Gordon Brings Bonus Points, Wild Card Center Stage
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon reached a number unseen in almost 20 years – 84, his current number of series victories.
Joining Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, Gordon now sits tied for third on the all-time list. He reached the 84-win mark rather quickly, needing 631 starts to nab win No. 84. Allison did it in 706 starts; Waltrip, 558.
The victory further cemented Gordon’s legendary status, but also added intrigue to the matter at hand – the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship outlook. Two key Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup storylines were shoved to the forefront.
1) The Wild Card: For the first time in the Chase’s eight-year history, there will be two Wild Card championship contenders. After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top-10 drivers are locked into the 12-driver Chase field. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – go to those outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.
Gordon, currently six points outside the top 10, would hold the No. 1 Wild Card spot if the Chase started today. The No. 2 spot would go to the thus-far winless Denny Hamlin in 12th. If there is a tie for number of wins – or no other winners – the second Wild Card spot goes to the driver with the best points position.
Two drivers outside the top 20 have victories – Brad Keselowski (Kansas) and Regan Smith (Darlington). Keselowski is in 22nd-place, 13 points behind 20th-place Martin Truex Jr. Smith is 27th, 47 points back. Both drivers need to crack the top 20 to be eligible for a Wild Card spot.
2) Bonus Points: A top-10 position is near-vital for Gordon. All Chase drivers have their points reset to 2,000, but only those within the top 10 earn 10 bonus points for each victory in the regular season. The “bonus points” rule was put into place for the Chase in 2007. Since then, the eventual champion – Jimmie Johnson, each year – started the Chase with at least 30 bonus points.
Happy Anniversary: Junior Returns To Scene Of Last Win
The number – 107 – is a nagging reminder. That’s Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career-long winless drought, which – with each passing week – seems destined to end sooner than later.
There are a number of reasons for optimism:
- His last win came at this weekend’s track, Michigan International Speedway, on June 15, 2008. Earnhardt won with impeccable Sunoco fuel mileage strategy, something that bit him three races ago in Charlotte.
- Through 14 races, Earnhardt has three top fives and eight top 10s. Through the entire 36-race 2010 season, he had three top fives and eight top 10s.
- His current Driver Rating of 90.5 is his highest in three years. Last year, it was 82.5 through 14 events. In 2009, it was 76.2 through 14 races.
- At Pocono last Sunday, Earnhardt scored his third consecutive top-five finish. That’s the second time this season he has finished in the top 10 in three consecutive races. The last time he twice had three consecutive top 10s: 2006.
Free Men: Probation Over For Busch, Harvick
The drama built up, and this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick feud comes to a head.
After a holding pattern lasting more than a month, the rivalry resumes this Sunday.
The two have had run-ins in the past, but the juiciest of them came at Darlington a little over a month ago. Busch spun Harvick during a multi-car accident at Darlington, and post-race words – and more – were had.
NASCAR placed the two drivers on probation until June 15, a span of four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races.
The reasons this one’s so intense: Neither are afraid to stand their ground, and both a legitimate championship contenders.
Roush Fenway’s Competitive Juices Flow At Michigan
Roush Fenway Racing is eager to post a victory on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway for a couple of reasons.
• MIS is a home track, located just west of Roush Industries headquarters in Livonia, Mich.
• A win would mark the 12th time a Jack Roush-owned car has gone to Victory Lane, breaking a tie with the Wood Brothers for most successful owner at MIS.
• And there’s the bounce-back factor; to atone for last weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway in which Carl Edwards lost most of his NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead to a rare engine failure.
The odds would seem to be in the team’s favor. Three Roush-Fenway drivers rank among the top four in Driver Rating at the 2.0-mile track. Edwards is first with a rating of 110.5. Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth are third and fourth (104.8 and 101.2, respectively). Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is second at 110.3.
The three Roush Fenway drivers count for six of the team’s 11 Michigan victories. Edwards is the most recent of the trio to win, capturing the track’s August race in 2008. He also won the spring race in 2007.
Biffle counts a pair of Michigan victories in 2004-05 while Kenseth won in 2002 and 2006.
Kenseth’s crew chief Jimmy Fennig put it this way: “Roush Fenway typically performs well at Michigan and it’s always something we strive for since Ford Motor Company is headquartered nearby.
Upcoming Milestones at Michigan International Speedway: Mark Martin will attempt to post his 50th Coors Light Pole. David Reutimann will be making his 150th series start and David Stremme will attempt to make his 125th series start. … Ryan Newman's No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet will pay tribute to the U.S. Army's 236th birthday and will honor NASCAR Hall of Famer Walter "Bud" Moore, a decorated World War II veteran this weekend at Michigan. Moore was awarded two Bronze Stars and five Purple Hearts for his heroic fight as a machine gunner during the historic D-Day allied invasion of France's Normandy coast, which commenced on June 6, 1944. The 86-year-old Moore, who will be at Michigan International Speedway this weekend to take part in U.S. Army and track festivities, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last month after his successful 37-year career as a car owner, which included two NASCAR Sprint Cup championships and 63 race wins. … This Sunday is Father’s Day. A perfect pairing for a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver: Spending the day with your child…in Victory Lane. In the chart to the right is a list of a number of drivers who welcomed a new addition to the family within the last year
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon reached a number unseen in almost 20 years – 84, his current number of series victories.
