NASCAR SNCS (DAYTONA) - SERIES NOTES
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Chase Standings Jumbled As Teams Head To Kansas Bowyer, Edwards Hope For A “Hometown” Win In The Loop: Johnson Has Best Pre-Race Driver Rating Montoya Rallies Back In Rookie Battle NASCAR, Etc.: Labonte Pursuing Top-15 Finish
Two races into the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, and drama appears unceasing.
Expect another dose as the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway and Sunday’s LifeLock 400 – the third Chase event.
Snarled standings set the stage: Miniscule margins – a total of four points – separate the top three drivers. Ten points divide the top four and only 18 separate the top-five drivers.
The log jam continues down to seventh, where only 46 points separate seventh-place Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) from leader Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet).
The impact? All 12 eligible Chase participants remain a title threat.
One important development: Last Sunday’s winner at Dover International Speedway – Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) – was penalized 25 points Tuesday for his car being too low in the right rear during post-race inspection.
The penalty drops Edwards from third place in the Chase to sixth, 28 points behind Gordon.
Only two points separate Gordon – at the top – from two-time series champion Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet), who’s second.
Third-place and reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) trails Gordon by four points.
The 10-point gap between first and fourth is the closest such margin – after two events – in the Chase’s four-year history.
The top four were separated by 18 points following the first two Chase events last year. That margin was 21 points in ’05 and 57 points in ’04.
Going For Two: Stewart Chasing Second Consecutive Kansas Victory
The defending champion of Sunday’s LifeLock 400 seeks to become the second driver with consecutive victories at Kansas Speedway, a still-youthful 1.5-mile track that debuted in 2001.
Tony Stewart didn’t qualify for the ’06 Chase; he finished 11th in the final series standings. But his first victory at Kansas last September also was the first of three in 10 Chase events. It also came dramatically – coasting to the checkered flag on fumes.
Jeff Gordon is the only driver with multiple Kansas wins (’01 and ’02). Stewart leads one significant pre-race NASCAR Loop Data statistic for Kansas – Average Running Position (5.697).
Kansas Speedway Winners Driver Year Pole Winner Tony Stewart 2006 Kasey Kahne Mark Martin 2005 Matt Kenseth Joe Nemechek 2004 Joe Nemechek Ryan Newman 2003 Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon 2002 Dale Earnhardt Jr Jeff Gordon 2001 Jason Leffler
Chase Notebook: Expect Kansas To Play Role In Title Drama
With two races complete and eight remaining, the ’07 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup is living up to its moniker. Excitement and shifting fortunes were the rule at New Hampshire International Speedway two weeks ago, with first-time Chase participant Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet) winning his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event in this season’s Chase opener.
Fast-forward to last Sunday’s event at Dover International Speedway, where all 12 Chase-eligible participants switched positions.
This week at Kansas Speedway? Stay tuned for more ups and downs.
The 1.5-mile oval just west of suburban Kansas City has contributed to several championship battles despite its youth (the track hosts its seventh series event on Sunday).
In ’01, then-standings leader Jeff Gordon won the first series event at Kansas, regaining 10 points he’d lost the previous week. He departed with a 222-point lead over then-second-place Ricky Rudd, the closest anyone got until he clinched his fourth series crown two months later.
In ’02, then-standings leader Sterling Marlin saw his title hopes derailed by an accident that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
In ’03, then-standings leader Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) finished 36th due to engine problems, allowing then-second-place Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) to creep within 259 points.
Other notes of interest:
* Jeff Gordon regained the standings lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson following last week’s event at Dover.
* Johnson has the best pre-race Driver Rating (118.0) at Kansas, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics.
* Three Chase drivers fell three standings spots post-Dover – Johnson (to fourth), Kenseth to 10th and Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Chevrolet) to 12th.
Kansas City, Here They Come: Midwest Natives Bowyer And Edwards Head For “Home” Track
Sunday’s LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway comes at a perfect time for two ’07 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup participants.
Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards won the first two Chase events at New Hampshire and Dover, respectively, and now head for the third event at a track they call “home.”
Both are Midwest natives who cut their racing teeth on regional dirt and short tracks.
Bowyer hails from Emporia, Kan., approximately 90 minutes south. Edwards is a Columbia, Mo., native who still spends time there, approximately three hours east.
Neither driver has won a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup or NASCAR Busch Series event at Kansas.
“It would be so cool to be able to celebrate a victory with everybody who has helped me and supported me during my career,” Bowyer said. “I’ve got so many family and friends who will be there and then there’s everyone who I used to race with. It’s just everything that goes along with racing an hour-and-a-half away from where I grew up.”
“I don’t think there could be a bigger win on the Cup schedule,” said Edwards of the possibility of a win Sunday. “The Daytona 500 would be spectacular and the Brickyard 400 would be as well, but to win that close to home at Kansas would be just as big.”
