NASCAR’s 2009 Top 12

And the winner is….Jimmy Johnson! Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog and the 2009 NASCAR Top 12. Finishing first in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, is Jimmy Johnson. This is his fourth Championship in a row! Something that has never been done before. Last year, he tied Cale Yarborough with three Championships in a row. This year he makes history.

Jimmy has won eight races during the Chase, including four straight in 2007.  The man simply knows how to race in the Chase. Jimmy and crew chief, Chad Knous know how to get it done in those last ten races. And Jimmy is considered the favorite going into the Chase. He has 43 career wins before the chase, six chase appearances, and finished first 2006-2008.

Johnson’s worse track is Talladega, finishing there 30th or worse five times. This year he drove near the rear of the field through most of the race and avoided trouble. In the end, he stayed out of trouble and managed an eighth place finish. Not really racing, you say? Maybe not, but the strategy worked.

Johnson had three wins in the regular season, seeding him in third in the Chase. He won for the second time this year at Dover International Speedway. This year Jimmy won four times in the chase, at Dover, Auto Club Speedway in California (his home track), Lowe’s Motor Speedway (his sponsor), and Phoenix International Raceway. One must win races in the Chase to win the Championship, and Jimmy sure did that.

In Texas, however, Johnson crashed out on lap three. Sam Hornish, Jr. spun him around and he hit the outside wall and the inside wall. The car was mangled. But Johnson never gave up. He stayed in the car while all of Hendrick Motor Sports rallied to fix his car enough to get back on the track. Having the crash so soon in the race, should have left him finishing in 43rd, but Johnson managed a 38th place finish. That kept him in the lead in the points.

After that miserable race in Texas, Johnson rallied to win in Phoenix. Going into the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Mark Martin was his only challenger for the Sprint Cup Title. Johnson needed to finish 26th or better. After what happened in Texas, he couldn’t just drive around. Johnson has never won at Homestead-Miami. Maybe because he has never had to!

Let’s look at Johnson’s numbers in the Chase. He had nine top tens, seven top fives and four wins. Ten races, and he only got into trouble once! They say you need more than just good driving skills to win a Championship, you also need luck. And Johnson certainly had luck on his side this year and the previous three years. If anyone wants to knock him out of another Title, they will have to out-perform him. Something that is not easily done.

I’m going out on a limb here and giving my opinion. If the points system that is in place now continues, with the same ten races on the same ten tracks  determining the Title, Jimmy Johnson will win his seven Championships (like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt) all in a row.

This leaves me to wonder if the Chase is the best way to determine the Championship. If the points system had not changed in 2004, Jimmy would not have four Championships, let alone four in a row. The Chase came into play when Matt Kenseth won the Championship in 2003 having only one win. NASCAR wanted a play-off system instead of accumulated points through 36 races. But in doing so, Kurt Busch won the first Chase, after starting it in ninth place. Tony Stewart proved he was good at the last ten tracks, and won in 2005. And then along came Jimmy!

In my opinion, the points should go back to the way it was. The Chase was supposed to create excitement in the last ten races. But I have to say, I liked it better when drivers were racing to get in and stay in the top ten in points. With the Chase, only 12 drivers are even mentioned. Is this good for the fans? Many fans will not watch if their driver will not be mentioned. And Sponsors are reluctant to sponsor cars not in the top 12. If there was no Chase, ALL the fans would be watching, instead of just the fans of the top 12. And ALL sponsors would be mentioned, not just the chosen 12. Maybe a better way would be to give more points (say 25) for a win, instead of 10 points in the Chase.

Just my opinion, and probably another NASCAR blog topic. I like Jimmy Johnson. I think he is a great driver who knows how to race. But do we really have to crown him Champion every year?  I think not. But, hey, I’m just a NASCAR fan.

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NASCAR’s 2009 Top 12

Welcome race fans to my NASCAR blog. I’m covering the top 12 finishers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Today, I’m up to sixth place finisher, #14 Tony Stewart.

