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Chase History: Texas Motor Speedway

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 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.

November 6, 2011 12:15 pm CST 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, Texas Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart, jimmie johnson

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, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

October 26, 2011 7:29 pm CDT 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, Martinsville Speedway, jimmie johnson

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, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

October 15, 2011 12:30 pm CDT 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, Lowes Motor Speedway, jimmie johnson

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, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

September 28, 2011 1:05 pm CDT 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, Tony Stewart, jimmie johnson

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, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

September 14, 2011 2:04 pm CDT 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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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2011 FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

May 13, 2011 10:46 am CDT No Comments

martin truex jr david reutimann qualifying new hampshire

Ah, Dover. The track known colloquially as the “Monster Mile” is always a fun time, and given how much fun we had last week at Darlington, it won’t be a shock if this weekend’s race, the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks, will be even more exciting.

Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are the new power feud in the sport, after last week’s pit road incident. Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya still hate each other, if it’s been slightly de-emphasized. Dover is the last chance for top drivers without All-Star eligibility - and yes, that includes Dale Earnhardt Jr. - to earn their way into the event without having to either rely on a last-chance victory in the Sprint Showdown or fan vote.

So let’s make this interesting. My lead pick this week is going to be a driver that hasn’t won in a while. Ready?

Martin Truex Jr.: With Regan Smith taking the surprise victory at Darlington, I might as well go out on a limb and say that lightning can indeed strike twice. Dover is kind of a home track for the New Jersey native, and the site of his lone Sprint Cup win, back in 2007 when Dale Earnhardt Inc. was still a power player in the garage. He’s somewhat struggled at the track since, at least in the finishing order, but starts of first and third last year prove that he’s fast.

Carl Edwards: I could just as easily pick Jimmie Johnson as my alternate, with his six wins at Dover (three of the past four, too) to Edwards’ one. In fact, I probably should. But I won’t. Why? Simple - consistency. When you’re faced with two drivers who perform so well at this track, you might as well go with the guy with the slight edge in consistency, and that’s Edwards. Since 2006, Edwards has only finished outside of the top 10 two times, to Johnson’s four. He just edges Johnson in points scored at the track, 1561 to 1539, in that time frame. You can pick either, but I’m going with Edwards.

Joey Logano: Oh hi, dark horse. Logano has underperformed this year, never cracking the top 20 in points or a single-digit finishing position, but maybe Dover will help him turn it around. Last year he scored finishes of 10th and third in the two Dover races, spending 724 out of 800 laps in the top 10. He also won both Nationwide poles and finished second both times that series took on the Monster Mile in 2010. Even if he hasn’t won at the track yet in either series, he clearly knows how to run up front here.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dover International Speedway, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR Fantasy Gaming

Tagged with: Carl Edwards, Dover International Speedway, Fantasy Pick'Em, FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks, jimmie johnson, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Regan Smith

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