Playoff Push Gets Wild
Paul Menard rumbled across the yard of bricks at full speed for the final time, signaling the crunching of a few couple key numbers: 14 different winners in 20 races, most since 2003; four different first-time winners, most since 2007; and the big one – five winners residing outside the top 10 in points.
“Wild Card Fever” has overtaken the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage, adding new faces to the championship discussion. Only six races remain before NASCAR’s “playoffs” – the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – meaning fewer chances for Wild Card wins, and potential Chase bonus points.
After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top-10 drivers will earn berths into the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field. Spots 11 and 12 will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20. Ties will go to the drivers with the best points position.
Intrigue and intensity also ratchets up this time of year for those seemingly assured a Chase berth (i.e.: Carl Edwards, who currently enjoys a 95-point cushion over the Chase cutoff). After Richmond, all Chase drivers will have their points total reset to 2,000, but only the top 10 will earn three bonus points for each victory over the first 26 races. Currently, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch sit atop the wins list with three victories apiece – and a possible nine bonus points if they make the Chase.
Currently, Denny Hamlin in 11th and Menard in 14th hold the two Wild Card spots. Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway is especially prominent in the Wild Card discussions – three of the last four races there have been won by drivers currently outside the top 10.
An in-depth “Wild Card Watch” follows…
Denny Hamlin, 11th: Hamlin’s Michigan win gives him the top Wild Card spot – for now. A 27th-place finish at Indy catapulted Hamlin out of the top 10. History and statistics suggest his outside-looking-in status is temporary. Hamlin owns four Pocono victories, one shy of tying Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott for most all-time at the Tricky Triangle. He ranks first in pre-race Driver Rating at Pocono, with a 118.6.
Paul Menard, 14th: It took Menard 167 races to nab his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, which is tied for the 10th-longest wait to start a career. He’ll need continued momentum, and some improvement at the upcoming tracks. Of the top 20 drivers, Menard has the lowest Driver Rating at the upcoming six tracks (59.1). He has three top fives, four top 10s and an average finish of 23.7 at the upcoming six tracks (Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, Richmond). Though he has yet to score a top 10 at Pocono, his last two finishes were both in the top 15 – a 13th last August, and a 14th in June.
David Ragan, 16th: Ragan became the third first-time winner of 2011 with his win at Daytona, but dropped to 16th after a 23rd at Indianapolis. A key component to the Ragan storyline: He’s only seven points behind Menard. A race within a race, these two just might flip-flop Wild Card positions on a weekly basis.
Brad Keselowski in 21st and Regan Smith in 26th: Keselowski consistently flirts with a vital top-20 points position. A solid finish at Indy closed the gap to 16 points. Keselowski’s best finish at Pocono was 20th in this race last season. At Darlington, Smith became the second first-time winner. He finished 15th at Pocono in June, and needs more of the same for the long climb into the top 20 – he currently is 76 points out. Smith threw out the first pitch at the Colorado Rockies-Philadelphia Phillies game on Wednesday.
Greg Biffle, 13th: One of six drivers who won in 2010 but remain winless this season, Biffle is the defending champion of this race. Two of the next three races – at Pocono and Michigan – look promising for the Roush Fenway veteran.
Menard Paints Picture Of Resiliency
Success in NASCAR racing usually starts with consistency. Consistency usually doesn’t happen unless there’s some kind of repetition, routine – and normalcy.
Paul Menard never had much of that. His full-time career began in 2007 with Dale Earnhardt Inc. He spent two full years with the team, with only one top-10 finish to show for it.
Next stop: Yates Racing, an outfit known for power under the hood. He stayed for a year, 2009, without a single top 10.
It was time to move on, time to get going. Next up: Richard Petty Motorsports. This was his best season to date. He scored a top five, at Atlanta, and six top 10s.
That’s when the keen eye for talent – eyes belonging to Richard Childress – scooped him up, signing him to drive a fourth car for Richard Childress Racing for the 2011 season. He brought along Menard’s crew chief, veteran Slugger Labbe, as well.
So, really, it’s no surprise that Menard did what he did on Sunday, winning the Brickyard 400. He had a top crew chief, a top organization, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series-worthy skill.
Already this season, Menard has four top fives and six top 10s, which is as much as any previous season in his career.
Menard may have needed 167 races to nab his first win – matching Bobby Hamilton for the 10th-longest stretch before a first NASCAR Sprint Cup points win – but as his resiliency and performance suggest, it won’t be that long until the next one.
Sweet Dreams: Gordon Hopes To Reach Two Milestones In One
Jeff Gordon came within .725 seconds of posting his 85th career victory last Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Next up is Pocono Raceway, where the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion put win No. 84 in the books back in June.
The victory, his fifth at the triangular-shaped track, matched Bill Elliott’s Pocono win mark.
A Pocono sweep would topple two milestones: he would be alone atop the all-time Pocono win list and stand alone in third on the all-time series win list. There have been six sweeps at Pocono: Bobby Allison, 1982; Bill Elliott, 1985; Tim Richmond, 1986; Bobby Labonte, 1999; Jimmie Johnson, 2004; Denny Hamlin 2006
Gordon arguably is the hottest driver in the Race to the Chase. Indy’s runner-up finish made it three top 10s in the last four races.
Junior Needs Tricky Triangle Triumph
To say Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his fans were flying high after his sixth-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June would be an understatement. Earnhardt ranked third in points and appeared a solid bet to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. At the time, he enjoyed a 71-point cushion over the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff.
Six races later, those hopes have deflated considerably. Earnhardt, after six consecutive finishes outside the top 10, has slipped to 10th, the final automatic Chase qualifying berth. He clings to a 19-point lead over 11th-place Denny Hamlin.
Keeping Hamlin at bay could be problematic. Hamlin has won two of the last four Pocono races. Looking forward is no bargain either: Earnhardt is three points out of ninth but the occupant of that spot is two-time Pocono winner Tony Stewart.
Earnhardt’s best Pocono finish was a runner-up, most recently in August of 2007. Prior to his sixth-place run in June, Earnhardt has finished outside the top 10 in five consecutive Pocono starts.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc.
Sunday’s races is the second event in the Sprint Summer Showdown presented by HTC EVO 3D. Any driver who wins between Indianapolis and Bristol will become a finalist for the AdvoCare 500 in Atlanta. If one of those eligible drivers wins the Atlanta race, then the driver, the driver’s charity and fan each collect $1,000,000. Here’s the top five in pre-race Driver Rating at Pocono: Denny Hamlin (118.6), Jimmie Johnson (106.4), Kurt Busch (104.1), Jeff Gordon (101.3) and Tony Stewart (100.7). Hamlin has four career Pocono victories. … Birthday Boys: On Thursday, August 4, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon turns 40 and 2004 champion Kurt Busch turns 33. On Friday, August 5, crew chiefs Chad Knaus (40) and Alan Gustafson (36) will celebrate a birthday. … NASCAR executives, team owners, drivers, and personalities will make their annual visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Thursday. Those expected to attend include: NASCAR President Mike Helton, NASCAR drivers/owners Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Ricky Carmichael, Richard Childress, Kevin Conway, Joey Coulter, Walt Czarnecki, Tim George Jr., Matt Kenseth, Joe Nemechek, David Ragan, Jack Roush, Max Siegel, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Miss Sprint Cup Kim Coon. … Milestone Watch: Carl Edwards will make his 250th series start; with one more lap led, Denny Hamlin will lead 5,000 laps in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.
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