Tony was leading the points after the 26 race regular season, and started the chase in second. This is Tony’s fourth appearance in the chase, with four wins during the chase. He finished first in 2005, so he knows how to race in the chase. However, this is his first year as driver/owner of Stewart Haas Racing. It is remarkable that he did this well in his first season as an owner. And should be a contender for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

Three of Tony’s four chase wins came in 2006, when he failed to make the chase! He won the title in the chase in 2005 without any wins in the chase, but had three second place finishes. Tony’s other title came in 2002, under the old points system. Tony has won at all the chase tracks, except Auto Club Speedway in California.

Tony started out strong at New Hampshire, but didn’t finish that well, only 14th, dropping him four spots to sixth in points. Finishing ninth at Dover pulled him up a spot. A win in Kansas brought him up another spot to fourth. That proved to be his only win in the chase. And not enough to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

Tony was involved in the big crash at Talladega, where he got together with team mate Ryan Newman and sent Newman airborne. In the final race at Homestead-Miami, he got together with Juan Pablo Montoya and sent him into the wall with a flat tire. Montoya went to the garage for repairs. When he got back on track, Montoya spun Tony out. That dropped him a spot to finish the NASCAR Sprint Cup Season in sixth.

I have to wonder, if there was no chase, could Tony have hung onto his points lead the last ten races? I think I liked it better when the Champion had to do it for 36 races, instead of just ten. All in all, it was a good year for Tony and his new team. Of course, being part of Hendrick didn’t hurt.

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Race Review: Pepsi 500

Welcome race fans to the 30th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and the 4th race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The Pepsi 500 takes place at the 2 mile track now known as the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California. Denny Hamlin in his #11 FedEx car is on the pole with a speed of 183.870. 00 David Reutimann qualified his Aaron’s Dream Machine second, but the shocks were found to be low, and will start the race in 42nd. That moves the whole outside line up, and puts #16 Greg Biffle into the second starting position. 09 is Mike Bliss, who also raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday. 36 is Michael McDowell. 64 Mike Wallace and 37 Tony Raines failed to make the race. Actor Kelsie Grammer gave the command to start the engines. (This is Hollywood, after all.)

This is the first year Auto Club Speedway has been in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. They switched places in the schedule with Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta gets Labor Day weekend. And the fans will not be subjected to the high heat. Hopefully, they will get a bigger crowd without the heat and in The Chase. 5 Mark Martin will be the in-race reporter. Kyle Busch, the media darling, isn’t feeling well this weekend, with flu-like symptoms. Denny got into his #18 car at the first caution in the NASCAR Nationwide race. And David Gilliland will drive his #71 car a number of laps before parking it and getting into the 18 at the first caution. 250 laps on this 2 mile track will be 500 miles.

So, here we go! 11 Denny Hamlin chooses the outside to start the race. 16 Greg Biffle battles with 11 for the lead, but 11 pulls ahead to lead from the pole. 16 Biffle and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle for second, with 48 taking the spot. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya pushes 16 to get him into the wall. 99 Carl Edwards bumps 5 Mark Martin. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets loose and brushes the wall. 71 Gilliland goes to the garage so he can get out of his car and wait to get into 18. 42 goes low to get by 16. 2 Kurt Busch bounces off the wall. 48 is catching leader 11. 11 and 48 battle for the lead. 48 takes the lead. 42 gets by 11 for second. 11 and 29 Kevin Harvick battle for third. 24 and 11 battle for fourth. 7 Robby Gordon heads to his pits with his exhaust pipe hanging out. 5 and 99 battle for sixth with 5 taking the spot.

The first caution comes out during the commercial. 26 Jamie McMurray gets into the wall. He was the first car a lap down, so there is no free pass. 24 finally got around 11 for fourth. In the pits, 48 drops a lug nut and looses six spots. Kyle Busch gets out and David Gilliland gets into 18. They change tires with one to go and exit the pits in front of the pace car. 42 chooses the outside for the restart. 29 takes the lead. 11 takes the lead. 29 and 11 battle for the lead. 11 keeps the lead. 5 goes around 29 for second. 42 gets by 29 for third. 24 gets by 29. 5 and 11 battle for the lead. 5 leads that lap. 11 fights back. 5 takes the lead. 42 takes the lead during the commercial. He drove by on top. 29 and 24 battle for fifth. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in tenth.

