Kansas Price Chopper 400 Preview: Beyond the Numbers

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On this, the first weekend of October, NASCAR travels to the Midwest for a stop at Kansas Speedway. The Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods will get underway Sunday afternoon, where Cup Series driver will make a scheduled 267 laps around the 1.5 mile D-Oval. The third race in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship is pivotal for drivers like Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart who reside at the low end of the current point standings.

In his nine Cup starts in Kansas, Kevin Harvick has placed in the top ten on three occasions. In the 2009 race at Kansas, Kevin was only able to post a 24th place finish. His 2010 season has been more consistent than last year, however. Harvick claims a 9.8th place average finish for the 2010 season and historically, he finishes nearly 40% of races at intermediate tracks in the top ten. After sliding back three spots in the Chase standings to the 5th spot, Kevin will be out to prove he is still a contender and can make his way back to the top of the board.

Jeff Gordon won the first two races at Kansas back in 2001 and 2002 but hasn't seen a win there since. Going into the weekend Jeff posts an impressive 8.9 average finish at Kansas, the best among Chase drivers. In Gordon's nine Cup starts at this track he has finished outside of the top ten just twice. Eighth in Championship Points, Jeff is likely to move up with a strong weekend performance.



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Another two-time winner at Kansas that NASCAR fans should keep an eye on this weekend is Tony Stewart. After winning the 2009 Price Chopper 400 but having back-to-back 39th and 40th place finishes the two years prior Tony shows 13.2 as his average finishing spot at Kansas Speedway. 162 points behind the Chase leader, Stewart will be driving for another win in Kansas this weekend.

After his win last week at Dover raised him to second place in the Chase standings, Jimmie Johnson is again a valid contender for the Championship. Johnson won at Kansas in 2008, has finished outside the top ten in just two of his eight starts, and shows a 10.2 average finish. Jimmie will be looking for Victory Lane again this weekend with hopes of getting to the top of the Chase Leader Board.



Autostock

 Points leader Denny Hamlin has five Cup starts at Kansas Speedway; just one of those has given him a top ten finish. With momentum and confidence in his court I cannot see how Denny will not find his way to a competitive race on Sunday, however. Hamlin has proven he is more than competent on the smaller ovals this year and with his win at Richmond, a ¾ mile D-oval, he should be able to transform his small track skills to the larger D-oval in Kansas.


Mark Martin comes to Kansas showing four top ten finishes in nine Cup Series starts at this track. Martin has won at this track once, and placed in the top five on one additional occasion. At Intermediate tracks, Mark has ended his day of racing in the top ten 56% of the time. 2010 has not been a great year for Mark by any means, but this could be his weekend to get back into the headlines.

Jamie McMurray has not seen a top ten finish at Kansas since his first two Cup races there in 2003 and 2004. Jamie qualified in the 4th position in 2009 but finished in a disappointing 31st place. Just on the edge of the Chase for the latter part of the regular season, McMurray finished just outside of the top ten last week in 13th place. Jamie has proven his worth this year on the big tracks but is under his average for the Intermediates. Throughout his career McMurray has historically finished in the top ten in 30% of his races at Intermediate tracks. With another good qualifying run at the Kansas Speedway and a mistake-free day in the pits, the #1 Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet should be in the top ten by then end of his 400 laps.



Autostock

 Martin Truex, Jr. is my surprise top ten finisher of the week. In his four Cup Series starts at Kansas his best finish has been a 11th in his freshman year of 2006. Truex made his way to a 16th place finish in the 2009 Price Chopper 400. What may work in Martin's favor is his 8th place performance this year at the August Michigan race. The Michigan two mile track has similar banking to Kansas all the way around and the same five degree banking on the long backstretch. The #56 NAPA Toyota Team should find that a similar set-up will find them running competitively throughout the day.


