, while last year's Busch Champion, Kevin Harvick, wins the O'Reilly Challenge, his sixth Busch Series race victory this year. In classic Carl Edwards manner, he made sure to give credit where it was due, and attributed his championship to his crew members and his crew chief. Martin Truex Jr. knows how to deal with bad situations. Less than a week after he was caught up in a wreck with Denny Hamlin late in the race, Truex Jr. captures the pole for the Dickies 500. This is the very first pole for Truex Jr. in his Nextel Cup Career. Truex Jr. was one of the late qualifiers, and everyone knew since practice that he and Jeff Gordon, who sits in the outside pole, were the cars to beat. The eighth race in the Chase for the Championship will be one of the closest in terms of those who still have a chance to win. Jeff Gordon and teammate Jimmie Johnson are fighting for the top spot in the standings. Gordon starts second on Sunday, while Jimmie Johnson starts eighth. Clint Bowyer, who is the only driver with a relative chance to catch up to the top two, starts twenty-nineth. This week will not be the Jimmie and Jeff show. As such, here are the drivers to watch this weekend:
