Return To Coke 600 Victory Lane Close For Roush

From 1999 to 2002, no Sprint Cup owner visited victory lane after the Coke 600 other than Jack Roush. During those four races, Roush drivers Burton, Kenseth, and Martin were strong. From 1998 to 2002 there were 25 NASCAR races at LMS, including Nationwide Series Races, Sprint Cup Races, and All Star Races; Roush drivers won 12 of those races. In comparison, Hendrick drivers won 4.

Some of that same strength was on display this past Saturday night in the All Star Race in which Carl Edwards dominated. Throughout each stage of the race, there was only one car that remained consistently up front. By the end of the race, it was Edwards’ to lose. Yes there was some competition, but nobody had the car to beat him with; he won segments 2, 3 and 4. The only other driver to win a segment was his teammate Greg Biffle.

Besides Edwards and Biffle, the other Roush drivers had strong cars as well. Matt Kenseth showed some horsepower often during the race and finished sixth, one spot behind Greg Biffle. Even the weakest team from the Roush stable had a good run. David Ragan won the Sprint Showdown, passing Brad Keselowski to get the first transfer spot into the Sprint All Star Race.

Roush’s only worry going into the 600 mile race on Sunday is that he doesn’t just need fast horses Sunday night; he needs motors that will last 600 miles. The engine setup for a 150 mile race is much different than that of a race four times as long. Although Roush has not had the blown engines that Joe Gibbs Racing has had in 2011, they haven’t been the most consistent. To give one or more of his drivers a good chance to win this week, Roush will have to balance power with endurance.

Another interesting stat is that Hendrick Motorsports has more Coke 600 wins than any other organization, including Petty Motorsports, with 9 wins. Their winners include Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Casey Mears.

Battling the Roush drivers this week will, no doubt, be Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Both showed some muscle at certain points in Saturday’s race, but struggled with ill-handling cars at times. Each of these champions have won the 600 mile race 3 times, and are known for saving their cars and being able to bring their best at the end of a long race. Look for these two to challenge early, but definitely get strong as the lights warm up at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

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Early Points: Surprises High And Low

Yes, yes, I know, it is way too early to get caught up in any discussion about points standings with only three races in the books for 2011. Too bad, I will anyway. The reason being, there are several drivers who are surprisingly high and several who are surprisingly low, even after only three races. Although there is much time, and assuredly the top ten staples will return to the top ten for the most part, with the new points system and so many changes in NASCAR, any differences should be noted and watched.

In any off season predictions of this years Chase contenders, you would have found Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, and Kevin Harvick. You also probably saw Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, and Clint Boyer. The average current points position for these seven drivers is 25.7 and they are an average 52 points behind leader Kurt Busch. Now, under the old system, 52 points would not be much, but in the current system, those are comparable to about 200 points in the old system.

Being behind that far and winning the championship has not happened since Terry Labonte in 1996. Labonte was 211 points behind Dale Jarrett in the old point system after Richmond (the third race that year.) However, that was due mostly to Jarrett’s dominating start to the season. That year, he began with one win and three straight top five finishes and was 86 points ahead of second place Jeff Burton. Also, with the implementation of the “Chase”, a huge lead shrinks quite quickly.

With that said, these seven drivers definitely know that they need some good runs and they need them now! Look for these drivers to have a good deal of damage to their front bumper and right side as they root their way to the front at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The surprises near the top of the points standings are none other than Juan Pablo Montoya, Paul Menard, A.J. Allmendinger, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Although a few predictions may have had Montoya and Earnhardt Jr. in their top twelve for the Chase, I doubt any of those prognosticators would have thought Junior and Montoya would have had such good finishes so early in the season.

None of the predictors would have picked Menard and Allmendiger for the top ten, and definitely not so early. With Menard starting a new team at RCR and Allmendinger racing for a rebuilt RPM, the two drivers would have been happy with mid-teen consistent finishes at this point. Yet they have been competitive in the top ten and near the top five at each track so far.

Of course, the one factor yet to play its little hand in the stats of this blog post has yet to rear its head. Time. A few races will make much clear. Will the perennial favorites move back up with a few good finishes? Or will the surprises at the top trip over a couple of disappointing finishes and not regain their current composure?

That, friends, is why we turn the racing on each and every week!


See more from Joseph Davis at The Spotter Stand and follow him on Twitter @the_Bumpdrafter

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Preview Of 2011's Top 5 Sprint Cup Teams: #4- Richard Childress Racing

2010 had many ups and downs for the RCR stable.  They had a title contender, a driver trying to have a break through season, and a driver looking to remain relevant.

For Harvick, 2010 will leave a sour taste in his mouth for years.  Had there not been a Chase format.  Had he been given more points for winning the regular season.  Had Jimmie Johnson's hauler just not made it to the track...  Harvick did, however, have a phenomenal season.  He led the points into the Chase, had 3 wins, and had an average finish of 4.0 in the last 5 races.  Harvick will come out in 2011 with a "chip" on his shoulder, which may not bode well for those ahead of him on-track.

Bowyer had both a great and aggravating 2010.  For example, he had 2 wins and a 2nd during the chase that sandwich 4 finishes between 15th and 38th.  Bowyer had 12 finishes between 12th and 25th, 10 of which he finished on the lead lap.  If Bowyer wants to break through to the top level of Sprint Cup drivers, he will have to transform some of those mid pack finishes into top ten finishes.  The start of 2011 could go either way for Bowyer who was both hot and cold during the Chase of 2010.  Hopefully, however, his 150 point penalty toward the end of 2010 will give him some motivation.

Although most drivers would trade their season for Jeff Burton's 2010, he was one of the most disappointed at the end of 2010.  Yes, he made the Chase, but with no wins and an absolutely dismal Chase performance, Burton was glad to see 2010 end.  Burton did have some good moments, however, he had 8 out of 11 finishes in the top 12 from June through August and 2010 was much better than the 17th place points finish in 2009.  Look for Burton to break back into the win column in 2011, but possibly missing the Chase if he cannot reproduce the success he had this Summer.

A newcomer to RCR in 2011, Paul Menard, has finally got some success to build upon and something to build with.  During the Chase, Menard was constantly battling to get in the top 10, although he sometimes faded at the end.  In 2011, Menard will have tools behind him he did not have with RPM nor when he was the third car at the old DEI.  However, great support demands success, and Menard will have to improve upon the 7 top ten finishes he has in the last 4 years of racing.  I look for some initial success for Menard, due to excitement of being with RCR, but not much for 2011 as a whole.

Look for two of the four RCR drivers to make the Chase (unless it is expanded to 15).  Kevin Harvick will definitely make the Chase, so Bowyer and Burton will have to scrap it out for that other spot!

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Two Dissapointed Drivers

I am sure  that everyone saw the "fight" between Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton at Texas Motor Speedway.  Although the confrontation added a little excitement to the race, I thought it was rather sad.  It allowed the fans to see just how disappointed these two drivers are in their seasons.

For Jeff Gordon, this may be only the second winless year in his career since his rookie year in 1993.  The last winless year was 1998, only two years ago, which may show that the "kid" may have lost his edge.  His dominance of the Hendrick stable is over, Jimmy Johnson is now "King" at Hendrick, other than Rick Hendrick, of course.

For Jeff Burton, he is winless since 2008.  His career at Childress has been good, but nowhere near where it was in his good years at Roush.  He provides much guidance and advice at Childress, but that may be part of the problem: he is seen as a driver who can teach, not a driver with a fire in his belly.

The two of these drivers were once Rookie of the Year, Gordon in 1993 and Burton in 1994.  Now they are coming to grips with what may be the twilight of their careers.

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