Greg Biffle, in 9th place in Chase standings, has the second best average finish at Kansas with a 9.0, just one-tenth behind Jeff Gordon. Greg won the 2007 race in Kansas, has finished in the top ten in another four of his eight career Cup starts at the track. With over 42% of Biffle's starts at Intermediate tracks ending with top ten finishes, and 62.5% of his starts at Kansas resulting in top tens, Greg should be coming to the Midwest with a good amount of confidence.

Juan Pablo Montoya has started three Cup Series races at Kansas. During each of three appearances he has improved his finish from the previous year. In 2007 Juan finished in 28th place, in 2008 he finished in 20th place. In 2009 he finished the day in the 4th spot. Almost 25% of Montoya's starts at Intermediate tracks have resulted in top ten finishes.



Autostock

 My winner pick for the Price Chopper 400 Presented by Kraft is Greg Biffle with Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin finishing in second and third. The remainder of my top ten includes Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex, Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya. I am calling for another week of stress induced mistakes by the Clint Bowyer team as they await the next round of appeals hearings and predict that both Busch brothers will be non-contenders in this race.

Sprint Cup Series practice will air on SPEED Channel Friday beginning at 1 p.m. and qualification begin at 4:30 p.m., also on SPEED. The first practice on Saturday, starting at 12:30 will not be televised and although the second practice begins at 1:50 p.m. it will not air until 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening on ESPN2. NASCAR RaceDay begins Sunday on SPEED at 10 a.m. And NASCAR Countdown can be seen on ESPN2 starting at Noon. The Price Chopper 400, Presented by Kraft Foods will come on air at 1 p.m. On Sunday. Tune in to see how the Chase Leader Board gets shaken up this week!

Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/

Bowyer's Distraction

 After it was announced that the #33 RCR Cheerios Team was losing 150 owner points, would pay a fine of $150,000, Crew Chief Shane Wilson would serve a six week suspension, Car Chief Chad Haney would serve a six week suspension, and driver Clint Bowyer was to lose 150 driver points the questions started to fly. Everyone was asking what the violation had been and NASCAR wasn't saying. Richard Childress was the first to announce that the penalty handed down was due to the rear of the chassis being sixty-thousandth of an inch outside of specified tolerances. Bowyer elaborated today and said that the rear quarter panel was the piece of the car outside of specifications.


Clint Bowyer put that measurement into perspective during Friday's Media conference. “Sixty-thousandths of an inch, folks. Grab a quarter out of your pocket. Less than the thickness of that quarter right there is worth a 150-point fine?” Not to mention the other penalties. Clint went onto say that he does not believe the team did anything wrong. He made it clear he was going on the record as saying that, and that he felt his fans needed to hear him say it.

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

To further make his feelings clear, Clint said “There's a lot of integrity that goes into this sport, I'm damn proud to be a part of this sport, I love this sport, and I wouldn't cheat to win a race in this sport. We have a lot more integrity in the race team and RCR.” Coming out of the media session, Bowyer headed to the first weekend practice at Dover International Speedway. Admitting that he has had trouble focusing on this weekend with the incident looming overhead as RCR awaits an appeal hearing in the next week or so, Clint went to the first practice session at Dover under extreme pressure.

The first practice session closed with Bowyer in fourth place on the leader board with a speed of 155.072, just .123 seconds behind the fastest car in practice on Friday. Qualifications did not turn out as well. When qualifications wound down and found Jimmie Johnson atop the leader board, Bowyer was way back in 24th place. Bowyer's speed of 153.997 was .261 behind Johnson, the 43 qualifiers were separated by less than nine-tenths of a second in Qualifications.


Bowyer now must come out during the two Saturday practice sessions and forget the happening of the past week and focus on what is going on this weekend – a race to gain invaluable lost points. With an average finish at Dover of 14.7 Clint will have to come out on Sunday and perform better than average to make up some of the lost ground. Although the appeal is in process and will be heard before officials sometime, hopefully in the next week Richard Childress made it clear that the team is not counting on winning the appeal. Childress said “...in the history of RCR don't think we have been but to maybe three appeals. We didn't win any of them."


Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com

AAA 400 at the Dover International Speedway...By the numbers and Beyond

This week NASCAR heads to Dover International Speedway, a one-mile track located just west of Delaware Bay and north of Dover. The AAA 400 will run Sunday afternoon as the second race in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship. Drivers will navigate the oval at Dover 400 times before the checkers fly.


Mary Schwalm /AP Photo

After Clint Bowyer's impressive run last week at Louden that moved him from 12th to second in the Chase standings, his car failed post-race inspection. NASCAR officials determined that the rear end of the RCR chassis did not meet NASCAR-approved specifications. The team was penalized through a suspension for Crew Chief Shane Wilson for the next six races, and more importantly 150 points. This penalty takes Clint from second place back down to 12th, 185 points behind points leader Denny Hamlin.

Although Clint has not won at this track, he has finished in the top ten in three of the nine Cup races at Dover. Bowyer finished in seventh place at this track in the spring. With an average finish at Dover of 14.7 Clint will have to step up his game to finish near the front of the field and regain some of his lost points. As Clint said after his win last weekend, “...if we can continue to ride that momentum wave through this Chase, we can have a shot at it just like we did in 2007.”

Jeff Gordon comes to Dover in the fifth place in the Chase standings after a sixth place finish in New Hampshire helped him move up three spots in the standings. Without a win this season, Gordon is hungry for victory. Gordon has two wins at Dover, but the last was in 2001. Through 1995 and 1996 Jeff won three in a row at Dover. In the spring race this year Gordon posted an 11th place finish. With Jeff's 35 previous Cup races at Dover International Speedway lending their experience, this could be week he ends his losing streak.

After losing five spots in the Chase standings last week with a disappointing 25th place finish last week at Louden, Jimmie Johnson has to come to Dover to prove he is still the man to beat. Johnson has claimed five wins in his 17 Cup starts and 11 top ten finishes at Dover. Jimmie and his #48 Lowe's Team have the knowledge to tame this mile track, come out with a top ten finish this week, and move back up toward the top of the Chase leader board.


AP Photo/Steve Helber

 Not giving up the number one spot in the Chase standings easily, Denny Hamlin will likely come out as a man on a mission this weekend. With nine Cup starts at this track, he has claimed three top ten finishes but no wins. Hamlin has finished fourth twice at Dover, including in this year's spring race. Denny has been a solid performer at almost every track this year, his all-around racing ability will likely gain him another top ten this week, and keep him at least near the top of the Chase leader board.

Tony Stewart is another driver who lost five spots in the Chase standings after a bad finish last week. After running out of gas with the white flag in sight while leading the race, Stewart finished 24th in New Hampshire. Coming into Dover, Tony has to feel confident that his team can put together another strong run. Stewart has finished in the top ten in his last three appearances in Delaware for Cup racing, and in his 23 Cup starts at Dover International Speedway has posted five wins and 15 top ten finishes. Watch for Tony to try to move up the leader board a few spots with a solid run on Sunday.

Gaining momentum last week is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after a fourth place finish last week. Out of the Chase the only pressure Dale feels is the pressure to win the race for his Hendricks #88 Team. In 21 Cup starts at this track Earnhardt has finished in the top ten seven times and went to Victory Lane once. Dale finished 30th in Delaware in the spring and has not seen a top ten finish here since the first Dover race in 2007. Earnhardt should be able to put together a good run this week and crack the top ten again.

Autostock

Greg Biffle slipped two spots in the Chase standings after finishing 17th last week. He has proven himself able to stay with the competition at this track in the past, however. With 10 top ten finishes, six top fives and two wins at Dover Greg could be a contender for the top spot this weekend. With a 10.5 average finish at Cup races in Delaware, Biffle should finish strongly and gain back a place or two in the Championship standings.

Kevin Harvick has not seen a win in his 19 starts at Dover International Speedway. Harvick has claimed seven top ten finished and two top fives at this track during his Cup career and will be looking to perform strongly on Sunday to move back up the leader board from his current third position in Chase standings. Kevin only posts three top ten finishes at Dover in his last ten starts; Harvick will have to run better than his norm in order to meet his goals for the week.

Kyle Busch has claimed a finish in the top five in more than half of his starts at the Delaware oval. Six of his 11 starts have resulted in top five finishes; the other five Cup starts have ended with Kyle outside of the top ten and just one of those gave Kyle a finish in the top 15. Kyle's last four Cup starts have ended with top five finishes; provided that Kyle stays out of any wrecks that occur nearby his position he should come out of Sunday's race with at least a top ten under his belt.


AP Photo

 Carl Edwards has one win at this track, what's more impressive is that in his 12 Cup starts at Dover he has finished in the top ten eight times. After his 11th place finish last week Carl gained a spot in the standings and is now in eights place in the Chase. Carl finished eighth here in the spring and has only finished outside the top ten twice in his last ten Cup starts in Delaware. Wanting to make up more ground in his Chase for the Championship, Carl should run for a solid top ten this week if he performs as his 7.9 average finish indicates that he should.

My pick for the win this week is Jeff Gordon, with Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle close behind. The remaining seven drivers I have picked for top ten finishes are Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice will air on SPEED Channel on Friday at 11:30 a.m.. Qualifications are on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Friday. The Saturday 12:30 p.m. Practice session will air on SPEED, but the later 1:50 p.m. Practice session will not be shown on television. NASCARaceday on SPEED is on the air Sunday morning at 10 a.m. and runs until Noon. NASCAR Countdown picks up on ESPN2 at Noon and AAA 400 coverage from Dover International Speedway will air on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. Don't miss any of the exciting action in this week's second race in the Chase to the Championship.

Team Focus on Richard Childress Racing

Team History and Richard Childress
Debuting in 1969 at the Talladega 500 Richard Childress Racing entered the NASCAR scene during a boycott by the majority of drivers due to a lack of tire grip from the Goodyear tires. Other drivers not a part of the Professional Drivers Association stepped in to race on that September day in Alabama, including Richard Childress where Childress finished 23rd out of 36 drivers in his first race in his own car.


Over twelve years of racing at the Cup level in NASCAR Richard Childress competed in 285 races. Beginning in 1969 and closing in 1981 Childress earned 76 top ten finishes, six top fives, and no wins. In 1981 Childress handed some of the driving over to drivers Dale Earnhardt and Kirk Shelmerdine. 1982 brought Ricky Rudd to RCR but the first win for the team did not occur until 1983 with Rudd behind the wheel. Dale Earnhardt took over full-time driving rights for RCR in 1984 and won 67 races for Richard Childress Racing over the next 18 seasons.


RCR has raced during 37 seasons; over those years the team has seen 1,985 starts at the Cup Series level as of the start of today's Truck Series Race. RCR's starts have resulted in 92 wins, 399 top five finishes, 818 top tens, and 42 starts from the pole. The team has won over $218 Million through its 41 seasons and has an average finish of 15.7th place. RCR drivers have driven more than three-quarters of a million miles at the Cup Series level. After having all three Sprint Cup drivers for 2010 make the Chase to the Championship there is a strong possibility that RCR will have another Championship to add to the previous six that RCR drivers have earned at the Sprint Cup level.


Kevin Harvick (Cup #29)

The #29 car has been sponsored by Shell/Penzoil for 2010 but will be bringing Budweiser on board for 2011. Harvick has 10 seasons under his belt in Cup Level Racing and posts 14 wins, 72 top five finishes, 147 top tens, and has started from the pole seven times.


Harvick and wife DeLana started Kevin Harvick Incorporated in 2007 for the NASCAR Trucks Series, although Kevin had raced his own truck in prior years. KHI Racing now has entries in both the Truck Series and Nationwide Series. Harvick has proven himself to be effective as both a driver and team owner through his accomplishments in Cup Series racing and through his KHI Team performance in other series racing. Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday brought home the Championship for KHI in 2009 and Kevin has made the Chase for the Championship in Cup level racing for RCR in four of the last five years.