The second caution comes out for the right front tire blown out on 39 Ryan Newman. 1 takes two tires to lead and chooses the outside. 42 takes the lead. 11 and 5 get by 1. 88 gets by 2 for tenth. 2 and 88 battle for tenth. 2 gets back by 88. 42 is running away with the lead. 2 and 99 get together. 14 Tony Stewart gets by 99. 48 is catching the leader, 42. 42 and 48 battle for the lead. 42 keeps the lead. 42 and 48 battle side by side for the lead. 48 goes low to take the lead.

The third caution comes out during the commercial, again for debris. 82 Scott Speed is the Lucky Dog and gets back on the lead lap. 17 is too fast exiting the pits. 11 comes out first and chooses the outside. 24 takes the lead, but 11 takes it back before the Start/Finish line. 42, 5, 16 battle for position. 9 Kasey Kahne gets by 14 for thirteenth.  48 goes by 11 to take the lead. 44 A. J. Allmendinger gets loose into 98 Paul Menard. 88 started 37th and is up to sixth. 42 and 24 battle for third. 42 gets by. 43 Reed Sorenson gets by Chase contender 83 Brian Vickers. 11 and 42 battle for second. 42 finally takes second. 88 gets by 2.

And we get Green Flag Pitting once again with 48 leading. 42 leads when 48 pits. 99 leads when 42 pits. 24 leads when 99 pits. 14 leads when 24 pits. 88 comes out ahead of 2. And 48 is back into the lead. 14 is caught speeding in three spots and has to make a pass-through. 48 puts 18, now Gilliland, a lap down. 88 and 2 battle for seventh.

The fourth caution comes out during the commercial. Again for debris. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky Dog and is back on the lead lap. 11 chooses the outside and blocks and spins into the infield at the restart, bringing out the fifth caution. He tried to get in front of 42, but 42 was already there. He hits the inside wall. The crew goes to work on 11. 42 chooses the inside for the restart. 48 sails by 42 on top to take the lead. 9 and 17 battle for ninth. 31 Jeff Burton, 16 and 1 are three wide. 16, 31 and 33 Bowyer are three wide. 88 and 9 battle for eighth, with 9 getting by. 47 Marcos Ambrose gets by 17 for tenth. 77 gets sideways. 14, 31, 99 battle for position. A modified 11 is back on the track. 16 gets by 17 for eleventh.

Another round of Green Flag Pitting starts with 24 laps to go. 2 leads when 48 pits. 14 leads when 2 pits. 14 finally pits with 16 laps to go. And the sixth caution comes out for debris as 14 is exiting the pits. 34 John Andretti hasn’t pitted yet and leads the race. 1 with Guitar Hero 5 on his car is in the pits with the hood up, as the car is missing and they’re trying to figure out why. 48 chooses the outside. That puts 24 on the inside, where he likes it. 24 takes the lead. They battle on the track four wide.

The seventh caution comes out with eleven to go. 2 gets into the wall, into 9. 9 spins taking 16 with him into the infield. 20 Joey Logano is the Lucky Dog, and back on the lad lap. 24 chooses the outside. 24 and 48 battle for the lead, with 48 taking the lead. 2 is smoking with a tire rub. The eighth caution comes out for many cars. And there is a Red Flag for clean up with six laps to go. 31, 44, 88, 9, 19 Elliott Sadler, 47, 83, 43 Reed Sorenson are all involved. 19 turned 88 to start it. All four Richard Petty Motorsports cars are involved. When they get going again, there will be a Green, White Checker finish.

48 chooses the inside this time, and pulls away. 2 is still smoking. 24 and 42 battle for second, with 24 keeping the spot. And 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. For a track where nothing usually happens, things sure did happen. Jimmy Johnson takes the lead in points with the win, leaving Martin 12 behind.

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NASCAR Comment Matt Kenseth

Hello, race fans! I thought I try something today. Make a comment. And I’m starting with Matt Kenseth. Matt started the Season off with a win at the Daytona 500. He then went on to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Ca. And won there! Winning the first two races of the Season has not been done since Jeff Gordon did it in 1997, when he won the Daytona 500, and then the race at Rocknigham, NC.

