• Home
• The Show
• The Crew
• Bench Racing
• Fast Lap
• Fantasy Racing
• Contact Us

Subscribe

• NASCAR
• Sprint Cup
• Drivers
• Nationwide Series
• ARCA Remax Series
• NASCAR Headlines

2009 OPer Awards: Best NASCAR Team

This really could have been the “No Brainer” Award.

The team that fields the driver - Jimmie Johnson - who has won the last four Sprint Cup championships. The crew chief - Chad Knaus - who has guided that driver to all four. The team - the Hendrick Motorsports Lowes no. 48 -  that has remained basically intact for six straight seasons.

Seven 2009 Sprint Cup Series wins and a fourth straight Cup championship.

There were several good teams. A couple of other great ones too. But just one Hall of Fame team.

2008 OPeR Award: Worst Crew Chief

I was surprised at the unanimity of agreement on this one. I guess it points out, in a way, just how much pressure having NASCAR’s most popular figure - Dale Earnhardt Jr - as your driver. 

Tony Eury Jr DID get Junior and his no. 88 Amp Energy Drink/National Guard Chevy into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. They won a qualifying race at Daytona, the Budweiser Shootout and the first 2008 race at Michigan International Speedway. That is not, by my definition, a failure of a season.

But I voted right along with Steve and Marc and Matt. Better win it all in 2009 Tony.

2008 OPeR Award: Best Owner/Team

All right all you fans of the Coach and the Cat in the Hat, bring it on. But you will not convince me that, in 2008 - and ‘06 and ‘07 too - Joe Gibbs, Jack Roush or anyone else was the equal of Mr Hendrick in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

A third straight championship probably would have been enough, but throw in the recruitment and successful integration of NASCAR’s biggest box-office star, Dale Earnhardt Jr, the addition for ‘09 of Hall-of-famer Mark Martin (full time too) and a satellite team that includes Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

That’s Earnhardt Jr, Stewart, Martin, Newman to go with the seven Cup Championships of  Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson. We rest our case, your Honor.

Dodge Going Away–Say It Ain’t So

Four races to go and driving a Chevy is as important at Atlanta as it has been everywhere else on the Chase circuit.

The strength of the Hendrick cars and Richard Childress Racing along with Joe Gibbs Racing tenure with the GM brand is the reason it is the brand to beat of late at Atlanta.  The question has been; is it the car or does Chevrolet just have the best drivers and teams?  It’s hard to argue that the three teams listed above along with Dale Earnhardt Inc. hasn’t been the best equipped over the past ten to fifteen years.

It is difficult to go too far back to try and gain any perspective on how brands do at particular tracks when everything has been changed by the “New Car”.  The car makes and models are literally just shells of what they once were.  It has been since the mid to late Eighties that definite car makes made a difference in their ability to affect the outcome of a race.

There was a time when car owners would change brands or models of car to gain an advantage over the competition.  Going back to the Sixties the Mercury Cyclones were the car of choice over the Ford Torino, later Talledaga, because its shape was more areodynamic.  The Monte Carlo Aero Coupe was the answer to the teams that found slipperier makes from Olds, Buick or Pontiac in the Ninties.

But, of course, the days of having all those makes of car are long gone.  Granted they were all GM makes, but having the long list of models made for more interesting chatter on Mondays.  It has only been a relative short few years since Dodge has returned to the Cup series.  Now with the talk of mergers on and off the race track, the future of Chrysler in racing is in doubt.  Any time you lose a brand, it isn’t a positive.  Dodge came back into the sport with high hopes and eventually re-introduced one of its most popular models, the Charger, because of it.

The new car has stripped all brand identity except for the decals and engine block.  It is really too bad that with that little difference in cars; more models, even in name only, aren’t represented.  It’s a pipe dream on my part, but since NASCAR didn’t listen to me when I asked for factory roof, hood, deck and glass, what the hell, I can dream can’t I?

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Atlanta Motor Speedway: Only the Top Teams Need Apply

G’wan home you guys. That’s what the stats are saying to all but the members of NASCAR’s 2008 royalty. That being the cars and drivers of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush-Fenway and Richard Childress. All others are mear pretenders to the Sprint Cup throne, at least for this race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The top ten Loop Driver Ratings all belong to members of those four teams. DEI pilots, Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr come in 11th and 12th with the Dodges of Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch right behind them. But the talent of the big four teams looks too tuned-in to AMS to be upset by those guys. It would be a huge surprise.