Jeff Burton (Cup #31)

Racing at the Cup Series level since 1993 and full-time since 1997 Jeff has 573 starts, 21 wins, 127 top five finishes, 235 top tens, and has started from the pole six times. Burton is another driver for RCR who has made the Chase for the Championship four of the last five years. A solid performer in 2010 Jeff has 13 top ten finishes and starts the Chase in the 10th spot with a 12.7 average finish thus far in 2010.


Clint Bowyer (Cup #33)
2010 is Bowyer's 7th season at the Sprint Cup level, his 6th year as a full-time Cup Series driver. Clint has posted season finishes in the top twelve three of the last four years, his best season being 2007 when he finished third in season points. Over his 171 Cup Series starts Bowyer has claimed two wins, 24 top five finishes, 75 top tens, and two starts from the pole.

Bowyer also has a full-time dirt track late model team that races under Clint Bowyer Racing. Carrying over momentum from this year's Sprint Cup Series successes, dirt driver Dale McDowell posted a win just two weeks ago for Clint Bowyer Racing, earning a $20,000 check at the Pepsi 75 River Days Rumble at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, Ohio on September 4th. It was McDowell's third win of the season for Clint Bowyer Racing.  It seems that Bowyer is a success both on and off the track.

#21 Nationwide Series Car

The #21 car has had Clint Bowyer, Morgan Shepard, Scott Riggs, and John Wes Townsley behind the wheel in 2010 and has earned seven top ten finishes in 2010, no top fives, and no wins. The #21 car for RCR has been in the Nationwide Series, at least on a part-time basis since 2000. At the end of August the team developed a partnership with Morgan Shepard to form Shepard Racing Ventures to keep the #21 car on the track for the remainder of the season.


Austin Dillon (Trucks #3)

The Grandson of Richard Childress, Austin Dillon is in his rookie season in the Camping World Truck Series. An impressive start in his first full-time season Dillon has one win, five top five finishes, 12 top tens, and is 6th in season points standings. Austin participated in four different series in 2009 as part of his development from RCR; Dillon raced in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series along with K & N Pro Series starts and ARCA races. With wins in the Nationwide, Camping World Truck Series, and K & N Dillon has proven he can be competitive in various series and his freshman year in the Camping World Truck Series has shown he can hold his own on the track with the more experienced drivers.

Development and the Future of RCR
The future is taken seriously at Richard Childress Racing. From the #21 Zaxby's car in the Nationwide Series down to dirt track racing RCR involvement with many talented drivers to step up into the higher series' as their skill is developed. Names to watch for in the future with Richard Childress Racing include Ty Dillon, Ryan Gifford, Blake Koch, and Tim George, Jr.


Richard Childress Racing announced earlier this year that the team will be adding a fourth car to its Sprint Cup Series stable for 2011 with driver Paul Menard; this addition will come with Menard's Sponsorship. Menard will be joining RCR veteran drivers Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer. With just the three cars guaranteed starting spots based on owner's points carryover from 2010, Menard will have to qualify in on speed to begin the 2011 season. Next year will prove to be another pivotal year at RCR with the strong 2010 season to answer to.

*All stats current as of PRIOR to Louden Race


Photo Credits
Photo 1: http://www.cbssports.com/autoracing/story/13951521
Photo 2: http://www.cbssports.com/autoracing/story/13951521
Photo 3: http://www.cbssports.com/autoracing/story/13951521
Photo 4: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Photo 5: http://www.sacbee.com

Saturday Racing in Louden: Camping World Truck Series Preview

The track at Louden is just over a mile long and the trucks will make 175 laps around the circuit in this years TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175, shortened from the previous 200 laps. For today's Saturday afternoon CWTS Race Kyle Busch will start from the pole in New Hampshire. Kyle also won the 2009 fall race at Louden and has the Trucks race record, also from 2009. Busch has had a stellar season in the Camping World Truck Series, winning four of his ten starts, and finishing in the top ten in eight of his CWTS starts in 2010.

