Race To The Chase: Time To Get Moving

Race To The Chase: Time To Get MovingReality of the NASCAR 26-race regular season sets in, and the fall-back motto of “It’s still early” goes away quickly. And right now, it’s gone.

This portion of the season can be described as the “playoff push.” Officially, it’s coined “The Race To The Chase.”
Drivers need to take advantage of the few opportunities left in this regular season. Only 10 races remain between now and the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
These 10 races – at 10 different tracks – provide a unique blend for competitors and fans. Some of the most unique and historic venues are represented. Some highlights: Daytona, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Watkins Glen, Bristol – the list goes on.
Wild Card fever will likely sweep the garage – and fans’ consciousness – during this critical portion of the schedule.
After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top 10 drivers in points are locked into the 12-driver Chase field. Spots 11 and 12 go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.
Each contender is a potential storyline unto himself.
Tony Stewart: Currently 12th, Stewart owns the top average Driver Rating at the upcoming 10 tracks (102.5). Overall, he has 22 wins at the upcoming 10 tracks, second only to Jeff Gordon’s 35 among drivers in the top 20.
Denny Hamlin: A 37th-place finish dropped him outside the top 10. But the stay shouldn’t linger – Hamlin has nine wins and a Driver Rating of 99.4 at the upcoming 10 tracks.
Greg Biffle: Now 13th, Biffle has five wins and 54 top 10s at the next 10 tracks.
Juan Pablo Montoya: A couple of wins over the next 10 races isn’t out of the question. He won last year’s race at Watkins Glen, has a runner-up at Indianapolis and three top 10s at Daytona.
Jamie McMurray: A two-time winner at Daytona, McMurray has to make up 55 points to get into the top 20.
A key storyline from outside the top 20 is worth noting…
Brad Keselowski: With a win, he’s an immediate Wild Card contender. Now he needs to land in the top 20 – he’s currently 22nd, 12 points out.

Numbers Continue To Soar Heading To DISKurt Busch’s victory at Infineon Raceway ballooned the number of different winners this season to 11 in the first 16 races, the most since 2003.
Races at Daytona, much like the 2011 season, have offered a varied list of victors. There have been seven different winners in the last seven races.
Competition numbers – both this season and at Daytona – have been likewise robust. Check out some of the notable bullets from this season:
• Average of 13 leaders per race, most through 16 races in series history
• Average of 30 leaders per race, most through 16 races in series history
• 8 races with a margin of victory under one second, including Talladega, which tied for the closest finish (.002 seconds) since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993.
• 42 different drivers have led at least one lap.
• 30 different drivers have scored at least one top 10 finish.
February’s Daytona 500 set track records in both leaders (74) and lead changes (22).

Pressure To Perform Much Greater For Daytona 500 Winner Bayne
Trevor Bayne came to Daytona International Speedway for February’s Daytona 500 with a soon to be 20-year-old rookie’s modest goals: run all the laps, stay out of trouble and post the best possible finish.
Bayne of course did much, much more than that, becoming the youngest winner of NASCAR’s biggest race in just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start, going from virtual unknown to stardom in just under four hours.
For Bayne – fairly or unfairly – the pressure is on to prove he belongs in the upper echelon of contenders to win Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola. Was February’s performance a matter of skill meeting opportunity or the randomness of right place, right time?

In February, his Wood Brothers team had a guaranteed owner spot in the Daytona 500. That won’t be the case this week. Bayne must make the field on speed, always a roll of the dice proposition in which factors outside the driver or team’s control – say a cut tire – can be the difference between racing and going home.

Since then, Bayne’s season has been one of extremes. Health issues, which sidelined Bayne from competition for more than a month, and his team’s part-time schedule haven’t produced any sort of rhythm.

In the eight races following Daytona, Bayne has logged three top-20 finishes, his best a 16th in the team’s most recent start several weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway. He’s finished three of nine races on the lead lap.

Grudge Matches and Milestones

Last week’s race at Infineon Raceway offered up a number of storylines that beg further dissecting and a deeper look.

