Sprint Cup at Half-way Point: Part 2

            Even though we are halfway through the season, there are numerous question marks that remain for next season. A big one being, where will Carl Edwards be next year? This is the last year on his Roush-Fenway contract, and he has been speaking to other teams. In fact, he visited the Joe Gibbs Racing garage last week.

            
            One place that some thought Edwards would end  up was Red Bull Racing. Well that’s not looking like a plausible plan because Red Bull has said they are selling their team after this season. This was announced a few weeks ago and rocked the world of NASCAR, as Red Bull is a name and brand known all around the world. The team has not had a lot of success in NASCAR, esp. compared to their Formula 1 team, which is the best in that league.

            Hendrick Motorsports driver, Mark Martin, is also unsure on his future. Next year he will be replaced by Kasey Kahne. He has said he wants to continue to race, but nobody knows for certain where he’ll be and if it’ll be full-time. It’s possible he may go into ownership with his friend Jay Frye, who is the president of the Red Bull Team, and also race for the team. If that were to happen, Red Bull could still be a part of the team as a sponsor. That’s a lot of “if’s” though, the only certain is Mark Martin will not be at Hendrick.

            Another result of the Red Bull departure is Brian Vickers. Vickers has always been a consistent driver. He won at Michigan and made the Chase in 2009. His 2010 season was cut short due to a blood clot, and it’s still unsure how healthy he is. Red Bull leaving is really a blow to Vickers’s career. He has raced with Red Bull since the team’s creation in 2007, and has stuck with them through their struggles. It’s disappointing to think Vickers may not have a ride next season.

            Other drivers with contracts up after season include; Greg Bifle (Roush), Jeff Burton (Childress), Clint Bowyer (Childress), and Juan Pablo Montoya (Earnhardt-Ganassi). I haven’t heard a lot on these drivers, but I expect all of them to be resigned. Burton is having a rough season, but is a popular driver and will probably be given an extension on his contract. Bowyer, Bifle, and Montoya are all having decent seasons and will probably given extensions as well.

My predictions for the next 8 races before the Chase starts:

            

            Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Tony Stewart will all make the Chase. Hamlin and Jr. just have to defend their Top 10 positions, but Stewart will win a race and knock his teammate Newman out.

            

            Juan Pablo Montoya will get a win and make it into the Chase as a wildcard. He has excelled at three of the upcoming tracks; Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Atlanta.

            

            As for that other wildcard spot, well who knows? All I can guarantee is that it’s going to get wild. Drivers are gonna be trying incredibly hard to get a win and further secure their chances of getting into the Chase.

Sprint Cup at Half-way Point: Part 1

            The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has hit the halfway point. 18 races have been completed, and 18 are left to go to decide the champion of the 2011 season. Seven races have been completed since I last wrote about the Sprint Cup series, and a lot has happened in those couple months.

               

            Carl Edwards has been the points leader almost the entire season, but after the race at Daytona two weeks ago, Kevin Harvick took over the lead. Then Kyle Busch won the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway last Sunday and took over the points lead from Harvick.

                Top ten in points, with amount of wins in parenthesis:

1. Kyle Busch (3)

2. Kevin Harvick (1)

3. Carl Edwards (3)

4. Kurt Busch (1)

5. Jimmie Johnson (1)

6. Matt Kenseth (2)

7. Jeff Gordon (2)

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

9. Ryan Newman

10. Denny Hamlin (1)

                The next eleven in points:

11. Tony Stewart

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Juan Pablo Montoya

14. Greg Bifle

15. David Ragan (1)

16. Paul Menard

17. Kasey Kahne

18. A.J. Allmendinger

19. Mark Martin

20. Joey Logano

21. Brad Keselowski (1)

               

            I threw in the 21^st place driver because of the new "Wildcard" rule for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR's playoff system.The top 10 drivers in the points standing after the 26th race are in the Chase. Then the two drivers outside the top 10 but inside the top 20 that have the most wins will also be in the Chase. If Brad K. can get into the top 20 then he will be eligible for the Chase, along with David Ragan.

