The next stop on the Nextel Cup schedule is Texas Motor Speedway
Guys, I’m just as giddy as when little Johnny stole a kiss from Sally in the backseat of her daddy’s car. The action heading into the last two races of the year is nothing short of spectacular. This year’s close competition in the new Chase for the Championship format has NASCAR president Mike Helton looking like the illegitimate son of Albert Einstein.
Week after week, the Chase has taken on a different face. At first we all thought Jeff Burton was going to get away and the Hendrick pilots were just watching. Now, with just two races to go, Jimmie Johnson has moved up from 10th after leaving New Hampshire to regain the lead he held for much of the year.
Next week Jimmie Johnson is expected to increase his lead over second place Matt Kenseth at Phoenix International Raceway. In 6 starts at Phoenix, Johnson has an average finish of 8th. Also expect the following drivers to do well next week:
Jeff Gordon – Average Finish 9th
Mark Martin – Average Finish 10th
Tony Stewart – Average finish 11th
Jeff Burton – Average Finish 12th
Hours for next week:
Nextel Cup: @Phoenix International Raceway.
11/10/06 – 03:10pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil Qualifying
11/11/06 – 12:05 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil Practice
11/12/06 – 01:30pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil
Busch Series: @Phoenix International Raceway.
11/10/06 – 04:00pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200 Practice
11/11/06 – 10:05 am NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200 Qualifying
11/11/06 – 1:40 PM NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200
Craftsman Truck Series: @Phoenix International Raceway. 09/11/06 – 17:30 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series Casino Arizona 150 Practice
10/11/06 – 10:15 am NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Casino Arizona 150 Qualifying
11/10/06 – 06:15 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Casino Arizona 150
Smoke heats up Texas!
It’s not a disgrace not to qualify for the Chase for the Championship. Well, that is if you win 3 of the last 8 races of the year. And that’s exactly what Tony Stewart has done this year.
Tony has dominated the last 6 races since Kansas, winning 3 and posting an average finish of 7th. Since Kansas, Stewart has led more laps than any other driver, and has been one of the best drivers since he began the Chase for the Championship despite not being a contender.
Using the same car with which he won in Atlanta, Tony smoked the field in Texas. Don’t expect the #20 team to change too much. Most likely they will give the same car a wash and wax and send it to Phoenix next week to try and do it 3 in a row. With nothing to lose but pride, Tony Stewart will continue to play in the last two races at Phoenix and Homestead. The average result of him in both tracks is tenth.
Jimmie Johnson regains the series lead
Jimmie Johnson has followed the pattern set by Matt Kenseth to help him pass Kenseth and lead the Nextel Cup Series points standings with just 2 races remaining. Kenseth earned the tag of Mr. Consistency by racing aggressive enough to finish in the top 10 instead of pushing his car to the limit to win races (if you want to see that, just look at his teammate Carl Edwards).
This is the same approach that Jimmie Johnson has taken in the last 5 races. In every race, with the exception of Talladega, where Johnson was prepared to settle for second until he was ripped apart by teammate Brian Vickers on the last lap, Johnson finished in the top 5. During those 5 races, Johnson had chances to fight for the win, but settled for a sure top-5 finish.
You can say that this is boring, right? Not quite! The points battle between Johnson and Kenseth is one of the closest in NASCAR history with only two races remaining. Only 17 points separate the two drivers. Those 17 points will keep you and me glued to your seat for the remaining two Sundays of the 2006 Nextel Cup season.
Dickies 500 Recap at Texas Motor Speedway
Tony Stewart spent most of his afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway watching the rest of the field of drivers through his rearview mirror. Stewart — and his car — were second only to the pace car in the Dickies 500. It seems the former champion has decided that since he’s a spectator at this year’s Chase for the Championship, he might as well watch it unfold from the best seat in the house, victory lane.
While Stewart stole the show in Texas, the championship contenders, for the most part, did well. Six of the top ten finishers were Chase drivers. Jimmie Johnson was the best of those six by finishing in second place and capturing the series points lead.
The other drivers in the championship behaved as follows:
1. (Leader) Jimmie Johnson is back in a familiar place, first, after finishing second in the Dickies 500. The championship leader had a strong car for much of the day, but not strong enough for Tony Stewart.
2. (-17 points) Matt Kenseth battled against adversity for most of the day. His car handled poorly throughout the race, even spinning late in the race trying to avoid Scot Riggs’ accident. But, showing championship bravery from him, Kenseth battled and fought to finish 12th and minimize the number of points awarded to Johnson.
3. (-78 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr showed his toughness yesterday. Throughout the day, Jr was sick and fought the urge to vomit out the side window. But Earnhardt Jr stayed strong, even after brushing the wall mid-race, and held on to finish in sixth place.
4. (-80 points) Denny Hamlin is still in the championship picture after finishing 10th at Texas. The rookie is showing a lot of poise and looks like he’ll be a contender for years to come.
5. (-105 points) Kevin Harvick bounced back from a finish last week in Atlanta and finished third at Texas. Kevin was trying to be the first NASCAR driver to sweep the Busch and Cup Series at Texas after winning the O’Reilly Challenge on Saturday.
6. (-157 points) Jeff Gordon is proving that a champion never gives up. Leaving Lowe’s Motor Speedway just three weeks ago, Gordon was in 10th place. Now, he sits in sixth with a long shot of winning the championship after finishing ninth at Texas.
7. (-146 points) Jeff Burton’s season is falling apart. The championship contender suffered another setback after he crashed early in the race. It took his team more than 30 minutes to repair the damage caused by the accident. Burton finished the race in 38th place; his second-place 38th or lower finish in the Chase.
8. (-233 points) Kyle Busch had his first brilliant day in this year’s Chase for the Championship. Busch finished fourth after bidding to take 2 tires at the final pit stop of the day.
9. (-253 points) Mark Martin can also go ahead and retire. It’s not that Mark no longer has the talent to compete, because he does. It’s just that it’s hard to watch one of NASCAR’s most beloved drivers get pummeled week after week in a series of unfortunate accidents caused by others. Yesterday Martin finished 22nd and earned it all!
10. (-290 points) Kasey Kahne is doing everything she can to win over all the NASCAR fans. Kahne clearly had second place because he even blew an engine with a few laps to go. He finished in 33rd place.