CUP: A Crazy Chase As Texas Looms

Sprint Cup

CUP: A Crazy Chase As Texas Looms

The top three drivers in the standings are separated by just 38 points...

Mike Hembree | Posted November 04, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Denny Hamlin rumbles around Texas Motor Speedway this past April en route to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win at the 1.5-mile track. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

It is perhaps appropriate that country music legend Willie Nelson is performing on stage prior to Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Crazy,” one of Nelson’s biggest hits, might be a good theme song for the eighth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

In the seven-year history of the Chase format, the top three drivers in the running for the championship have never been closer than Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick entering Sunday’s 500-miler. Johnson leads Hamlin by 14 and Harvick by 38, and, depending on Sunday’s events, any one of the three could leave the Lone Star State with the point lead.

That’s a little bit crazy, particularly considering some of the point runaways in the Jimmie Johnson Era.

If there’s a favorite among the three Sunday, it might be Johnson. He has 10 top-10 finishes in 14 races at TMS, and half of those finishes have been in the top five. He owns one Texas win.

Hamlin, however, can put in a claim for Texas strength. He won the April race at the track, finishing directly in front of none other than Johnson.

Harvick is winless in 15 races at TMS but has seven top-10s. His negative in Fort Worth is little time at the front. He has led only four laps at the track.

Hamlin, who opened this season taking direct aim on the championship, said he’s ready for the challenge of the closing weeks.

“I’ve really felt like over the last couple years I’ve had potential to run with the 48 [Johnson] and whoever might be the championship contender,” Hamlin said. “I feel like we’ve had these opportunities; it’s just this has been the first year that we’ve put it all together.

“We’ve put the expectations out and then been able to succeed in achieving them. We’ve done that this year better than any other year. We’ve closed at the end of races better than we ever have.”

Johnson said having two challengers breathing down his neck entering the closing weeks of the championship chase doesn’t mean major changes in the dynamics.

Denny Hamlin celebrates one of his wins last year at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

“For me, we’ve always really approached each race with the mentality that we needed to win,” he said. “You can go back to the Texas race a few years back where I worked hard to get by Matt [Kenseth]. We’ve been able to win at Phoenix. Our Homestead performance has been getting better and better each year. I felt last year we had a chance to run with the lead group of guys and didn’t need to, played it smart.”

There is no holding back the rest of the way, Johnson said.

“We need to be as competitive and as fast as we can possibly be at this point,” he said. “We’re going to three tracks that are good for all three competitors. … You’re going to have to run in the top five to stay in the game, then, obviously, take advantage of things and win if you can.

“Ten extra points from first to second are going to be important. Leading laps, leading the most laps, you’re going to have to be on your 'A' game from here on out.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

CUP: Thursday Charlotte Notebook (Update 6)
Practice for the Coca-Cola 600 and History 300 Nationwide Series…
CUP: Coca-Cola 600 – The Longest Day/Night
Speed, endurance, patience all part of the formula for Sunday’s…
CUP: Johnson Destroys Another Format
For a record fourth time, Jimmie Johnson rolls home first in Sprint…