Todd Bodine still leads the points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with a 261 point lead. With just seven races to go in the CWTS Season time is running out for anyone to catch up with Todd. For Aric Almirola to have any hopes of taking over the top spot in the standings Bodine will have to make several large mistakes; Todd Bodine usually doesn't do that.

Kevin Harvick's #2 Chevrolet will start in the second spot with teammate Ron Hornaday starting the #33 Truck in third. Harvick has some pretty impressive stats of his own in the 2010 CWTS Season; with four starts, Kevin has posted three wins. In the one race Harvick did not end the day in Victory Lane he came home with the runner-up spot. Watch for another atrong Harvick run today and a finish in the top three.

Hornaday is another driver to watch today; he has starts in all 18 races so far this season and 11 top ten finishes. Ron has won twice before at this fall race in New Hampshire, in 2007 and 2008. With just one win in the 2010 Season thus far Hornaday may not be a favorite to win today but is definitely a driver who is likely to end up in the top five at the end of the 175 laps.

Johnny Sauter owns the third place in CWTS Standings, 318 points back from leader Bodine. Sauter starts seventh in today's race and will need to run strong to remain in the hunt for the Championship. Although highly unlikely that Sauter can catch Bodine over the next seven races a strong performance today by Sauter and a less than excellent day by Almirola, Sauter could take over the second place slot in the standings.

Aric Almirola starts in the sixth spot for the TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175 today. Aric has two wins this season, and 14 top ten finishes in his 18 starts. Almirola has been consistent for the most part of the season, finishing outside of the top 15 in just two races. Almirola should be a strong competitor today and I would not be surprised to see him come out of today's race with a top five finish.

James Buescher should be a contender today, as well. Buescher is the highest ranked driver in the NCWTS Points Standings who has not started all 18 races. With 15 starts James is in 13th place coming into this weekend. With no wins this season and six top ten finishes in his 15 races, James has put together a good season for a driver who has been unable to start all races. Missing the first three races of the season has taken Buescher out of contention for the Championship for sure, but it has been a season to be proud of. Watch for James Buescher to be a name we hear a lot of in today's race at Louden.

With all of these strong competitors along with others like Matt Crafton, Austin Dillon, and Mike Skinner it is a tough race to pick a winner. On this short track the action is liable to get turned up a notch as the drivers feel the season winding down. After the beating and banging is complete through 175 laps watch for a win by Kevin Harvick, a runner-up finish by Kyle Busch, and a third place finish by points leader Todd Bodine. The CWTS Race is on SPEED Channel this afternoon from Louden, New Hampshire starting at 2:30 p.m. EST. The race will also be aired on MRN Radio Networks.

Photo Credits
Photo 1: http://www.nascar.com/races/truck/ 
Photo 2: http://www.foxnews.com/sports
Photo 3: AP Photo/ http://blog.al.com/
Photo 4: http://www.examiner.com/

New Hampshire International Motor Speedway Sylvania 300 Preview

The New Hampshire International Motor Speedway is located Northwest of Concord, New Hampshire in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by forests and State Parks, there is just one route in and out of the Speedway area. Expecting over 37,000 vehicles to arrive for the race on Sunday afternoon, the New Hampshire State Police, track officials, and local authorities have traffic control plans in place and posted on the Speedway web site.


This, the first race in the Cup Series Chase to the Championship is an important one for all the Chase drivers. Some are bound to improve his standing in the Points and some are bound to come out of this weekend with disappointment. With just 60 points separating Denny Hamlin, as the top seed and Clint Bowyer as number 12 major moves among the twelve Chase drivers will likely occur. This is not a race anyone will want to miss! Sunday will find our favorite - and not-so-favorite - Cup Series drivers taking 300 laps around the 1.058 mile oval for a total of 317.4 miles.


With two wins, 11 top ten finishes, and a 13.3 average finish Ryan Newman is a non-Chase driver that we should keep an eye on this week. Newman has been on the edge of the Chase throughout the closing weeks and although he did not make the top twelve Ryan has proven himself to be a performer when he has the car to do so. Ryan has finished strongly in recent competition with just one finish outside of the top twelve over the last six races.