What I find interresting is that on the cover of NASCAR Scene was a photo of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with the caption “Coming Clean”. That he regains respect because he admitted he was at least partially responsible for the big crash at Daytona, when Brian Vickers dove down to block Jr. and put them both below the out of bounds line. Jr. then drove back onto the tack and got into Vickers to spin him into oncoming traffic. Not the photo of Matt winning the first two races of the Season.

Last year, if you’ll recall, Matt didn’t have that good of a Season. He was without his long-time Crew Chief Robby Reiser for the first time since 1998. And he went winnless. Not like the Mr. Consistency he normally is. He even finished in eleventh place. He has not been out of the Top Ten since 2002.

In 2003 Matt won his first Championship. He was the model of consistancy all Season, but had only one win. In my opinion, that was why now NASCAR CEO, Brian France, started the Chase format for winning the Championship. He clinched the Title before the last race, despite having only one win. Now you are only crowned Champion if you do well in the last ten races. And the top 12 after 26 races are seeded in the Chase according to how many wins they had during the first 26 races. So Matt finished in eleventh place with no wins in 2008.

But this is 2009. A new year. At the Daytona 500, Matt started near the rear in his gold and black DEWALT Ford. And won the race! They went on to the Auto Club 500, and Matt won that in his black Carhart Ford, after starting in the rear. This week they go to the UAW Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. He will be driving a red, white and blue USG Sheetrock Ford.

To sum up, Matt Kenseth has won the first two races of the 2009 Season with two different Sponsors. No one has ever won the first three races of a Season. And if he does, it will be with three different Sponsors. With his new Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer. (They call him the Blick. I guess the announcers have trouble pronouncing the name.) I can hardly wait for the race to start. Can he do what no one has ever done? And will he be on the cover?

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Race Review: Auto Club 500

Today’s Race Review is of the Auto Club 500 held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Ca. This is a two mile track and they will race 250 laps. It starts at 4:00 PM Pacific time so they can start the race in the sunshine and finish it under the lights. Not the best strategy, in my opinion. 66 is now Dave Blaney. 71 last week was Mike Wallace, who didn’t make the Daytona 500. This week it is California native, David Gilliland. Five cars failed to qualify: #64 Todd Bodine, from the Camping World Truck Series, #37 Tony Raines, #51 David Starr, also from the Trucks, #73 Mike Garvey, who also failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, and #09 veteran Sterling Marlin.

The pole sitter is #83 Brian Vickers with a speed of 183.164. However, he changed his engine, and will start from the rear. Also starting from the rear with engine trouble are: 00 David Reutimann, 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and 55 Michael Waltrip. 43 Reed Sorenson crashed in practice and starts his back-up car from the rear. That puts third place 26 Jamie McMurray on the pole. The weather is overcast and it looks like rain may be a factor. In my opinion, if they started the race earlier, rain would not be a factor. Actor Hugh Laurie gives the command to start the engines.

So, here we go. 48 Jimmy Johnson leads the first lap from starting second. They are four-wide back there in the field. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 16 Greg Biffle. 2 Kurt Busch holds off brother 18 Kyle for fourth. The first caution comes out on lap 5, with 7 Robby Gordon getting into the wall. But the caution is for sprinkles. 39 Ryan Newman has lost his transponder, so he pits to get a new one, and will get his spot back. He lost his end plate on the spoiler, so he has to go back in to get a new one.

Twenty-one cars stay out on the track. The other twenty-two pit. 17 Matt Kenseth comes out of the pits first in 22nd. Several cars come back to the pits for fuel, as the dryers are still on the track. They go Green on lap 23, with 48 still leading. 29 Kevin Harvick and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya battle. 29 gets by. 2 and 18 battle some more. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 18. 16 Greg Biffle gets by 18. 2 gets by 26 for second. 24 gets by 26 for third. 11 Denny Hamlin and 29 battle. 11 gets by. 29 and 17 battle for eleventh. 16 gets by 26. 87 Joe Nemechek is being pushed to the garage. 83 Vickers gets by 12 David Stremme for 21st.

