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Hendrick, Knaus Need To Know When To Let Go Of NASCAR Appeals Process

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 13, 2012 8:27 pm UTC No Comments

chad knaus jimmie johnson chandra and baby on pit road

Perhaps it’s time for Rick Hendrick to just let it go.

After losing today’s appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel, Hendrick will continue to pursue the overturning of NASCAR sanctions imposed against Jimmie Johnson’s team on opening day of Daytona 500 inspection. The infraction in question, unapproved C-posts that didn’t fit NASCAR’s template, cost Johnson’s team 25 points, crew chief Chad Knaus $100,000, and Knaus and car chief Ron Malec six weeks of track appearances.

Today, a three-person appeals board decided that those penalties were just. Hendrick, unsatisfied with the decision, will take the issue to the board’s chief appellate officer, once again deferring any adjustments to Johnson’s team in the process.

Now, Hendrick’s case, if entirely accurate, might suggest that NASCAR’s handling of the car was a bit off. Hendrick claims that the C-posts, which were taken at Daytona before going through tech, had passed through NASCAR inspection 16 times previously (four times in each restrictor plate race last year) without fail.

The only problem is, proving something like that makes NASCAR look pretty bad. And if Johnson, Knaus, and Hendrick ran unapproved pieces all year in 2011, it’s pretty unlikely that they’re going to get any sympathy from anyone.

Knaus, meanwhile, wouldn’t be a likely recipient of any leniency from the board, no matter the significance of the infraction. He’s frequently been suspended, particularly in Johnson’s peak years. In both 2006 and 2007, the team’s two first championship years, Knaus found himself suspended at one point or another. In fact, his history of “bending the rules” (or cheating, if you’d like) started before he even joined Hendrick; back in 2001, an unapproved window net on Stacy Compton’s car drew NASCAR’s ire for the first time, and Knaus has been “innovating” ever since.

That’s not the kind of reputation that you want to have going into a visit with the head honcho of appeals.

Granted, under the highly unlikely scenario that the penalty is completely overturned, Johnson’s road to the Chase becomes much easier. With -23 points coming out of Daytona, Johnson has successfully climbed back to 23rd in points through Las Vegas, but he would jump into a three-way tie for 13th if he gets the 25 points back. Six weeks with Knaus and Malec at the track would be six less weeks of (likely) working with Lance McGrew, whose results as a crew chief with multiple Hendrick drivers have been so-so.

But the odds are stacked against them.

Without Knaus, Johnson will have to climb back into the top part of the points without the crew chief he’s won most of his races with (remember, Knaus was suspended for the 2006 Daytona 500 win). He’ll be in a situation he hasn’t had to deal with since running Busch races in the early 2000s – working with an average crew chief. We’ll have an opportunity to see just how good of a driver Johnson is without his biggest aide.

Maybe that’s why Hendrick is pursuing this so much. Maybe he doesn’t have faith in his top team to fully climb out of the Daytona hole without Johnson and Knaus working together, especially not with Malec (who served as crew chief for the four races that Knaus missed in 2007) unavailable. Maybe the season is as good as over if this fails. Maybe Johnson will have to work so hard in the early part of the season just to get back into Chase contention that they’ll have nothing left in the tank for the Chase itself.

Maybe going all the way makes a little more sense than we thought.

Filed under: Hendrick Motorsports, jimmie johnson, NASCAR officials

Tagged with: Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports, jimmie johnson, Ron Malec

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Chase History: Texas Motor Speedway

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

November 6, 2011 12:15 pm UTC No Comments

Texas Motor Speedway promoter extraordinaire Eddie Gossage loves a good head-to-head battle, especially in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. That’s what he hopes for between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, the top two remaining championship contenders, in today’s Texas race.

Ideally, Gossage would love to see the points lead change hands today. It’ll make the race one of the most interesting ones in the Chase, but mostly it’ll help him sell even more tickets to this race in the future. And, if it happens again, it’ll firmly entrench Texas as perhaps the most pivotal race in the Chase.

Remember what happened last season. Denny Hamlin took the win in this race after leading 31 laps, inheriting the points lead in a 47-point swing from Jimmie Johnson, who finished ninth. That’s roughly an 11-point swing under this year’s point system, which would be good enough to give Stewart the lead if he did the same thing.

Then again, perhaps that wouldn’t be such a good omen. The only driver to take the title after winning at Texas was Johnson in 2007 since this race was established in 2005. Edwards took the checkers in 2008, only to finish second in points; Hamlin did the same thing last year. Edwards was too far back in the Chase to catch Johnson, though he would have won the championship under a non-Chase format. Meanwhile, Hamlin blew it the next week at Phoenix and gave the point lead right back.