Kevin Harvick lead the Series Points throughout most of the Race to the Chase. With Hamlin's win last week at Richmond, and Jimmie Johnson's five season wins, Kevin finds himself going into the Chase in third place. Determined not to let that last very long, Harvick should come out with a plan to finish ahead of both Hamlin and Johnson this weekend. With one win and 10 top ten finishes at NHI in his 19 starts, Harvick has proven that he can hold his own at this venue. Harvick has finished in the top ten in four of the last seven Cup Series races; this weekend should give him number five out of eight.


Jimmie Johnson looked to be the Chase top seed favorite going into last weekend with his five race wins and higher Points standings than Denny Hamlin. Hamlin's win at Richmond knocked Jimmie into the second place spot for the beginning of the Chase. Looking for his fifth Championship in a row Johnson comes to New Hampshire with a win in June of this season, three total wins at NHI, an average finish at this track with a 9.0, and 12 of his 17 starts here ending in top ten finishes. Look for Johnson to be near the front of the pack as Sunday's 300 laps wind down.

Clint Bowyer has everything to prove and nothing to lose this weekend. At the post-Richmond media press conference, Clint said “I feel like this is the best shot we've ever had since I've been there to win a championship. You know from here, it's ten races and it's all in.” In 2007 Bowyer started from the pole and won this race; with three top ten finishes and one win in Bowyer's nine starts at the New Hampshire track Bowyer and his team should feel some confidence going into the weekend. This years June race at Louden found Clint with a 7^th place finish at the end of the day. If he is able to repeat or better that performance he will assuredly move up from his 12^th place starting spot in Cup Series Points Standings.


With 23 starts at NHI Tony Stewart has some experience under his belt at this track. Tony has visited the winner's circle twice, came in second at this track in June, and has finished in the top ten in 14 of his Cup starts at Louden. With an average finish at this track of 11.9 Stewart will have to dig to find that little extra bit of speed he needs to crack the top ten by the end of the day on Sunday. Seven of Tony's last ten starts have ended in top ten finishes; Stewart has the momentum to get the job this weekend if he has the equipment to get to the front of the pack.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has never won at Louden. He has seen nine top ten finishes in his 22 starts at NHI and has the hunger for another. Not making the Chase gives Dale the green light to prove what he can do these last ten races of the season. We've seen the aggressive side of Earnhardt a few times this season, I expect to see it back this weekend on the Magic Mile. Dale had four consecutive third place finishes from 2003 to 2005 but has not performed strongly here in recent races. I see Dale turning things around this week and finishing in the top five.


Juan Pablo Montoya has historically not been good at this track. With just one top ten finish in his seven Cup Series starts at Louden Montoya might seem a strange top ten choice for this race. Juan has momentum going into this weekend and confidence goes a long way at NHI - he holds the track record for qualifying from 2009, has started from the pole twice, and has finished in the top five in his past five starts. Watch for a strong performance and a top five finish for Montoya at the end of the race.

Kyle Busch has one win, five top ten finishes, and an average finish of 15.2 after 11 Cup Series starts at NHI. With four of his last five races resulting in a top ten finish, Busch should be feeling confident that he can hold onto his fourth place standing in Chase Points. Kyle will have to keep his temper in check through the 300 laps on this one mile track, however. There is likely to be much beating and banging going on as the race progresses and I think Kyle's aggressive racing will cause him several skirmishes and to finish outside of the top five but within the top ten.


Mark Martin is another driver who didn't make the Chase but who should not be counted out for this weekend. Martin has one win at this track and 14 top ten finishes; his 11.1 average finish at New Hampshire is one of the best among all drivers competing this weekend. With 27 starts at NHI, Mark has the experience to come out and show what he has learned about how to tame this track. With the Team's less than stellar finishes over the past several weeks this is a track at which Mark should perform strongly. Mark took the checkered flag at this race in 2009, can he make it a repeat?


