NOTE BOOK TO :RICHMOND

4 /23/14

Over-Wait: When Will Johnson, Kenseth Quench Wins Thirst?

Here’s a stat that properly illustrates how weird this Jimmie Johnson/Matt Kenseth “drought” is: The last time neither won any of the first eight races, Johnson wasn’t even in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series yet.

The year was 2001. Johnson was in his second full season of NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. Kenseth was in his second full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and battling a bit of a sophomore slump. He went winless and finished outside the top 10 in the final championship standings.

Few would’ve predicted they’d combine to win seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships over the next decade and a half, or win a combined 96 races.

The point: Though an eight-race drought doesn’t constitute as a panic situation, it can certainly be categorized as bizarre. Last year at this time, they each had two wins.

But the wait likely won’t last too much longer. Though Richmond might be the place, tracks beyond this weekend may provide a slightly better opportunity.

Though Johnson has three wins at Richmond, the last was in 2008 – and he’s finished outside the top 10 in each of the last three Richmond races. Kenseth has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three Richmond races, but hasn’t won a race at the Virginia short track since 2002.

The four points races that follow – Talladega, Kansas, Charlotte and Dover? Wheelhouse City.

Kenseth’s restrictor-plate prowess has been well documented. In 2012’s four restrictor-plate races – which includes Talladega and Daytona – Kenseth won twice, averaging a finish of 2.0. And last year, Johnson became the first driver since 1982 to sweep at Daytona.

Kenseth is the defending winner of the spring Kansas races, and is tied with Johnson (and Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart) atop the track’s wins list.

Johnson shares the all-time Charlotte wins lead with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip. And at Dover, Johnson owns eight wins, more than any other driver.

So, if it doesn’t happen at Richmond this Saturday night, it’ll probably happen at Talladega. Or Kansas. Or Charlotte. Or Dover. Eighteen races remain in the regular season – plenty of time for two of the best drivers in the sport’s history to lock up their spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Richmond Kicks Off Part 2 Of NSCS Season 

Richmond International Raceway has been called “the perfect track” … which makes this Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 the perfect way to start the second portion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

And with the new championship format, it’ll be a fascinating watch. Consider this…

Among the tracks scheduled for the “middle” portion of the 26-race regular season are Richmond, Talladega, Sonoma, Pocono, Daytona and New Hampshire.

Richmond always features unpredictable, tight short-track action, and has seen four different drivers win the last four races.

Talladega is, well, Talladega. One needs only to look at last year’s spring Talladega race, won by David Ragan, to know it’s anybody’s race. Nine different drivers have won the last nine Sonoma races. Pocono is its own animal, and has a parity streak of its own – five different winners in the last five races. And Daytona, another restrictor-plate beast, has seen its share of surprises recently.

But the king of competitive balance these days has been New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which has seen 12 different winners in the last 12 races – including last July’s shocking victory by Brian Vickers, who was running fulltime in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at the time.

Piling On: Harvick Wins Might Come In Bunches

For Kevin Harvick in 2014, when it rains … it pours – both positively and negatively.

In Harvick’s two wins this year, he dominated. At Phoenix, his first win of the season, Harvick led 224 of the 312 laps for a driver rating of 149.9 (a perfect rating is 150.0). At Darlington, he led 238 of the 374 laps, recording a driver rating of 148.9.

That’s the positive. Then there’s the negative.

When the bad luck hits, boy does it hit. Joining his two victories are four finishes of 36th or worse. In three of those – at Las Vegas, Bristol and Texas – he led at least one lap. Good days turned bad, in the worst possible way.

In those instances, it poured.

So, is this a success-in-bunches portion of the program for Harvick? The statistics say “yes.”

Harvick has won three races at Richmond – including two of the last five – and has finished in the top 10 in 16 of his 26 starts. And with another 55 laps led on Saturday night, Harvick will reach 1,000 Richmond laps led in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.

Harvick has won consecutive races twice in his career, one of them involving Richmond. In 2006, Harvick won Richmond-2 and followed that with a New Hampshire victory. Most recently, in 2011, Harvick won back-to-back races at Auto Club Speedway and Martinsville.

Points Lead Nice, A Win Would Be Better

Jeff Gordon owns the points lead. That gets him some pretty sweet perks.

Among them: Recognition, a primo hauler spot in the garage … and a guaranteed spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup if he holds it after race No. 26.

Regardless of win count, the points leader will earn a berth in this year’s Chase under the new rules. But, it’s a tenuous position for Gordon. A bad day could swipe the points lead away in a heartbeat.

A victory would put the 88-time winner in a much more comfortable spot. You have to believe it’s coming sooner than later.

Gordon’s season thus far has been defined by near-visits to Victory Lane. He opened the season with four consecutive top-10 finishes. His last two finishes were second (Texas) and seventh (Darlington). And he’s eclipsed the 100 points driver rating figure in six of the eight races this season.

But no wins heading into the third short-track race of the season…

A 16-time winner at short tracks, Gordon has two career wins at Richmond, and has finished in the top 10 in two of the last three Richmond races. Though his last victory at the Virginia short track came in 2000, he did have a streak of seven consecutive races with top 10s from 2007-10.

Edwards Looks To Make It Back-To-Back At Richmond

Quick: Who won the last 10 Richmond fall races? That’s about as hard as it gets when it comes to NASCAR trivia. The fall Richmond winner often shares the spotlight with the 12 drivers who JUST made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

It’s easy to get overshadowed, and it’s understandable. Last September, Carl Edwards won the fall Richmond race; it was his second win of the season.

If he can do the same this weekend, it would again be his second win of the season. It would guarantee that he’d be among the top 15 winners and thus land him a Chase spot, provided he doesn’t miss any races or fall out of the top 30 in points after race No. 26. And, the spotlight would be all his.

Edwards, who is currently third in points, has one win and 10 top 10s in 19 starts at Richmond. Known more for his success at bigger race tracks, Edwards clearly feels just as comfortable at the .75-mile short track. He has scored top-10 finishes in seven of the last eight races.