Race teams jockeying for spot in Chase
The first half of the NASCAR racing season has come to a close, and the chase is on.
Eight races are left in which the 12 teams in the race for the championship will be determined. Last week I thought that the 12 teams were pretty much set, and only major failures would have to happen for other teams to move in.
After the Daytona race the same 12 teams are in, but after Dale Earnhardt’s crash and Jamie McMurray’s first-place finish, Earnhardt is only 49 points ahead of McMurray. Ryan Newman is only 61 points out of 12th place.
These are some of the drivers fighting for the 12th and final spot for the championship:
Points above the 13th position
9-K. Harvick +181
10-Truex +166
11-Bowyer +151
12-Earnhardt Jr. +49
Drivers and points out of 12th place
13-McMurray -49
14-Newman -61
15-Kurt Busch -121
16-Greg Biffle -204
Most of the remaining drivers are either out of the running completely, or are so far behind that they are not a threat at this time.
There are no Toyota teams threatening the championship, with Dave Blaney being the lead Toyota driver in 35th place, 843 points out of 12th. Now that Blaney is in the top 35, he is the only Toyota driver guaranteed a starting position. Blaney is also the only Toyota driver to capture a pole this year. We are now returning to tracks ran earlier in the season and maybe that will help the Toyota team get better results.
‘ We saw the last restrictor plate race using the old cars last week as the COT will be used for the restrictor plate race at Talladega later this year, and will be used in all races next year.
‘ So far this year there have been three first-time Cup winners: Mears, Truex Jr. and Montoya. Jeff Gordon holds a 277-point lead in the standings, and that is after a 100-point penalty for a rules infraction.
‘ A couple of more feuds have developed, both involving teammates. Tony Stewart has not won this year and the pressure is on. He has become more vocal as indicated last week in his altercation with teammate Denny Hamlin. Clearly Stewart was to blame in the incident, but blamed it all on Hamlin.
Kyle Bush is thinking that he is not being considered a Hendrick teammate any more, and sounded off about it last week. I see him possibly moving to another team before the end of the season, even though he is in the chase for the championship.