Joining Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, Gordon now sits tied for third on the all-time list. He reached the 84-win mark rather quickly, needing 631 starts to nab win No. 84. Allison did it in 706 starts; Waltrip, 558.
The victory further cemented Gordon’s legendary status, but also added intrigue to the matter at hand – the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship outlook. Two key Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup storylines were shoved to the forefront.
1) The Wild Card: For the first time in the Chase’s eight-year history, there will be two Wild Card championship contenders. After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top-10 drivers are locked into the 12-driver Chase field. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – go to those outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.
Gordon, currently six points outside the top 10, would hold the No. 1 Wild Card spot if the Chase started today. The No. 2 spot would go to the thus-far winless Denny Hamlin in 12th. If there is a tie for number of wins – or no other winners – the second Wild Card spot goes to the driver with the best points position.
Two drivers outside the top 20 have victories – Brad Keselowski (Kansas) and Regan Smith (Darlington). Keselowski is in 22nd-place, 13 points behind 20th-place Martin Truex Jr. Smith is 27th, 47 points back. Both drivers need to crack the top 20 to be eligible for a Wild Card spot.
2) Bonus Points: A top-10 position is near-vital for Gordon. All Chase drivers have their points reset to 2,000, but only those within the top 10 earn 10 bonus points for each victory in the regular season. The “bonus points” rule was put into place for the Chase in 2007. Since then, the eventual champion – Jimmie Johnson, each year – started the Chase with at least 30 bonus points.
Happy Anniversary: Junior Returns To Scene Of Last Win
The number – 107 – is a nagging reminder. That’s Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career-long winless drought, which – with each passing week – seems destined to end sooner than later.
There are a number of reasons for optimism:
- His last win came at this weekend’s track, Michigan International Speedway, on June 15, 2008. Earnhardt won with impeccable Sunoco fuel mileage strategy, something that bit him three races ago in Charlotte.
- Through 14 races, Earnhardt has three top fives and eight top 10s. Through the entire 36-race 2010 season, he had three top fives and eight top 10s.
- His current Driver Rating of 90.5 is his highest in three years. Last year, it was 82.5 through 14 events. In 2009, it was 76.2 through 14 races.
- At Pocono last Sunday, Earnhardt scored his third consecutive top-five finish. That’s the second time this season he has finished in the top 10 in three consecutive races. The last time he twice had three consecutive top 10s: 2006.
Free Men: Probation Over For Busch, Harvick
The drama built up, and this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick feud comes to a head.
After a holding pattern lasting more than a month, the rivalry resumes this Sunday.
The two have had run-ins in the past, but the juiciest of them came at Darlington a little over a month ago. Busch spun Harvick during a multi-car accident at Darlington, and post-race words – and more – were had.
NASCAR placed the two drivers on probation until June 15, a span of four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races.
The reasons this one’s so intense: Neither are afraid to stand their ground, and both a legitimate championship contenders.
Roush Fenway’s Competitive Juices Flow At Michigan
Roush Fenway Racing is eager to post a victory on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway for a couple of reasons.
• MIS is a home track, located just west of Roush Industries headquarters in Livonia, Mich.
• A win would mark the 12th time a Jack Roush-owned car has gone to Victory Lane, breaking a tie with the Wood Brothers for most successful owner at MIS.
• And there’s the bounce-back factor; to atone for last weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway in which Carl Edwards lost most of his NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead to a rare engine failure.
The odds would seem to be in the team’s favor. Three Roush-Fenway drivers rank among the top four in Driver Rating at the 2.0-mile track. Edwards is first with a rating of 110.5. Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth are third and fourth (104.8 and 101.2, respectively). Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is second at 110.3.
The three Roush Fenway drivers count for six of the team’s 11 Michigan victories. Edwards is the most recent of the trio to win, capturing the track’s August race in 2008. He also won the spring race in 2007.
Biffle counts a pair of Michigan victories in 2004-05 while Kenseth won in 2002 and 2006.
Kenseth’s crew chief Jimmy Fennig put it this way: “Roush Fenway typically performs well at Michigan and it’s always something we strive for since Ford Motor Company is headquartered nearby.
Upcoming Milestones at Michigan International Speedway: Mark Martin will attempt to post his 50th Coors Light Pole. David Reutimann will be making his 150th series start and David Stremme will attempt to make his 125th series start. … Ryan Newman's No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet will pay tribute to the U.S. Army's 236th birthday and will honor NASCAR Hall of Famer Walter "Bud" Moore, a decorated World War II veteran this weekend at Michigan. Moore was awarded two Bronze Stars and five Purple Hearts for his heroic fight as a machine gunner during the historic D-Day allied invasion of France's Normandy coast, which commenced on June 6, 1944. The 86-year-old Moore, who will be at Michigan International Speedway this weekend to take part in U.S. Army and track festivities, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last month after his successful 37-year career as a car owner, which included two NASCAR Sprint Cup championships and 63 race wins. … This Sunday is Father’s Day. A perfect pairing for a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver: Spending the day with your child…in Victory Lane. In the chart to the right is a list of a number of drivers who welcomed a new addition to the family within the last year
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