Whoever wins today, though, Gossage probably hopes they’re leaving with the points lead. Stewart could do it easily; Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and even spring Texas race winner Matt Kenseth could do it with a bit of luck. Today should be a Texas-sized shootout, and Gossage is loving every second of it.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Denny Hamlin, jimmie johnson, Texas Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Denny Hamlin, jimmie johnson, Texas Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart

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Chase History: Martinsville Speedway

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

October 26, 2011 7:29 pm UTC No Comments

With the wild card race at Talladega Superspeedway now out of the way, the Sprint Cup Series now travels to the Martinsville Speedway for the seventh race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The two tracks couldn’t be more different, as we go from the two-car and pack racing common on high-banked superspeedways to the “rubbin’s racin’” mentality of a flat short track.

Chances are, one of three drivers will take the checkered flag this weekend – Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, or Denny Hamlin – but in a trying year for Hamlin, it seems unlikely that this will be the event to turn his Chase around. Johnson, on the other hand, seems more likely, having won Martinsville’s Chase race four times in five years between 2004 and 2008.

In fact, the 2006 win may have been the biggest turning point for Johnson in his first Chase title run. Johnson had finished second in the previous event at Charlotte, but was still seventh in points. But at Martinsville, Johnson scored his first win of the 2006 Chase, leapfrogging to third in points. In the same race, points leader Jeff Burton’s engine failure marked the beginning of the end of his title hopes, dropping him to fifth in points. (He would eventually finish seventh in the Chase.)

Last year, however, Martinsville proved more of a detriment for Johnson. He still finished fifth, but polesitter Hamlin took the lead on lap 471 of 500, for the first time since the start of the race, and took the victory. What was already a slim points lead shrunk even further, as Johnson’s 41 points on Hamlin before the race decreased to six. (Under the current points system, that’s about a one point lead.) Suddenly, the four-time defending champions appeared vulnerable; two weeks later, Hamlin held the points lead.

Martinsville, then, could prove a pivotal race for any driver who takes the victory. Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, or Tony Stewart could take the victory and close in on Carl Edwards, or Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, or even Johnson could use a win (plus some tough luck for the top four) to propel themselves back into the title fight.

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Denny Hamlin, jimmie johnson, Martinsville Speedway

Tagged with: Chase for the Cup, Denny Hamlin, jimmie johnson, Martinsville Speedway

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Chase History: Charlotte Motor Speedway

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

October 15, 2011 12:30 pm UTC No Comments

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: Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase for the Cup, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson

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Chase History: Dover International Speedway

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

September 28, 2011 1:05 pm UTC No Comments

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: AAA 400, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Denny Hamlin, Dover International Speedway, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart

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Chase History: Chicagoland Speedway

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

September 14, 2011 2:04 pm UTC No Comments

How’s it going, OPR readers? Long time no talk. Turns out life continued to get in my way of writing anything decent for the majority of this Sprint Cup season, but for the final 10 races of the year I’m back with something fresh and different – a little column on the history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup at each of this year’s 10 tracks.

But, of course, NASCAR can’t make anything easy for me, as the opening track on the schedule, the Chicagoland Speedway, has never actually hosted a Chase race. No matter. This week, we’ll start instead with how drivers have propelled themselves into the Chase with good runs at Chicagoland.

2007: After a busted fuel pump at Bristol and a late race caution at Phoenix robbed him of two sure-fire wins, Tony Stewart entered the second half of the Cup season solidly in the Chase, but without any wins to boost his fortunes. But a dominant performance at Chicago spurred on a run of three wins in four races, including his first career Brickyard 400 win. These three victories propelled Stewart to second in points and the third seed of the Chase that season.

2008: In his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch established himself as a tour de force on the Sprint Cup circuit, taking eight victories. Perhaps the most dominant came at Chicago, as he started from the pole, led 165 laps, and even beat leader and two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson at his own game, passing him on the final restart to take his seventh win of the year.

2009: Mark Martin had struggled with consistency all season, often going from inside the Chase to out of it and back again over the span of just two races. He had won in two of his previous eight starts entering the Chicago race weekend, but only had one other top-10 in that span, and was coming off two finishes of 35th or worse in his previous three races. After winning the LifeLock.com 400, however, he began a run of five finishes of seventh or better in the final seven races before the Chase, cementing his eligibility. His four wins also gave him the points lead.

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Chicagoland Speedway

Tagged with: Chase for the Cup, Chicagoland Speedway, jimmie johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart

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