NASCAR’s ‘preseason’ is complete
With the spring Bristol Sprint Cup race in the books, the preseason is complete.
I call the first five races of the season the preseason because of the top 35 rule. For the first five races of the season, the owners’ points determine who is in the top 35. After the fifth race of the season, the results determine the top 35.
The top 35 rule determines who gets the automatic starting spots in a race, regardless of how they qualify. All other cars must qualify on speed to get into the race and are at a great disadvantage. Because of rain cancelling qualification, two races this year had the starting line-up set based on owners points. This hurt some drivers, most notably, Patrick Carpentier, as he is vying for Rookie of the Year, (ROTY). John Andretti also missed the Bristol race because of the rain-out.
I still don’t like the top 35 rule and think it should be done away with altogether. NASCAR has modified it some, but has failed to eliminate it. Because of the rule, Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith both were able to start in the Daytona 500 and the following four races, but both have dropped out because of poor finishes. Some fairly well known drivers, namely Kyle Petty, Dave Blaney and Jamie McMurray have also raced their way out of the top 35. Sam Hornish Jr. is the only driver who started the year as a Rookie of the Year candidate still in the top 35. He is in a precarious position, only 35th and four points ahead of McMurray.
This brings me to another bone to pick with the top 35 rule. Because of loopholes, team owners can swap the points of cars within their organization. At the beginning of the year, The Penske organization swapped the points of Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish. Kurt Busch had past Championship provisionals to fall back on if needed and it assured Hornish of being in the first five races of the season. With Hornish’s poor performance so far this year, and Busch in 10th place, the rumor has it that they will swap car numbers again. Busch still has past Champion provisionals to use if needed. Roush Fenway Racing and Petty Engineering can also swap points within their teams in order for McMurray and Kyle Petty to get guaranteed spots for the next few races. By allowing Roger Penske to do it at the start of the season, can NASCAR change the rules after five races? You bet they can! NASCAR is well known for changing rules in the middle of the stream.
After the first five races, the driver standings have a somewhat different look than last year’s results. Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon, (1st and 2nd last year) are out of the top 12. Remember, the top 12 are the drivers who race for the Championship in the final 10 races of the year. Statistics show that 76 percent of those in the top 12 after five races make it into the chase. So, if nine of the 12 make it in, there is only room for three. Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards are next in line. Who gets left out of the chase?
The two biggest movers in the standing so far this year are, Brian Vickers from 37th to 17th, and David Reutimann, from 39th to 26th. Reutimann moves over to the No. 44 car, replacing the retiring Dale Jarrett, and Michael McDowell takes over in Reutimann’s old ride. McDowell is now in the race for ROTY and as poorly as the rookies have run so far this year, he has a good chance of overtaking them.
The Cup series is taking the week off but the Nationwide series will be at the Nashville Speedway on Saturday. Seven Cup regulars will compete including Edwards, Bowyer, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. For the Sterling Marlin fans, he will drive the No. 1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet.
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