Edwards got a taste, last year, finishing sixth behind ’06 winner Tony Stewart and leading once for seven laps.
“We were racing right there with him,” Edwards said of the finish. “He stayed out, we stopped for fuel and he rolled across the finish line, won the race. One of the biggest disappointments in my career was realizing that we could have maybe won that race too.”
Bowyer also excelled, finishing ninth and leading three times for 43 laps.
Of the two, Edwards leads in the home-track milestone department: He won the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Kansas.
“Hit the wall on the first lap and pretty much destroyed the right side of the truck,” Edwards said. “I still have the right-side suspension pieces that were bent and we ended up winning that race. That was just unreal. That was probably the coolest drive home I’ve ever had from a racetrack.”
Rookie Battle: Montoya Gains Two Points, Leads Ragan By 15
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge) held his ground in the Rookie of the Year race following last week’s event at Dover. Second-place rookie candidate David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Insurance Ford) had crept to within 13 points of the leader.
But Montoya’s 10th-place Dover finish – his first top 10 since late July – helped him regain two points. He leads Ragan by 15 heading to Kansas.
Rookie points are calculated based on a rookie driver’s finish compared to other rookies. The highest finishing rookie gets 10 points, second finishing rookie gets nine points, etc.
Each driver’s top-17 races count towards the Rookie of the Year standings.
Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings
Rookie Pts Juan Pablo Montoya 222 David Ragan 207 Paul Menard 179 David Reutimann 160 AJ Allmendinger 122
Keys To Victory
Kansas Speedway
Sunday’s event will be the seventh series race at Kansas, which resembles its sister facility, Chicagoland Speedway. Both 1.5-mile tracks debuted in 2001, but subtle differences exist due to climate.
• Expect multiple grooves; As track surfaces mature, racing grooves widen, giving drivers more lane choices.
• More grooves equal more options; Fuel mileage factored in last year’s race, but no one can predict the final caution. That’s why crew chiefs get gray hair.
• Plan ahead for green-flag runs; A mature track means more racing and tougher decisions, such as when to pit, whether to short pit or gamble on two tires.
2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Owner Points – After 28 Races
Pos. Points Team Owner Driver
30th 2,343 No. 38 Ford Robert Yates David Gilliland 31st 2,321 No. 66 Chevrolet Joe Custer Jeff Green 32nd 2,251 No. 88 Ford Robert Yates Kenny Wallace 33rd 2,191 No. 70 Chevrolet Joe Custer Johnny Sauter 34th 2,108 No. 45 Dodge Kyle Petty Kyle Petty
35th 2,107 No. 21 Ford Glen Wood Ken Schrader
36th 2,002 No. 22 Toyota Bill Davis Dave Blaney 37th 1,871 No. 10 Dodge James Rocco Scott Riggs 38th 1,860 No. 83 Toyota Dietrich Mateschitz Brian Vickers 39th 1,758 No. 00 Toyota Cal Wells David Reutimann 40th 1,547 No. 13 Chevrolet Jay Frye Joe Nemechek
In The Loop: Gordon’s Kansas Statistics Nearly Equaled By Those Of His Pursuers
The two-point lead Jeff Gordon owns over Tony Stewart might evaporate after Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway. And his four-point cushion over teammate Jimmie Johnson might not stick around much longer, either.
Gordon had uncharacteristic troubles last year at Kansas, finishing 39th, and if that continues, those trailing will likely catch him. That’s because Stewart and Johnson have been consistently solid over the past two years at Kansas.
Johnson leads the Kansas-specific statistics in several categories including Driver Rating (118.0), Fastest Laps Run (74), Green Flag Speed and Laps in the Top 15 (518 of 534).
Stewart’s right behind in each of those categories. With a win and a fourth-place finish in the last two Kansas races, Stewart earned the second-best Driver Rating (116.2), the second-best Average Running Position (5.7), the third-fastest Green Flag Speed and the second-highest number of Laps in the Top 15 (497).
Gordon’s stats took a dip because of last year’s bad finish. Other than 2006, Gordon has been stellar at Kansas. He won the first two races there in 2001 and 2002, and has four top-10 finishes in his six races. A faulty fuel pump took him out of last year’s action after 238 laps, putting his average Kansas Driver Rating at 92.1 and his Average Running Position at 12.6.
Also watch for Kansas native Clint Bowyer to make a move this weekend – and it could be a major one. Bowyer is only 18 points behind Gordon and performed well in his first start at Kansas last season. In finishing ninth, Bowyer earned a Driver Rating of 106.0, an Average Running Position of 8.8 and spent 199 Laps in the Top 15.
