Cool-Down Lap
Joey Logano's victory complicates Chase picture
Aug. 19, 2013
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Joey Logano in Victory Lane -- that's the last thing Ryan Newman wanted to see.
Not
that Newman has anything personal against Logano. It's simply that
Newman was loath to see Logano -- or any other previously winless
driver in the top 20 in points -- notch a victory.
But
there was Logano in Victory Lane, spraying adult beverages on members
of his team, celebrating his win in Sunday's Pure Michigan
400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Newman, who finished 13th, left Michigan knowing that his quest to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup had just
gotten exponentially more difficult.
After
the Aug. 11 race at Watkins Glen, Newman held the 14th position in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings and the second of two
provisional Wild Card spots. After Michigan, he's 15th, with two
drivers ahead of him in the race for the last Wild Card position --
because Martin Truex Jr. fell out of the top 10 on Sunday, and because
Logano won the race, jumped to 13th in points and injected
himself into the Chase picture.
That
was another headache in a rough two months for Newman, who got definite
word in July that his contract with Stewart-Haas Racing
would not be renewed. Team owner Tony Stewart said at the time, during a
press conference at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, that SHR was not
prepared to field a fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup team next year.
As
it turns out, Stewart-Haas wasn't prepared to field a fourth team for
Newman. For Kurt Busch, on the other hand, a fourth NASCAR
Sprint Cup team is a possibility, and reportedly, SHR has tendered a
multiyear offer to Busch to drive for the organization, a story first
reported Sunday by FoxSports.com.
A
recent high point for Newman was his victory in the Crown Royal
Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late
July, but the driver of the No. 39 Chevrolet has yet to announce plans
for 2014.
With
Stewart laid up as his broken bones mend from an Aug. 5 Sprint Car
accident in Iowa, Newman is SHR's last hope to qualify for the
Chase, at least on the drivers' side. And Logano's win makes that
prospect more of a long shot than it was when the green flag waved to
start the race on Sunday afternoon.
The
interesting aspect is that Newman still controls his own destiny, as
far as the Chase is concerned. One victory in the next three
races would make him an odds-on favorite to qualify for NASCAR's
10-race playoff. Two wins would lock him in.
Far-fetched, perhaps, but possible.
NO MOJO FOR MICHIGAN
For a precision, championship outfit like Hendrick Motorsports, Michigan remains a mystery.
Kasey
Kahne's seventh-place run was the lone bright spot for the
organization, which left the two-mile track in total befuddlement for
the second straight race.
Jimmie
Johnson exited early with an engine failure after wrecking his primary
car in practice and going to a backup chassis. Johnson
finished 40th, to go with a 28th-place run in June, when he blew a tire
while pursuing leader Greg Biffle in the closing laps.
Sunday
was a double whammy for Johnson. Crew chief Chad Knaus had planned to
use the primary chassis in the first Chase race at Chicagoland,
but he'll have to make other arrangements.
Dale
Earnhardt Jr., who finished 37th in June, came home 36th Sunday after
blowing a right front tire and pounding the Turn 2 wall.
Jeff Gordon, who was wiped out in an early accident not of his making
in June and finished 39th, ran a pedestrian 17th on Sunday.
Kahne's
top 10 was a vast improvement over the 38th he posted in the first race
at MIS, but it still left Hendrick Motorsports with
an average finish of 30.25 in eight combined starts at the track this
year.
There's one bright spot, as far as HMS is concerned. Michigan isn't in the Chase.
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