               

            A big change in the points standings since the last time I covered the Sprint Cup Series has been the declining performance of Dale Earnhardt Jr. At one point, Jr. was 3^rd in points, now he’s 8^th. In the past four races he’s finished 19^th or worse, including a 30^th place finish last race. The one race Jr. is winning? The 2011 Sprint Cup’s Most Popular Driver Contest!

               

            But for every driver moving back, one has to be moving forward. That driver would be Jeff Gordon. Gordon has been on a tear since his win at Pocono last month. Since the Pocono race he’s finished 2^nd, 6^th, 10^th, and 17^th (those finishes are not chronological). He’s moved from 13^th to 7^th and with 2 wins this season he’s basically a lock for the Chase.

               

Jeff Gordon celebrating at Pocono

               

            If you recall, I made some very bold predictions for what would happen over the course of 15 races until the Chase. I said that Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Kurt Busch would all need to step it up to make the Chase. That is holding truth for Stewart and Newman, who sit 11^th and 9^th in points, respectively. Neither driver has any wins, nor has any driven appeared to be able to compete for a win. Kurt Busch is the one I whiffed in. Busch got a win at Sonoma and sits comfortably at 4^th in the standings.

               

Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart, at a much happier time.

           
             I also said that Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Bifle would be looking to break into the Top 10. Again, I went 2 for 3. Hamlin has one win and sits 10^th in points, and you already know about Gordon. Bifle has looked very mediocre in the past couple races, and I have no idea why. In the past four races he’s averaged a 19.5 finishing position.

               

            A lot of folks are freaking out about how "human" Jimmie Johnson has looked recently. The five-time champion is lacking in the win column compared to past years but there is no reason to lose faith in him. He has won five straight titles, and is still my favorite to win the 2011 Championship and make it six-straight.
            
            A.J. Allmendinger, my favorite driver, has gone off the deep end quickly. He had one good race at Sonoma, but besides that he’s finished nowhere near the front of the pack. At one point, this guy had a real chance to make the Chase. I’m not so sure now. He is always good at Indy though, and you can't count him out at Watkins Glen (a road course).

GRAND-AM in Indy?

Rumors began to start early this week that there were talks between NASCAR and the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway about having the Grand-Am Series race on the road course at IMS. The Grand-Am series, which I know as the Rolex Sports Car Series, is owned by NASCAR.        

On Wednesday, June 15, it was confirmed that IMS and NASCAR are seriously considering adding a Grand- Am race to the Brickyard 400 weekend, and possibly holding the Nationwide race at IMS too.

            

           The Rolex cars had tested at IMS a few years ago, but nothing ever came of it. I even asked one Indianapolis Star writer a few months ago if IMS would ever have a Grand-Am race; his response, in short, was no.

           This is all just rumors right now, but I’m not a big fan of any of this change, esp. the Nationwide switch. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is for the best drivers in the world, and to bring the Nationwide drivers would dilute that. The other part that upsets me is that the Brickyard 400 weekend is something I really look forward to. I get to see all the drivers, cars, and teams that I love. I don’t want to see them share the track with anybody else. Not to mention the ticket prices for the whole weekend would increase greatly.

            Here’s the low-down on the Grand-Am Series, because I know next to nothing about the series.

“GRAND-AM Road Racing has the largest sports car fan base in the United States, with nearly 20 million adults, and has also had the highest percentage growth of any major motorsports series on television over the past five years.

GRAND-AM sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The Rolex Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the U.S. and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International.

GRAND-AM Road Racing showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry's leading constructors and the world's top automobile manufacturers.

GRAND-AM was founded in 1999. The organization's first race was February 6, 2000, at Daytona International Speedway - the 38th Rolex 24 At Daytona.”

http://www.grand-am.com

Apparently it’s spelled “GRAND-AM”, not “Grand-Am” like I was writing it.

When something is announced officially, I will post it on here ASAP!

Rolex Sports Car Series cars. The first two are "Daytona Prototype" class cars, the third one is a "GT" class car.

