Browse > Home /

Chase History: Charlotte Motor Speedway

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

October 15, 2011 12:30 pm UTC No Comments

Jimmie Johnson pit lane New Hampshire

Jimmie Johnson pit lane New Hampshire

The meat and potatoes of the Chase for the Sprint Cup has always consisted of 1.5-mile tri-ovals, of which Charlotte Motor Speedway has always been the standard. The host of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, its 500-mile race in October has always been an important part of the Chase. This year, it will mark the halfway point in the playoffs.

The track used to be called Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and while that was due to a contract between the hardware store and the track, it might as well have been the case because Lowe’s driver Jimmie Johnson owned it in the early years of the Chase. Johnson won the first two Chase races at Charlotte, in 2004 and 2005, and used a win there in 2009 to pull away from Mark Martin in that year’s title hunt.

But Johnson isn’t the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to put on a show at Charlotte. Jeff Gordon scored his first career win in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600, but it was in 2007 when Gordon took a Chase victory after inheriting the lead from Ryan Newman, who crashed in the race’s final laps. Gordon must be cursing the format, though; while he still led the Chase points by 68 over Johnson after that race, he would’ve had almost a 500 point lead under the old system.

Last year’s winner wasn’t a Chase driver, but his ability to win directly influenced the structure of the Chase this year. By taking last year’s Bank of America 500, Jamie McMurray scored wins at the three most prominent tracks on the NASCAR schedule – Daytona, Indianapolis, and Charlotte. It was in response to this that NASCAR set aside the final two Chase spots for “wild card” drivers – the two drivers with the most wins between 11th and 20th in points. (McMurray was 14th after Richmond and would have made it in under this system.)

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, Lowes Motor Speedway 

Tagged with: , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Chase History: Kansas Speedway

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

October 8, 2011 12:00 pm UTC No Comments

#14 Tony Stewart turn 2 Michigan International Speedway heisler sum 11

Can Tony Stewart reclaim the Sprint Cup points lead by taking his third career Kansas win? (Photo: Beth Heisler)

2011 marks the first season that Kansas Speedway has ever hosted two races at NASCAR’s highest level, but its fall race has been a part of the Chase for the Sprint Cup since the format’s inception. All but twice, its winner has been a Chase driver; in one of the exceptions, the winner, Tony Stewart, was the top non-Chase driver on the season.

Stewart, in fact, is one of only three drivers to score two wins at the track, tied for the all-time lead. His victories came in 2006, the season where he just missed the Chase, and 2009, his fourth win in his first season driving for his own team. With eight top-10s in his 11 starts, he has an average finish of 11.9 that’s good for fifth among active drivers.

But the two other drivers to win multiple races have done a bit better. He isn’t in this year’s Chase, but Greg Biffle is the defending race winner (as well as the 2007 winner, under controversial circumstances) and will start from the pole on Sunday. In five of his 10 Kansas starts, he’s led 37 laps or more; in seven of 10, he’s come home with at least a top five finish.

The gold standard, however, is Jeff Gordon, who has nine top-10s in 11 Kansas starts and lays down a consistent run every time he shows up. Gordon won the first two Kansas races, in 2001 and 2002, the first coming on the way to his fourth career championship. In each of his past five starts, he’s finished fifth or better, giving Stewart a run for his money in the 2009 race. Another strong Kansas run could be just what he needs to pull back into the Chase hunt after the first three races have left him ninth in points.

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kansas Speedway, Tony Stewart 

Tagged with: , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Chase History: Dover International Speedway

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

September 28, 2011 1:05 pm UTC No Comments

Chad Knaus Jimmie Johnson Chandra and daughter on pit road Dover 10 bure

Chad Knaus Jimmie Johnson Chandra and daughter on pit road Dover 10 bure

One of the toughest tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule, the concrete Dover International Speedway – “The Monster Mile” – hosts the third round of this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, the AAA 400, this weekend. Right now, Tony Stewart is the points leader, holding a seven-marker advantage over second-place Kevin Harvick after scoring wins in both Chase races so far.

But when it comes to Dover, Stewart hasn’t won since sweeping the track in 2000. He came close in the spring 2009 race, only to be edged for the lead by Jimmie Johnson with three laps to go. His average finish at Dover in the seven Chase races is a so-so 15.3, but the Chase isn’t about solid points finishes, it’s about winning.

If recent history is to be trusted, in fact, this should be the track at which Johnson breaks out. Johnson, like Stewart, can boast a Dover sweep in the distant past (2002), but unlike Stewart, has tasted victory more recently. He’s won the past two fall Dover races (both from pole) and three of the past five at the track overall. He used last year’s victory to set him up to take the points lead from Denny Hamlin the next weekend at Kansas. The two would continue to swap the lead throughout the Chase, in one of the best battles in the format’s history.

Johnson’s career average finish of 9.6 is second best of all active Cup drivers, with only Carl Edwards‘ 7.6 a superior mark. Edwards only has one career win at Dover, however, which came during the 2007 season. The win, inherited when dominant teammate Matt Kenseth blew an engine, put Edwards within 28 points of leader Jeff Gordon; however, a late-race crash at Kansas put a major dent in his title hopes, and he wouldn’t win again that year.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Dover International Speedway, jimmie johnson, Tony Stewart 

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2011 STP 400

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

June 2, 2011 2:25 pm UTC No Comments

You know, it’s kind of bitterly ironic that I’m writing a preview for a NASCAR race in Kansas just a day after tornadoes pummeled my home state of Massachusetts. The amount of Wizard of Oz jokes that I had to put up with yesterday was simply unbearable, let me tell you. And now that the Sprint Cup Series is officially in Kansas, running its first summer race there, I’m sure that the jokes are going to go even further.