The second caution comes out on lap 40, again for rain. This time everyone pits. Out of the pits, it’s 2 Ku. Busch, 48 Johnson, 24 J. Gordon, 16 Biffle, 6 David Ragan, 17 Kenseth, 18 Ky. Busch, 14 Tony Stewart, 26 McMurray and 11 Hamlin as the top ten.The Green Flag comes out on lap 46. 48 and 2 battle for the lead. 48 finally takes the lead. 2, 24 and 16 battle for second. 99 Carl Edwards gets 28 Travis Kvapil sideways. 00 Reutimann gets by 5 Mark Martin. 29 and 99 battle. 2 and 24 battle for second. 36 Scott Riggs, 66 Blaney and 87 Nemachek are in the garage.

24 goes to the apron to get in front of 2 for second. 14 gets by 18. 24 catches Leader 48. 20 Rookie Joey Logano, 82 Rookie Scott Speed, 71 Gilliland and 41 Jeremy Mayfield are a lap down. 16 gets by 2 for third. 48 and 24 battle for the lead. 07 Casey Mears, a lap down gets in the way, but 24 takes the lead. And now after lap 83 we get Green Flag pitting. 16 Biffle and 99 Edwards lead during the pitting. And 24 is back in the lead after everyone pits.

16 gets by 48 for second. 17 and 2 battle for fourth. 6 Ragan gets into the wall. 29 and 6 battle. 18 and 99 battle. 18 scrapes the wall. 36 Riggs is back on the track, 9 laps down. 99 and 18 battle for seventh. 99 finally gets by 18. And there is more Green Flag pitting with 130 laps or so to go. 16 beats 24 out of the pits. 24 catches 16 while 16 is in traffic. And the third caution comes out again for rain. 88 Earnhardt, Jr. stays on the lead lap and 55 Michael Waltrip gets the Lucky Dog free pass. The announcers declare 48 has lost the handle on that car. He’s all the way back to third! 42 Montoya stayed out to lead a lap. 17 Kenseth is out of the pits first to lead. They ran 96 Green Flag laps. It will be a double-file restart with 99 laps to go.

24 gets by 16 for second. 48 and 16 battle for third. 48 gets by. 48 and 24 battle for second. 48 takes second from 24. 6 Ragan is overheating. Probably trash on the grill. 48 is falling back. He popped out of gear. The fourth caution is again for rain. 5 Martin’s engine is heading south. 17, the leader pulls up to the Pace car to get rid of debris on the grill. 14 Tony stewart stays out to lead. In fact, 42, 5, 12 David Stremme, 00 and 55 all stay out because they figure the race will be called. 88 lost a cylinder. The Flag man signals two to go and those who stayed out, now pit. 83 Brian Vickers is the Lucky Dog.

They go Green with 72 laps to go. 18, 2, 6 are three-wide. 5 Martin is up in smoke. But he is on the apron and out of harm’s way, so they stay Green. 2 and 16 get by 18. 2 and16 battle for fourth. 16 gets the spot. 24 and 48 battle for second. 24 gets by. Seventeen cars are on the lead lap. 14 gets by 26 for tenth. 42 and 26 get by 29. 18 gets by 2 for fifth. 24 catches leader 17. 24 J. Gordon takes the lead. 16 gets by 17 for second. 18 and 48 battle for fourth. 48 cuts 18 off. 18 finally gets by 48 for fourth.

The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 29 Harvick blew a right front tire and got hard into the wall. 12 David Stremme stays out to lead. Everyone else pits. 29 lost the engine before he blew the tire. 16 overshoots his pit and runs over his air hose. He has to back up before they can service him. The crew adds brake fluid to 26. Sixteen cars are on the lead lap.

They go Green with thirty-five to go. 17 Kenseth is leading. 2 gets “push loose”. 20 and 55 battle. 99 gets by 48 for sixth. 24 is catching 17, the leader. 16 gets by 48 for seventh. 16 gets by 99 for sixth. 11 gets by 2 for fourth. 8 Aric Almirola has engine trouble. 16 gets by 11 and 2 for fourth. 17 and 24 leave third place 18 seven seconds behind. 24 is smoking his tires, trying to get to 17.

17 Matt Kenseth wins the Auto Club 500. This is only the fourth time in NASCAR history that a driver won the first two races. And it was accomplished last in 1997 by Jeff Gordon, who went on to win the Championship. Also notable, Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series, both on the same day, the day before. However, he fell short of all three on the same track. And Jeff Gordon is still winless. Kenseth could go on to win the first three races in Las Vegas, something that has never been accomplished.

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