General Johnson’s March Through Georgia

Once again, Jimmy Johnson holds most of the Loop cards. There are 16 categories that make up the Loop Data Box Score. Jimmy has the top stat in 11 of those columns for Atlanta. Significantly Johnson holds the edge in Ave Position and Finish - 6.6 and 5.9. He has led more laps - 326 for 14.3 percent - and run the most Laps in the Top 15 - 2142 for 94.0 percent. His number one Driver Rating is 113.4. J J has the top season-to-date Driver Rating too, at 107.2.

The next four guys in the Atlanta Loop all have Driver Ratings of 102.3 or better. So Johnson won’t have the track to himself Sunday. Both Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr are past winners at AMS and have the second and third DRs - 104.4 and 103.6. Stewart has led 318 laps - 14.0 percent and just behind Johnson. Junior is right there with 299 laps led. Ave Finishes of 9.4 for Smoke and 10.9 for Junior are significantly behind Johnson.

The Challenge of the Roushketeers

The two Roush-Fenway drivers who most closely chase Jimmy Johnson in the Chase are Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. Edwards year-to-date Driver Rating is second only to Johnson at 105.4. His AMS rating is fourth at 102.8 and he has 2nd best 197 Fastest Laps Run. Carl is a two-time winner at Atlanta and is typically Roush strong on the fast mile-and-a-half tracks.

Greg Biffle has the fifth best DR - 102.3 - second best Ave Running Position and Laps in the Top 15 percentage - 9.8 and 83.4 percent - and series high 211 Fastest Laps Run. But Biffle is win-less at AMS as are Chasers Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth (Driver Ratings - 92.8 and 94.1). But all three drivers are very capable on intermediate tracks.

Jeff Gordon has only four races left in which to claim his first win of 2008. Gordon has an amazing string of 14 straight years with at least two wins. Time is running out but Atlanta could get him started on an end of season run. He has four wins at AMS, is the sixth rated driver in the Loop Stats. 

Twenty One Anyone?

Kyle Busch has twenty NASCAR major wins in 2008. It’s been awhile since he scored in the Cup Series, though he still has the third season-to-date Driver Rating at 104.2. Kyle was the winner the last time we went to Atlanta and AMS has produced plenty of sweeps over the years. Carl Edwards was the last to pull it off. But Kyle’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, claimed that the Hendrick Motorsports’ cars have an advantage on what Joe Gibbs Racing is fielding right now. I believe him.

The pick, this week is Dale Earnhardt Jr - Jimmy Johnson can’t win them all, can he? - with a dark-horse shout out to DEI’s Regan Smith.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

I’d Rather Drive a Chevy at Lowes Motor Speedway

Week five of the Chase has taken place at Lowes Motor Speedway every year to mark the halfway point. The race has seen a Chaser win each time, and 3 of the 4 races have been won by Jimmie Johnson (twice) and Jeff Gordon. Breaking the Chevy streak was Kasey Kahne in 2006. Chevys have taken a majority of top 10 spots, and it’s no wonder because the dominant Chevy teams – Hendrick and Childress – have been represented well. On the Hendrick side, obviously Gordon, Johnson, and previous driver Kyle Busch have top finishes, but Childress drivers Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer haven’t been too shabby either. The wild card could be the Roush Fenway Fords, however. Their last big year was 2005, and they placed 3 cars in the top 5 in this race.

As far as the championship is concerned, your guess is as good as mine. Looking at the track record, Johnson’s won this race in the years he failed to win the championship. He hasn’t won this race in 2 years, but won the championship in both. Go figure. I remember back in 2004 and Kurt Busch was involved in an early incident but came back for a top 5. The overarching theme of this race is that the title weighs heavily on the minds of the contenders.

The winners:
2007 – Jeff Gordon
2006 – Kasey Kahne
2005 – Jimmie Johnson
2004 – Jimmie Johnson

Champs finish:
2007 – Jimmie Johnson - 14th
2006 – Jimmie Johnson - 2nd
2005 – Tony Stewart - 25th
2004 – Kurt Busch - 4th

Fantasy options – Obviously, the man to beat at this track is Johnson. 2 wins and a runner-up finish in the Chase, not to mention his record at the track in general. Another driver to watch out for is Jeff Burton. I’m thinking about starting Burton this week, because he seems to have the speed again in his cars to be a contender. Thirdly, Carl Edwards has yet to experience the same success here as he has in Atlanta and Texas. Could it finally come this year? I’m hoping, but I’m not certain.

