-
Home
-
Latest Headlines
-
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Latest Headlines: NASCAR
-
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
-
Latest Headlines: Moto-Racing
-
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
JENSEN: Still A Long Way To Go
Nine races remain to determine the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion...
SPEED.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED)
Like it or not, most sporting events are decided by mistakes rather than by brilliant plays. The 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup probably will be the same, a competition ultimately settled by a critical error at crunch time.
In Sunday’s opening Chase round at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, there were lots and lots and lots of mistakes, some huge and others comparatively minor. Here are some of the most egregious errors:
• Jimmie Johnson’s pit crew didn’t get his right-front wheel tight on a pit stop, forcing him to make an extra pit stop. That dropped him off the lead lap and to a 25th-place finish.
• Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton both gambled on fuel mileage and lost, running out of gas at the end of the race and costing themselves a bunch of points.
• By his own admission, Kurt Busch tried to over-drive a car that wasn’t especially competitive. In the process, he caused a two cautions by making contact with other people.
• Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing crew never got the handle on his Toyota and he struggled all day.
• All three Roush Fenway Racing Fords had disappointing finishes.
• Kevin Harvick had a couple of bad pit stops and spent much of the race fussing with his team on the radio.
And this was just week No. 1 of the Chase. In short, the best drivers and teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series made a lot of mistakes in the clutch on Sunday. And if there is to be anything taken out of the first race, it’s that there’s likely to be a lot more mistakes along the way.
“I think that's just sort of what happens with the Chase,” said Jeff Gordon, who finished sixth in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I think everybody gets excited and the intensity builds up and it pushes guys to be a little bit more risky. But for us, we realize that we still have nine more races to go. I just don't think you can win it here this weekend. You've got to make sure that you get everything out of your car and your team and we did that today.”
Obviously, the day’s two big winners were the top-two finishers in the race, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin. Bowyer moved all the way up to second in points and Hamlin took a 10-point lead into New Hampshire, not one of his better tracks, and left with a 35-point margin.
That said, it’s still way too early in the Chase to draw any conclusions about who is likely to win and who isn’t. On the other hand, what might be an early indicator is how the Chase is likely to play out in terms of average finish.
In 2007, Gordon finished second in the Chase with an average finish of 5.1, compared with champion Johnson, who had average of about 5.0.
Conversely, in 2006, Johnson opened with a 39th-place finish at New Hampshire. He won the title that year because his closest challenger, Matt Kenseth, was 25th at New Hampshire, 19th at Talladega, 20th at Martinsville, 36th at Texas and 19th at Homestead. All told, 2006 runner-up Kenseth had an average Chase finish of 15.2.
Given what we saw at New Hampshire on Sunday, my gut tells me that whoever wins the Chase will, in fact, have at least two bad races, finishes of 20th or worse and that this Chase will look and feel a lot more like 2006 than 2007.
The likelihood of anyone posting huge numbers in the Chase as Johnson did in 2007, when he won four races and never finished lower than 14th in any race is minimal. No one so far has been consistent all season long and with wild cards like Dover, Talladega and Martinsville still to come, a lot of challenges and potential calamity is still ahead.
Stay tuned.
There still is no clear-cut favorite or even favorites in the Chase, and a lot of racing ahead.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
In Sunday’s opening Chase round at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, there were lots and lots and lots of mistakes, some huge and others comparatively minor. Here are some of the most egregious errors:
• Jimmie Johnson’s pit crew didn’t get his right-front wheel tight on a pit stop, forcing him to make an extra pit stop. That dropped him off the lead lap and to a 25th-place finish.
• Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton both gambled on fuel mileage and lost, running out of gas at the end of the race and costing themselves a bunch of points.
• By his own admission, Kurt Busch tried to over-drive a car that wasn’t especially competitive. In the process, he caused a two cautions by making contact with other people.
• Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing crew never got the handle on his Toyota and he struggled all day.
• All three Roush Fenway Racing Fords had disappointing finishes.
• Kevin Harvick had a couple of bad pit stops and spent much of the race fussing with his team on the radio.
And this was just week No. 1 of the Chase. In short, the best drivers and teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series made a lot of mistakes in the clutch on Sunday. And if there is to be anything taken out of the first race, it’s that there’s likely to be a lot more mistakes along the way.
“I think that's just sort of what happens with the Chase,” said Jeff Gordon, who finished sixth in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I think everybody gets excited and the intensity builds up and it pushes guys to be a little bit more risky. But for us, we realize that we still have nine more races to go. I just don't think you can win it here this weekend. You've got to make sure that you get everything out of your car and your team and we did that today.”
Obviously, the day’s two big winners were the top-two finishers in the race, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin. Bowyer moved all the way up to second in points and Hamlin took a 10-point lead into New Hampshire, not one of his better tracks, and left with a 35-point margin.
That said, it’s still way too early in the Chase to draw any conclusions about who is likely to win and who isn’t. On the other hand, what might be an early indicator is how the Chase is likely to play out in terms of average finish.
In 2007, Gordon finished second in the Chase with an average finish of 5.1, compared with champion Johnson, who had average of about 5.0.
Conversely, in 2006, Johnson opened with a 39th-place finish at New Hampshire. He won the title that year because his closest challenger, Matt Kenseth, was 25th at New Hampshire, 19th at Talladega, 20th at Martinsville, 36th at Texas and 19th at Homestead. All told, 2006 runner-up Kenseth had an average Chase finish of 15.2.
Given what we saw at New Hampshire on Sunday, my gut tells me that whoever wins the Chase will, in fact, have at least two bad races, finishes of 20th or worse and that this Chase will look and feel a lot more like 2006 than 2007.
The likelihood of anyone posting huge numbers in the Chase as Johnson did in 2007, when he won four races and never finished lower than 14th in any race is minimal. No one so far has been consistent all season long and with wild cards like Dover, Talladega and Martinsville still to come, a lot of challenges and potential calamity is still ahead.
Stay tuned.
There still is no clear-cut favorite or even favorites in the Chase, and a lot of racing ahead.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
Singer Chelsea Bain's Dad Loves Her Music, Doesn't Love Her Choice Of Clothing »
-
Mr. E Would Rather Watch Soap Operas & Teletubbies Than 4 Hours Of Single-File Racing (Video) »
-
Krash Kab Invades Darlington With Jimmy Spencer And Monica Palumbo (Video) »
-
Sebastian Vettel's Monaco GP Helmet Has A Nearly Naked Pinup Girl »
-
Last Lap: Despite Struggles, Danica Patrick Unlikely To Return To IndyCar »
-
NHRA Champ Antron Brown Will Try A Stock Car »
-
The Lovely MWR Girls Talk Beer Cooler Racing With 'Vodkatime' (Video) »
-
Charlotte TV Schedule: Coca-Cola 600 Weekend »
2013 All Star Race
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
CUP: Menards Signs Renewal With RCR
Multi-year partnership renewal was announced today... -
CUP: Man On A Mission
Denny Hamlin going all out in pursuit of a shot at the championship…… -
NNS: RCR Crew Penalties Upheld
Nelson Piquet Jr. was allegedly assaulted at Richmond International… -
CUP: Zippy Says Cars To Blame
Greg Zipadelli said the addition of a third car for Danica Patrick… -
CUP: Indy In Background For Patrick
Danica Patrick says she might run Indy 500 again but is focused on… -
CUP: Record Smashed At Charlotte
Denny Hamlin wins Coca-Cola 600 pole with speed of 195.624 mph…… -
CUP: Thursday Charlotte Notebook (Update 8)
Denny Hamlin won the pole Thursday night for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600… - More News
