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fastfordfan
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The Sprint Cup point standings entering Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway provide an interesting mix of drivers who appear locked into the Chase, drivers on the edge and teetering, and drivers peering through the candy-store window from a slight distance.
Kyle Busch is on the rise. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the slide. Carl Edwards is reliably reliable. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart bounce across the 10th and final Chase position like indecisive toddlers wandering between Mom and Dad.
The new wild-card qualifying process – one currently ruled by, of all people, David Ragan – has thrown an interesting new light on the proceedings and is likely to be factored into Chase discussions all the way to the cutoff race Sept. 10 in Richmond, Va.
The landscape upon which the Chase spots will be determined is as diverse as the drivers seeking them.
Over the next nine weeks, drivers will be tested at eight remarkably different facilities, beginning Sunday at:
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Loudon requires both speed and savvy. Its flat surface awards teams who prepare cars that handle the turns with flair. Last year’s winner: Jimmie Johnson.
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – July 31. After that oddest of things – a week off, the tour gets back in gear at the world’s most famous racetrack, two and one-half miles of flatlands and high speed, all wrapped up in some of the grandest tradition in sports. Last year’s winner: Jamie McMurray, who has been mostly invisible this year.
POCONO RACEWAY – Aug. 7. 2.5 miles like Indy. Relatively flat like Indy. But triangular like nowhere else. The Tunnel Turn is the Bermuda Triangle of NASCAR. Last year’s winner: Greg Biffle, who has zero wins this year.
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL – Aug. 14. Last chance for road-course studs to make their case for the Chase. Last year’s winner: Juan Pablo Montoya, who hasn’t won since.
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – Aug. 21. High banks, wide track, fierce speeds. And fuel mileage. Don’t forget fuel mileage. This is the track that basically invented the concept. Last year’s winner: Kevin Harvick.
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Aug. 27. Some fans frown at the Biggest Cereal Bowl in Racing since recent configuration changes, but the racing remains good – despite the loss of the crashfest concept – at one of the world’s fastest half-miles. Last year’s winner: Kyle Busch.
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Sept. 4. Fast, banked, 1.54 miles of testing the nerves. Last year’s winner: Tony Stewart, who has won only one time since.
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – Sept. 10. The Last Hope for Chase hopefuls and, at three-quarters of a mile, virtually the perfect track for the Final Showdown. Last year’s winner: Denny Hamlin.
Kyle Busch is on the rise. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the slide. Carl Edwards is reliably reliable. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart bounce across the 10th and final Chase position like indecisive toddlers wandering between Mom and Dad.
The new wild-card qualifying process – one currently ruled by, of all people, David Ragan – has thrown an interesting new light on the proceedings and is likely to be factored into Chase discussions all the way to the cutoff race Sept. 10 in Richmond, Va.
The landscape upon which the Chase spots will be determined is as diverse as the drivers seeking them.
Over the next nine weeks, drivers will be tested at eight remarkably different facilities, beginning Sunday at:
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Loudon requires both speed and savvy. Its flat surface awards teams who prepare cars that handle the turns with flair. Last year’s winner: Jimmie Johnson.
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – July 31. After that oddest of things – a week off, the tour gets back in gear at the world’s most famous racetrack, two and one-half miles of flatlands and high speed, all wrapped up in some of the grandest tradition in sports. Last year’s winner: Jamie McMurray, who has been mostly invisible this year.
POCONO RACEWAY – Aug. 7. 2.5 miles like Indy. Relatively flat like Indy. But triangular like nowhere else. The Tunnel Turn is the Bermuda Triangle of NASCAR. Last year’s winner: Greg Biffle, who has zero wins this year.
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL – Aug. 14. Last chance for road-course studs to make their case for the Chase. Last year’s winner: Juan Pablo Montoya, who hasn’t won since.
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – Aug. 21. High banks, wide track, fierce speeds. And fuel mileage. Don’t forget fuel mileage. This is the track that basically invented the concept. Last year’s winner: Kevin Harvick.
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Aug. 27. Some fans frown at the Biggest Cereal Bowl in Racing since recent configuration changes, but the racing remains good – despite the loss of the crashfest concept – at one of the world’s fastest half-miles. Last year’s winner: Kyle Busch.
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Sept. 4. Fast, banked, 1.54 miles of testing the nerves. Last year’s winner: Tony Stewart, who has won only one time since.
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – Sept. 10. The Last Hope for Chase hopefuls and, at three-quarters of a mile, virtually the perfect track for the Final Showdown. Last year’s winner: Denny Hamlin.
