Just when you thought Jeff Burton was about to run off with the Nextel Cup Championship, Talladega happened. The surprisingly eventless UAW-Ford 500 turned into a classic restrictor plate wreck-fest with 50 laps remaining. As a result, the standings in the Chase for the Championship heading into next week's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway have tightened making next week's race in Charlotte a can't miss!
Of all current drivers with 2 or more career starts at Charlotte, Carl Edwards has had the most success. In 3 starts, Edwards has an average finish of 5th.
Also expect the following drivers to do well next week:
Jimmie Johnson - Average Finish 6th
Denny Hamlin - Average Finish 8th
Bobby Labonte - Average Finish 13th
Jamie McMurray - Average Finish 13th
Next Week's Schedule:
Nextel Cup: @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
10/12/06 - 07:10am NASCAR Nextel Cup Bank of America 500 Qualifying
10/13/06 - 04:05pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Bank of America 500 Practice
10/14/06 - 07:10pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Bank of America 500
Busch Series: @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
10/12/06 - 08:40pm NASCAR Busch Series Dollar General 300 Practice
10/13/06 - 05:05pm NASCAR Busch Series Dollar General 300 Qualifying
10/13/06 - 08:10pm NASCAR Busch Series Dollar General 300
Craftsman Truck Series off until 10/21/06 at Martinsville Speedway The Drama is Building at Hendrick MotorsportsAll of you drama queens out there who crash Google with searches such as, "Kasey Kahne + girlfriend" and "Dale Earnhardt Jr wife?" must be loving the drama on display by the teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. As many of you already know, Brian Vickers is leaving HMS at the end of the season to join Toyota in their NASCAR Nextel Cup debut next year. To date, the planned move has not exactly been the smoothest.
Already, Brian Vickers has been blocked from any team and organizational meetings for the rest of the season. After yesterday, I'll be surprised if Brian is even allowed back onto the campus of HMS. On the last lap of the UAW-Ford 500, Vickers turned teammate Jimmie Johnson into the leader,  Jeff Gordon's Championship Hopes DashedIf you missed the first 137 laps of yesterday's UAW-Ford 500, don't worry. The action didn't heat up until lap 137 when an 11 car melee took out Chase for the Championship driver Jeff Gordon. Gordon's car took the brunt of the collision and was rendered in-operable for the balance of the race. As a result, Gordon finished 36; his second consecutive 30+ finish in the Chase for the Championship.
Just a few races ago, it looked as if Gordon was back into his championship form and ready to win his record 5th title. However, fuel pump issues last week at Kansas and a bad case of the restrictor plate blues yesterday have left Gordon in 7th place in the standings and 147 points out of first. His hopes of winning the 2006 title are about as good as Tony Stewart's or anyone else who failed to qualify for the Chase.
Do not, however, count Gordon out. While it's highly improbably that he could win the Chase, there is a good chance you will see his face in victory lane in the upcoming races. The remaining tracks on the schedule have been some of Gordon's favorites. And no matter what you've heard in the past several years, Gordon has not lost his competitive edge! UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway RecapA race at Talladega Superspeedway is exactly what this year's Chase for the Championship needed! After last week's Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway, the drivers in the Chase were beginning to segregate themselves. However, nothing blocks segregation more than a good 'ole restrictor plate race where anything could happen.
Again, there were only 4 Chase drivers who finished in the top 10. Surprisingly, buddies Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch led the way finishing in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The other drivers faired as follows:
1. (Leader) Jeff Burton had one of his typical finishes at Talladega, 27th. The current point’s leader has never faired that well at Talladega and simply wanted to avoid disaster in yesterday's race. Disaster he avoided, and was able to maintain his points lead.
2. (-6 points) Matt Kenseth had a strong car for most the day, even led the race at various times to pick up the 5 bonus points. The former champion is once again that you don't have to win races to win a championship.
3. (-10 points) Mark Martin has posted two consecutive top ten finishes to solidify his 3rd place standing. At only ten points out, the fan favorite could overtake the lead at next week's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
4. (-33 points) Kevin Harvick gained over 60 points this week by finishing 6th at Talladega. Could the current Busch leader win both the Busch and Nextel Cup series in the same year?
5. (-51 points) Denny Hamlin is NASCAR's new golden boy. Even on his bad days, he still comes out squeaky clean. On lap 174 it appeared Hamlin was done when he came onto pit road with steering problems. However, golden boy persevered and finished in 21st position.
6. (-106 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr was set to make up some serious ground in the points by winning yesterday's UAW-Ford 500. However, those hopes were dashed when a last lap wreck caused by Brian Vickers took the #8 Chevy out.
7. (-147 points) Jeff Gordon would be leading the points if you could discount your worst 150 miles over the previous two races. Gordon was running in the top of the field for most of the day until a wreck with 50 laps remaining took out the 4 time champion.
8. (-156 points) Jimmie Johnson is not feeling the love for teammate Brian Vickers right now. Johnson's hopes of winning the championship were slim heading into Talladega. However, that 2nd place finish he was set to receive before Brian Vickers wrecked him on the last lap would have been nice.
T9. (-185 points) Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch cannot seem to get enough of each other these days! Wherever one finishes, you'll be sure to find the other. Both had strong days yesterday with Kasey finishing 2nd and Kyle 3rd. |