11 races down, 25 to go

            This season of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has so far been a very entertaining one. In the first race of the season, a 20-year old rookie, Trevor Bayne, won the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking like a contender for the first time in years, as he is 4^th in the points standings. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick nearly went Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan on each other at Darlington; while Regan Smith went on to win the race for his one-car team.

            

            This season also introduced a new points system, but much to the displeasure of crazy people who thought this would dramatically change NASCAR; the best drivers are where we all expected. After 11 races (out of 36), Carl Edwards is in first place, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Dale Jr.

            

              Another change in the points was how the twelve drivers would be selected to compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup (NASCAR’s version of the playoffs). This can be complicated so bear with me.

-The top 10 drivers in points are automatically in.

-The two drivers in positions 11-20 with the most wins are in as well. These are called the “wildcards”.

-That sounded a lot more complicated in my head.

            

            As of right now, the two drivers who would make it into the Chase as “wildcards” would be Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. These two drivers, along with Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jr. all race for Hendrick Motorsports, so getting all four of those guys into the Chase would be incredible for that group.

            

            Speaking of Hendrick Motorsports, driver Kasey Kahne will be a part the team next year, but this season he is driving for Red Bull Racing. Many thought Kasey would come in and be a “lame duck” of sorts, as he is only driving for one season, then leaving. Kahne has been the complete opposite; he has competed for wins in a few races and has five top-10’s and two top-5’s. Kahne’s teammate, Brian Vickers, has also looked very competitive after missing more than half of last season due to blood clots. Red Bull really needs a good season this year, as they have not lived up to the standards that other Red Bull Racing teams have set around the world.

            

            A former Hendrick driver, Kyle Busch, has continued to be his annoying prick self this season. He spends most of his time racing in NASCAR’s lower series, which are supposed to be for younger drivers, but apparently Kyle didn’t get the message.  So as his Sprint Cup peers are resting up and preparing for racing on Sundays, Kyle is racing drivers who are obviously not as skilled as him.

Much has also been said of how “Kyle has matured”. Oh yeah, he’s real mature. At Darlington a few weeks ago, Kyle Busch spun out fellow driver, Kevin Harvick. Not a big deal really, that happens every once in awhile. Then after the race when Harvick confronted Busch, Busch avoided Harvick and ran to his hauler like the little baby he is. I’m fine with Busch and other drivers wrecking each other, but back it up! You want to race rough and tough, then be rough and tough.

My favorite driver, Mr. A.J. Allmendinger, has looked awesome, in a racing sense, so far this year. He is 16^th in points right now, compared to a year ago when he was 22^nd, and has two top 10’s. These stats can be deceiving especially since he had a car to win last week at Dover, but had engine problems half way through the race and did not finish. More and more people are starting to respect A.J., which is awesome. I just hope you all know I’ve been on this guy’s bandwagon since his rookie season at Red Bull Racing in 2007!

Looking towards the rest of the regular season (next 15 races), I think that the top half of the current Chase drivers will make the Chase, but Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and Kurt Busch should be worried. All have had their bright spots, but all are struggling recently, and seem to be having team issues.

Kurt started the season strong, by finishing in the top 10 four races in a row, but since then only has one top 10. He has more than once than season verbally assaulted his crew chief during the race, blaming the whole team for problems with the cars. Unfortunately for him, racing is a team sport. To be successful, he’ll need to work on his chemistry with his team.

Stewart and Newman, both a part of Stewart/ Hass Racing, usually get better in the summer months. They have a lot to fix on their teams if they want to make it into the Chase. There are rumors that Stewart is looking to fire his current crew chief, but I don’t buy into that. The problems are at the shop where Stewart/ Hass Racing is based. Don’t be surprised to see changes made there.

Denny Hamlin has finally gotten it together and is looking like the near champion he was last season.  Jeff Gordon, who has one win this year, Greg Bifle, and Hamlin, will be looking to make the Top 10 before the Chase, and they’ll be looking to take Newman, Stewart, and Busch’s spots.