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Sprint Cup
CUP: Three To Go, Three To Race
Chase contenders have generally positive records at final three speedways...
Watch Live! Streaming NASCAR Championship Contenders Press Conference Thursday, 1:00 pm ET. (Image: SPEED)
Three Sprint Cup races remaining, and three drivers in the hunt for the 2010 championship.
The Chase is scheduled to continue Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway (which perhaps now becomes the wild card in the championship run) before moving on to Phoenix International Raceway Nov. 14 and ending at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 21.
The big sigh of relief you heard Sunday afternoon was a collective one released by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick as they all escaped the tempest of Talladega Superspeedway with top-10 finishes.
Is there a favorite, based on results by Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick at the three remaining tracks? None of the three has won at all three venues, but all three have wins at at least one of the tracks. Perhaps most importantly, each of the three contenders has at least a decent top-five finish record at the venues, and top fives will be very important over the next three weeks.
Experience levels at the tracks are relatively even, although Hamlin, as the newest of the three, obviously has fewer starts than Johnson and Harvick. On the flip side, Hamlin has the most recent wins at Texas (April this year) and Homestead (last year’s Chase closer).
“All three races Kevin Harvick is really good at,” said team owner Richard Childress. “In the same sense, so is Denny and Jimmie both. Those are really good race tracks for all three teams.
“I think whoever can sit there and pull off some wins is going to be the team to win the championship. We have to give everything we got.”
Harvick, who has had a spectacularly consistent season, is looking for top fives over the next three weeks.
“If you’re not able to do that and be in contention to lead laps, you’re probably not going to win the championship,” he said. “You can’t be conservative. You can’t go there hoping for a top 10 because, as you’ve seen over the past few years, top fives and leading the laps is what it’s going to take over the next three weeks.”
It’s a different scenario this year for Johnson. He knows what it’s like to enjoy a relatively big point margin entering the twilight part of the season. Now, Hamlin (14 points back) and Harvick (38) are breathing down his neck.
“We need maximum points,” Johnson said. “Of course, it’s a little bit more forgiving or easy on your team and yourself with a big points lead. But we don’t have that this year. We’re going to have to race, and we’re ready for it.”
Texas is perhaps the worst of the three tracks for Harvick. He has no wins and three top fives at TMS and has led only four laps there. Johnson and Hamlin own victories at TMS, and Johnson is batting .500 in top 10s (seven in 14 races).
Johnson will be the clear favorite at Phoenix, where he has won the past three Chase races and where he has nine top fives in 14 races. Harvick has won twice at PIR, while Hamlin is winless but has five top 10s in 10 races.
Hamlin is the only one of the contenders with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Homestead statistics don’t give a clear view, however, before Johnson has rolled into that track in recent years not exactly needing a remarkable performance to take home the championship.
This year, he might.
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.
The Chase is scheduled to continue Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway (which perhaps now becomes the wild card in the championship run) before moving on to Phoenix International Raceway Nov. 14 and ending at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 21.
The big sigh of relief you heard Sunday afternoon was a collective one released by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick as they all escaped the tempest of Talladega Superspeedway with top-10 finishes.
Is there a favorite, based on results by Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick at the three remaining tracks? None of the three has won at all three venues, but all three have wins at at least one of the tracks. Perhaps most importantly, each of the three contenders has at least a decent top-five finish record at the venues, and top fives will be very important over the next three weeks.
Experience levels at the tracks are relatively even, although Hamlin, as the newest of the three, obviously has fewer starts than Johnson and Harvick. On the flip side, Hamlin has the most recent wins at Texas (April this year) and Homestead (last year’s Chase closer).
“All three races Kevin Harvick is really good at,” said team owner Richard Childress. “In the same sense, so is Denny and Jimmie both. Those are really good race tracks for all three teams.
“I think whoever can sit there and pull off some wins is going to be the team to win the championship. We have to give everything we got.”
Harvick, who has had a spectacularly consistent season, is looking for top fives over the next three weeks.
“If you’re not able to do that and be in contention to lead laps, you’re probably not going to win the championship,” he said. “You can’t be conservative. You can’t go there hoping for a top 10 because, as you’ve seen over the past few years, top fives and leading the laps is what it’s going to take over the next three weeks.”
It’s a different scenario this year for Johnson. He knows what it’s like to enjoy a relatively big point margin entering the twilight part of the season. Now, Hamlin (14 points back) and Harvick (38) are breathing down his neck.
“We need maximum points,” Johnson said. “Of course, it’s a little bit more forgiving or easy on your team and yourself with a big points lead. But we don’t have that this year. We’re going to have to race, and we’re ready for it.”
Texas is perhaps the worst of the three tracks for Harvick. He has no wins and three top fives at TMS and has led only four laps there. Johnson and Hamlin own victories at TMS, and Johnson is batting .500 in top 10s (seven in 14 races).
Johnson will be the clear favorite at Phoenix, where he has won the past three Chase races and where he has nine top fives in 14 races. Harvick has won twice at PIR, while Hamlin is winless but has five top 10s in 10 races.
Hamlin is the only one of the contenders with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Homestead statistics don’t give a clear view, however, before Johnson has rolled into that track in recent years not exactly needing a remarkable performance to take home the championship.
This year, he might.
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.
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