Come on, tell me that the teams are clicking their heels together and saying “there’s no place like home” after being in Charlotte for two weeks. Tell me that crew chiefs are singing “If I Only Had a Brain” after the Coca-Cola 600 became a fuel mileage race. Really, I dare you. Suck the last remaining fun I can still make out of punnery… oh, sorry, I’m just bitter right now, don’t mind me. We’ve got a race to talk about.

Kansas is one of those tracks that’s recent enough of an addition to the NASCAR schedule that some drivers have competed in all of its races, but old enough that there’s still a solid historical base with which to work as far as making predictions goes. And so:

Greg Biffle: In the past seven races at Kansas, Da Biff has finished worse than third only once. That was a 12th-place finish, back in 2006. The next year, he won the track’s only race. We’ll see if his strong showings every October will translate to June as well.

Jeff Gordon: The guy who won the first two races at Kansas has been usurped as king of the track by Biffle, but he’s still a threat every time the Sprint Cup Series swings through. Since a fuel pump gave out and ruined his 2006 race, he’s finished in the top five every time he’s raced at the track. This race could provide the perfect opportunity to regain some of that momentum lost after winning the season’s second race at Phoenix. Doesn’t that seem like an eternity ago?

A.J. Allmendinger: God, this kid is overdue for his first career win, isn’t he? But karma is on his side this week, as he drives an STP-sponsored car for Richard Petty in a race sponsored by STP. By average finish, Kansas is the ‘Dinger’s third best track, with an average run of 12.0; that’s also fifth best of active Sprint Cup drivers, topping such stars as Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kansas Speedway, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming 

Tagged with: , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Matt Kenseth Can Still Get The Job Done

User Avatar

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

April 11, 2011 8:30 am UTC 1 Comment

#17 Matt Kenseth garage Michigan International Speedway spr heisler 10

#17 Matt Kenseth garage Michigan International Speedway spr heisler 10

Matt Kenseth put on a dominating performance at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night.

Much has been made of recent winless streaks by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, to name a few. Yet little has been made of Kenseth’s winless streak, because the 2003 Champ stays under the radar and doesn’t get written about by the media. After winning Daytona and Fontana to start the 2009 season, Kenseth has gone through a couple crew chiefs before pairing up with old hand Jimmy Fennig and the results are starting to show. Kenseth is tied for third in points at the moment and even won a pole this season, a feat for him.

Matt Kenseth came into the sport under the mentorship of Mark Martin and the two seem more and more similar every year. Kenseth is now a 10-year veteran and one of the most-respected drivers in the garage. He’s had disagreements with drivers in his younger days but those rough edges have long been polished. Kenseth is still competing and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his son, Ross Kenseth, join the Roush stable when he turns 18 to bring us the latest father-son pairing in NASCAR.

What Kenseth lacks in flash he makes up for in tenacity. Before Kevin Harvick took the label Kenseth was often NASCAR’s best closer. How many people remember Kenseth finished 5th in the final points standings last year? Exactly. We haven’t seen the last of the fast Crown Royal #17 in victory lane this year.

Filed under: Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR, Roush Racing, Texas Motor Speedway 

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2011 Goody’s Fast Relief 500

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

March 30, 2011 1:46 pm UTC No Comments

That’s right – Fantasy Pick’Em is back.

After getting my butt thoroughly kicked by school for the past six weeks – you know, to perfectly coincide with racing season – I’m feeling a bit like Rocky at the end of every Rocky movie – brains turned to mush, black eyes, bruises everywhere, generally in pain. But I like to think I’ve fought through the worst, and after making some savvy picks early in the season (and yes, I did call Trevor Bayne to win the Daytona 500), I’m back to ruin my reputation and good luck for the rest of the year.

So, three picks at Martinsville – but who?

Jeff Gordon: I saw Bob Pockrass make this pick on Twitter earlier today, saying he liked the combination of Gordon and Alan Gustafson at Martinsville. I can’t say I disagree. You only need look at the statistics to realize that Gordon was ripping off wins at Martinsville before Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin started taking over at the track. Martinsville is a track where both driver and crew chief need to effectively manage the car, and I think Gustafson is as trustworthy as any crew chief in that department.

Denny Hamlin: After the engine woes at Joe Gibbs Racing over the past few weeks, you’d think this would be a counter-intuitive pick. I mean, the problem hasn’t been solved yet, and it won’t be considered as much until we stop seeing engine failures across the board. But Hamlin is a Virginia native and a Martinsville standout, and the folks at JGR are too good to stay down for long. This could very easily be the weekend where they begin to solve the problem.

Joey Logano: Wait, two Gibbs cars? Am I crazy? Maybe a little. (Remember. College. No sleep. Bad dieting. So on and so forth.) But consider the following – of active drivers at Martinsville, Logano has the fourth-best average finish, a 13.0, and a driver rating of 81.0, better than the ratings of four of the current top 12 drivers in points. And at 31st in owners points, the No. 20 team can’t afford to spend much more time in the back of the pack.

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming 

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

« Previous Articles
Next Page »

March Madness

Play the Rattles from the Catch Can contest

ON PIT ROW at RaceTalkRadio
Backstretch Boys: 30% Off New CD!
Jayski's: See what the buzz is about.

We've got your game.

Advertisement