by Bob Pockrass
DOVER, Del. – Just one-third of the way through the season, and the driver who is 13th in points (some dude by the name of Dale Earnhardt Jr.) already has announced he is leaving his team, and the crew chief of the driver who is 19th in points (Pat Tryson, crew chief for Greg Biffle) already is out of a job.
So while there hasn’t been much movement on the silly season front just yet, it looks like that there are more changes coming.
Of the guys in the top 20, it seems as if the biggest changes could come from those guys hovering around Biffle. Running 18th in points isn’t acceptable for Ryan Newman and running 20th in points is an improvement for the No. 19 team of Elliott Sadler but maybe not a big enough one.
It sounds logical that changes would come for those teams. Then again, their prospects for the season could be turned around real quick. That’s because Newman is just 106 points out of 12th and a spot in the Chase. He could pick those spots up in three or four weeks. Sadler is just 138 points out of 12th.
What is 138 points? It’s a blown engine and an early accident that makes the difference.
That’s how close it is these days for drivers and crew chiefs between looking like heroes and, possibly, looking for other jobs. The next 14 weeks leading into the Chase? Silly season, indeed.
DOVER, Del. – Just one-third of the way through the season, and the driver who is 13th in points (some dude by the name of Dale Earnhardt Jr.) already has announced he is leaving his team, and the crew chief of the driver who is 19th in points (Pat Tryson, crew chief for Greg Biffle) already is out of a job.
So while there hasn’t been much movement on the silly season front just yet, it looks like that there are more changes coming.
Of the guys in the top 20, it seems as if the biggest changes could come from those guys hovering around Biffle. Running 18th in points isn’t acceptable for Ryan Newman and running 20th in points is an improvement for the No. 19 team of Elliott Sadler but maybe not a big enough one.
It sounds logical that changes would come for those teams. Then again, their prospects for the season could be turned around real quick. That’s because Newman is just 106 points out of 12th and a spot in the Chase. He could pick those spots up in three or four weeks. Sadler is just 138 points out of 12th.
What is 138 points? It’s a blown engine and an early accident that makes the difference.
That’s how close it is these days for drivers and crew chiefs between looking like heroes and, possibly, looking for other jobs. The next 14 weeks leading into the Chase? Silly season, indeed.