Sleepers here are always tricky. Does Kahne count as a sleeper? He had one good month here in an otherwise forgettable 2008 season, and has won this race before. Brian Vickers could finally get it done at this race. He runs extremely well at LMS. Scott Speed, Brad Keselowski, and Bryan Clauson are all expected to make their debuts this week. Count on one of them, most likely Speed or Keselowski, to have a stronger run than expected.

Finally, the song for this week’s race comes courtesy of a personal favorite on my playlist right now, “Coming Home” by Alter Bridge. Check it out, I’m out until next week.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

History on Bowtie’s Side in Land of Oz

Kansas Speedway has been kind to the drivers of the General Motors brand.

When a track has had as little history as Kansas, its hard to try to make any conclusions from the limited data.  But one thing is clear; especially if you figure in the Nationwide Series numbers, Chevrolets have won half of the races since Kansas opened in 2001.  Jeff Gordon won the first two Cup races at Kansas in 2001 and 2002.

Joe Nemecheck swept the Busch and Cup races in 2004, driving his own Chevy to the win in the Busch race and taking the Nelson Bowers owned #01 to the Cup win.  Tony Stewart holds the most recent win in a Joe Gibbs owned ride from 2007.

Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch round out the Chevy wins in the Nationwide Series coming in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  The remaining fifty percent of the wins are divided amongst Ford and Dodge on the Cup side along with a lone Pontiac win in the Nationwide Series.

While Rick Hendrick owned cars lay claim to the majority of the Chevy wins, all but one of the combined Ford wins have come from Jack Roush owned vehicles.  It’s tough to bet against Chase drivers from either Hendrick or Roush.  Jimmy Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. can be looked on as favorites at Kansas.  With Johnson being given the pole for Sundays race following the disallowing of Juan Pablo Montoya’s time, JJ would have to be the favorite to pick up his first win at Kansas.

Greg Biffle continues to impress also as his two Ford wins to start the Chase put him in the cat-bird seat.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Classic Manufacturer Battle at New Hampshire

New Hampshire Motor Speedway has a real thing for Chevrolet.

There have been twenty-seven Sprint Cup Series races held at this mile-plus slightly banked track since NASCAR  started bringing their premier series there in 1993.  Of those twenty-seven races, drivers who have driven Chevrolets have won twelve of those races or 44.4 percent.  Interestingly though, no one Bowtie driver has dominated in those twelve victories other than Jeff Gordon’s three wins in the mid to late nineties.

The rest of those wins have been scattered about with Jimmy Johnson  the only other driver to post multiple wins, when he swept the 2003 races.  Joe Nemecheck took the win in1999 and Robby Gordon  won the latest race of the year in modern NASCAR history, when he won on November 23, 2001, in the rescheduled race from just after 9-11.

Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer  have all seen victory lane in Chevys since.  Of those twelve wins, drivers who have driven for Hendrick Motorsports have been behind the wheel of seven.  Richard Childress Racing  has bought home the prize three times and current Toyota team, Joe Gibbs Racing seeing the stripe first, twice.

Ford drivers and teams hold the second spot in total wins; with car owner, Jack Roush leading the way.  His drivers; Jeff Burton, with four wins, and Kurt Busch with two, hold  sixty percent of the Blue Oval’s wins.  Robert Yates Racing, which is now a satellite team of Roush-Fenway Racing holds three of the remaining four victories.  The only other driver and team to have won at NHMS was Ryan Newman driving for Roger Penske who is now campaigning Dodges.

Roger Penske, as a car owner has had a fair amount of success over the years at New Hampshire.  He has just done it with a variety of manufacturers.  Along with his one Ford win, Penske owned Dodges have won twice with Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch behind the wheel.  Rusty Wallace  has also sprayed champagne for Roger while piloting a Pontiac in one of two wins for that retired manufacturer.

Ward Burton, driving a Bill Davis Racing Dodge in July of 2002, rounds out the wins at NASCAR’s northern-most Cup venue.

As the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, Chevy drivers, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., along with Richard Childress Racing Drivers, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer seem to have the statistical advantage.  But, if you factor in the working agreement between Roush-Fenway and Yates Racing, their nine wins give Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards a great chance of taming the progressive banking at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

It is a classic Ford versus Chevy battle, with one exception.  While Toyota hasn’t seen a win at NHMS yet, they also sport the points leader and Mr. Everything for much of 2008, Kyle Busch.  Toyota’s first win there could be the start of their run to a first Cup championship as well.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Copyright © 2012 Bench Racing Productions, LLC. · All rights reserved.
Content may not be duplicated, or redistributed without express written permission.

OnPitRow.com | Bench Racing | Fast Lap | About Us | Contact Us
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertise with us!