Denny Hamlin is coming to New Hampshire this weekend to prove he deserves the top seed spot in the Chase. With just nine starts at NHI he posts an impressive 8.2 average finish. Denny won here in 2007 and claims five other top ten finishes at Louden. Coming off of last week's win at Richmond, Hamlin is going to have to come out guns blazing to hold off the remainder of the field and hang on to that top seed spot in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship.

My pick for the win at this weekend's Sylvania 300 is Kevin Harvick followed by Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer. Rounding out the top five will be Juan Pablo Montoya and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The remainder of the top ten will include Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson,  Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, and Denny Hamlin. Kenseth will be plagued with mechanical issues throughout the race, and I call for a multi-car accident to occur in the last 50 laps that will cause a red flag situation for clean up.


Practice for this weekend will be aired on ESPN2 Friday at 11:30 a.m. Qualifying begins at 3:00 p.m. Friday, also on ESPN2. SPEED Channel will show Saturday practices at 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The Sylvania 300 will be on ESPN Sunday at 1:00 p.m., with NASCAR Raceday being aired on SPEED Channel beginning at 10:00a.m. Don't forget to tune into the first race of the Chase to the Championship, this will be action you won't want to miss!


Photo Credits
Photo 1: http://nascar.speedtv.com/ Getty Images
Photo 2: http://galleries.nascar.com/ Getty Images
Photo 3: http://galleries.nascar.com/ Getty Images
Photo 4: http://www.point-spreads.com
Photo 5: http://galleries.nascar.com/ Getty Images

Mark Martin: 784 and Counting

As of the end of this season, Mark Martin will have had 794 career Cup starts. Through the first 26 races of the 2010 season, Martin has had 40 race wins, 259 top five finishes, and 420 top tens. Mark has finished in the top ten for Season Cup Points in more than 60% of his years in NASCAR Cup Racing, including 12 consecutive seasons from 1989 through the 2000 season. The 2011 season will be Mark Martin's 29th season in Cup Series Racing.

Mark says he will compete in NASCAR at least through the 2012 season. With his contract at Hendrick Motorsports expiring after the 2011 season it is unclear what team Martin will race for in 2012. Martin refuses to talk about retirement; he tried it on a part-time basis in 2007 and 2008, didn't like it, then returned in 2009 to full-time racing for his fifth runner-up season finish. Martin has brought up the idea of driving in a situation similar to Tony Stewart driving for a team for which he holds 50% team ownership. It would not be the first time Martin drove a car he owned; he drove his own car for the five races he particpated in for the 1981 season, and as partial owner in six races over the 1982 and 1983 seasons.

Racing in the upper level series since 1981 Martin has seen racing change through four decades. He has raced against the best of the best - Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earhnhardt, Cale Yarborough and many, many others. He has seen safety develop from minimal safety requirements to today when the cars are safer than they have ever been. With everything that Martin has seen change, one thing remains the same; Mark has finished in the runner-up spot in the Championship five times but has never brought home the top spot.

What does Mark Martin have to do to bring home a Championship? After his second place finish in the 2009 season it was expected that Martin would have a strong showing this year and be a strong contender for the Championship. After the Chase cutoff at Richmond, Mark finds himself outside the Chase looking in. Next year will be Martin's last year with Hendrick Motorsports. With all that Mark feels Rick Hendrick has given him over the past two seasons it is surely important to Mark that he finish strong in his third and final year with Hendrick Motorsports.

Since 1988 Martin has only finished outside the top 12 four other times. In the next year after each of those times Mark came back to finish in the top five for the season, including two of his runner-up finishes. Based on past performance, next year should be a good year for Martin's team. It could even be the year that Mark finally brings home the Championship. If not 2011, he still has 2012 to try again. If not 2012, I don't think anyone would be surprised to see Martin stay through a couple more seasons. Determination is not a trait that Mark lacks.

Photo Credits
Photo 1: http://www.markmartin.org/markpics.html
Photo 2: NASCAR / Getty Images