A few of them…

New Feuds: Fender bending was the name of the game, and that trend should continue this weekend at Daytona. Bump drafting at restrictor plate tracks demand trust-filled partnerships. Teammates, obviously, often pair up. But odd duos often emerge – the prime example at the Daytona 500 was Jeff Gordon and youngster Trevor Bayne. Strategic buddy system styles got blurred on Sunday, with a number of fresh feuds sparked, namely Tony Stewart vs. Brian Vickers; Brad Keselowski vs. Juan Pablo Montoya; and Kasey Kahne vs. Montoya. Of course, the Kyle Busch vs. defending Daytona race champion Kevin Harvick always lurks in the background.

Gordon’s Historic Win Nears: Even when he seems out of contention, Jeff Gordon’s talent and veteran savvy overcomes. Though a non-factor much of the day Sunday (he never led lap), Gordon finished second. His next win will be his 85th, putting him alone in third on the all-time list. It would also give him more wins than any other driver during NASCAR’s Modern Era (1972-Present), the period in the sport’s history when the race-schedule was decreased.

Burton Celebrates Milestone: Jeff Burton will become the 22nd driver to reach 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts this weekend. This season has been a difficult one for Burton, currently 24th in the points standings. A win would put the Richard Childress Racing veteran in the Wild Card discussion. He won the July Daytona race in 2000.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc. – DaytonaA few more milestones: Kevin Harvick will make his 375th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and Marcos Ambrose will be making his 100th series start. … Bubba the Love Sponge has been named the Grand Marshal and honorary pace car driver for the Coke Zero 400 this weekend. Prior to the race country music star Martina McBride will host an hour long concert starting at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 2. … Troops to the Track program with the Armed Forces Foundation at Daytona International Speedway will have a group of wounded warriors (Marines and a Navy medic) from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda out to the track. The guests will be treated to a variety of at-track related VIP experiences, including pace car rides, and meet and greets with Rusty Wallace, Kurt Busch, and Richard Childress Racing. … Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has been nominated for two ESPY Awards for ‘Best Male Athlete’ and ‘Best Driver.’ Also Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne has been nominated for ‘Best Moment’ in sports this year. Fan voting for ESPY winners has begun. … If someone you know has shown extraordinary charity and kindness of spirit in working for kids in need, honor their efforts by nominating them for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award by visiting NASCAR.COM/Unites, calling 704.348.9683, or sending an email to BJFaward@nascarfoundation.com. … It’s the third straight year that Daytona International Speedway will honor Medal of Honor recipients, a program that was first started by Bill France Sr. back in the 1970s. All four Medal of Honor recipients, Jon Cavaiani, retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, Harold Fritz, retired U.S. Army Captain, Jack Jacobs, retired U.S. Army Captain, Leo Thorsness, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel will be recognized during a special luncheon on Friday at the Bill France Room. They will attend the drivers meeting and participate in pre-race ceremonies for both the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Friday night, July 1, and the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday night, July 2.

Daytona’s Lure Brings Emphatic Call To Double Duty DriversAs many as seven full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will stack the already stout lineup this weekend, including two-time series champion Kevin Harvick (2001, ’06), and series champions Brad Keselowski (2010), Kyle Busch (2009), Carl Edwards (2007) and also six-time series Daytona International Speedway winner Tony Stewart.

It will be a true test for the series championship contenders to prove themselves amongst some of the best of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Seven points currently separate the top three drivers. Reed Sorenson, who won last Saturday at Road America, leads Elliott Sadler by five points and third-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by seven.

Standings leader Reed Sorenson has made eight series starts at Daytona posting one top five and four top 10s. Second-place, Sadler has made four series starts at Daytona posting his first career pole at the 2.5-mile speedway. Third-place, Stenhouse Jr. has made three starts at Daytona posting one top five and two top 10s. Stenhouse has the highest rank in pre-race Driver Rating among the championship contenders with an 89.1.

This event also marks the first anniversary of the inaugural race for the series’ new car, which was fully integrated this season following four points events at tracks of varying lengths in 2010. Dale Earnhardt Jr. electrified the Daytona crowd last July as he won the first new car race in the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet, the number and scheme made famous by his father.