Richmond reveals drivers' prospects as Chase approaches

Richmond reveals drivers' prospects as Chase approaches

 

(September 11, 2011)

 

RICHMOND, Va.—You didn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to watch Saturday night’s Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway and pick up strong clues as to who enters the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with the speed and emotional strength to win it.

 Richmond was a colorful, impressionistic canvas, dotted with torn sheet metal and bruised egos. Here are the four drivers whose words, attitudes and performances most clearly revealed their status as contenders for the Cup title—or not.

 Dale Earnhardt Jr. The relief was palpable, after Earnhardt climbed from his car, secure in the knowledge that he had clinched his place in the Chase—despite a lackluster qualifying effort on Friday and damage from a Lap 8 wreck that put the No. 88 Chevrolet in jeopardy. Earnhardt was all smiles after the race, as Junior Nation—despite a winless streak that reached 119 races—finally had something to celebrate. What Earnhardt said after the race, however, suggests that he’s happy just to be invited to the party and won’t be a factor in the Chase.

 “I'm in the Chase, and I've got an opportunity to run for the championship,” Earnhardt said. “I've got an opportunity to compete and improve my points position and improve the overall payout.”

 That sort of focus suggests Earnhardt already has achieved his primary goal this season—making the Chase after a two-year absence. Even if Earnhardt doesn’t have the Sprint Cup in his sights, Saturday night marked a productive start to his next six years at Hendrick Motorsports.

 Carl Edwards. Edwards had arguably the best car at Richmond, but his failure to pit with the other lead-lap cars on Lap 310 of 400 probably cost him the race. The good news for Edwards is that his cars have regained the speed they had earlier in the year—and at a short track, no less. Edwards was fast last week at Atlanta, too, and that bodes well, given the proliferation of 1.5-mile intermediate speedways in the Chase (five in all).

 The bad news is that Edwards has only one victory entering the Chase. He has been a runner-up four times and a third-place finisher twice in 26 races. If he’s to win the championship, Edwards will have to cash in on victories in when he’s in position to get them. In that regard, two factors are in play: 1) the No. 99 team can’t make miscalculations on pit road when a win is in the balance, and 2) Edwards must overcome his own strong sense of justice and fair play and consider using his bumper—even when he’s not provoked. Dale Earnhardt did whatever was necessary to win and apologized later. Dale Earnhardt won seven championships. That’s an object lesson for Edwards.

 Jimmie Johnson. At Richmond, Jimmie Johnson had a fast car, as has been the case for the past several weeks. On Saturday, however, Johnson didn’t have a chance to do anything with it because, after Kurt Busch spun him on Lap 186, Johnson turned the race into a revenge play, clobbering Busch on Lap 246. You can forgive Johnson for taking the night off in the last race before the Chase, but it does underline three important differences between this season and Johnson’s previous five championship years: 1) this is the first time since 2005 he has started the Chase with fewer than three wins in the bank; 2) Johnson has zero wins at downforce tracks, the bread and butter of the Chase; and 3) he has a mortal enemy.

 Johnson and Busch really, really don’t like each other, and there’s a chance that, if their blood is up, their rivalry could eclipse better judgment and escalate during the Chase. All this suggests that it might be more difficult this year for Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus to find the magic pixie dust that transforms the No. 48 team from good to great in the final 10 races.

 Kurt Busch. After the tit-for-tat with Johnson and the obligatory postrace broadcast interviews, a question from a reporter that rubbed Busch the wrong way put the driver of the No. 22 Dodge on emotional tilt—to the point of a heated confrontation with that reporter and a subsequent fit of pique with another that ended with Busch tearing the reporter’s transcript of his comments on pit road. If he’s to win a second championship, Busch must narrow his focus to his team and organization and ignore outside distractions as best he can.

 During Chase media day in Chicago on Thursday, for which Busch will have to leave in the middle of his own previously scheduled charity golf tournament, the subject of the postrace tirade undoubtedly will come up. How Busch handles those questions will be a good barometer of his emotional pitch entering the Chase. Busch is a champion, one of only three title winners besides Johnson in the Jimmie Johnson era. Busch needs to remember that and forget everything else.

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service