Look for a Kansas surprise, as well. In two of three Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas, a non-Chase participant won (Joe Nemechek in 2005 and Stewart last year). The most likely upset candidate looks to be Greg Biffle (No. 16 Aflac Ford). Biffle, coming off a second-place finish at Dover, has a Kansas Driver Rating of 115.4 (third-best), Average Running Position of 6.5 (third-best) and 68 Fastest Laps Run (second-most).
NASCAR, Etc.: Bowyer On NASCAR Teleconference; Labonte Eyes Significant Goal
On The Line: Bowyer On Weekly NASCAR Teleconference
Clint Bowyer was the guest on this week’s NASCAR teleconference. A first-time Chase participant, he won his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race two weeks ago, at New Hampshire.
Some teleconference highlights:
On returning to Kansas as a Chase participant:
“Oh it’s very exciting, just to think about even having a shot at the championship our second year being together at RCR in the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. It’s just a dream come true. We escaped Dover with a decent finish. We dodged a lot of bullets and enabled ourselves to stay in the hunt of this thing. To be able to roll in to our home track right in the thick of things is a lot of fun and very exciting.”
On visiting his hometown of Emporia:
“Those are the people you grew up around, those are your people. And back home they still know me, I'm just Clint back there. That's why I enjoy going back to places like that. They don't look at you any differently than they did before. They certainly support you, and that's very gratifying and comforting.
“You know, it is neat to have a small community like that. And it's a big deal. You know, this NASCAR Nextel Cup Series is a big thing. And NASCAR's certainly just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And to be part of all of this is a pretty cool deal.”
For the complete transcript, visit www.nascarmedia.com.
Non-Chase Participants Have A History of Excellence At Kansas
Although the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup is the primary focus during the season’s final 10 events, much remains on the line for every series team.
Kansas Speedway has a history of non-Chase winners, including Joe Nemechek, who won the ’04 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event from the pole and also swept the NASCAR Busch Series event the previous day.
Last year, then-11th-place driver Tony Stewart scored at Kansas, winning the first of three ’06 Chase events.
Then-Chase participant Mark Martin won the ’05 Kansas event.
Labonte Targets Landmark Finish For Petty Enterprises
As NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams embark on the season’s final eight events, Bobby Labonte (No. 43 Betty Crocker/Cheerios Dodge) has a goal just as an important as any Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup participant.
The 2000 series champion, he’s fighting for a top 15 final finish. Currently 17th, he trails 16th-place Casey Mears (No. 25 National Guard/UAW Chevrolet) by 160 points and 15th-place Greg Biffle by 184 points. If he succeeds, it will equal or exceed the best Petty Enterprises finish since John Andretti finished 17th in 1998.
“Everyone has their own goals until the end of the season,” said Labonte, in his second season at Petty Enterprises. “A lot of people are focused on the championship, but every team has a battle to fight. We always want to get better and be better than before. We know we’ve made progress, but it’s slowed a little bit. It’s time to get back on track and be even better.”
Labonte’s newest partner is crew chief Doug Randolph, who joined the team six weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway.
“We were better at California and he’s made changes to that part of our program, Labonte said. “I’m anxious to get to Kansas and see what we have because it can be something pretty good.
“It’s a track that can help us get started in moving in a faster direction to the front. I’m confident in Doug’s abilities to prepare good cars for us.”
On Deck: Talladega Hosts Fourth Chase Race
Round Four of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup will combine title drama with history.
Teams return to the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway – the series’ biggest track – for the first restrictor-plate event with the Car of Tomorrow, NASCAR’s next-generation race car that will be used fulltime in 2008.
The UAW-Ford 500 on Oct. 7 will be the 76th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Talladega, which first hosted the series in 1969.
Brian Vickers (No. 83 Team Red Bull Toyota) is the defending race winner. David Gilliland (No. 38 M&M’s Ford) was last year’s polesitter.
The Race: LifeLock 400 The Place: Kansas Speedway The Date: Sunday, Sept. 30 The Time: 2:30 p.m. (ET) TV: ABC, 2 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, 1:15 p.m. (ET), Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 128 The Track: 1.5-mile oval The Distance: 400 miles, 267 laps The Purse: $6,056,938 2006 Winner: Tony Stewart 2006 Pole: Kasey Kahne Series Standings Pos. Driver Pts. 1 Gordon 5,340 2 Stewart 5,338 3 Johnson 5,336 4 Kyle Busch 5,330 5 Bowyer 5,322 6 Edwards 5,312 7 Truex Jr. 5,294 8 Burton 5,265 9 Harvick 5,225 10 Kenseth 5,224 11 Kurt Busch 5,189 12 Hamlin 5,182 Pre-Race Schedule (local/CT time): Friday—Practice, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Qualifying, 3:10 p.m. Saturday—Practice, 9-9:50 a.m. and 12:50-1:50 p.m.