Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Tony Stewart — Stewart's dominant performance at Watkins Glen was his second consecutive win, third in the last four, and fifth in the last seven. The words "dominant performance" are becoming synonymous with Stewart's accomplishments, as in those five wins, he has led the most laps and scored the maximum 180 points on all five occasions.
In fact, if you look up "domination" in the dictionary, you won't find Stewart's picture, but if you scan down about half a page, you may find a picture of a "dominatrix." What does that have to do with Stewart? Nothing, but I did make you look at a picture of a dominatrix.
Seriously, to put Stewart's efforts of late into perspective, in the last eight races, he's scored 1,371 out of maximum 1,440 points. In doing so, he's ensured that the Chase for the Nextel Cup will be a 10-man race — no one out of the top 10 will be within 400 points after Richmond four races from now.
At the Glen, Stewart led 83 of 92 laps, and delivered two perfect restarts at the end, not allowing anyone to get close. Stewart shows no signs of cooling off, either. His hot streak began June 19th at Michigan in the Batman Begins 400, where he finished second. Michigan just happens to be the site of this Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400. Will Stewart make it three straight, four of the last five, and six of eight? Who's going to stop him? Certainly not NASCAR, who just placed Stewart on probation for bumping Brian Vickers in the Busch series race at Watkins Glen.
"Probation?!" exclaims Stewart. "Phooey! I've seen more probations than Tonya Harding. It won't stop me."
And Stewart laughs all the way to the checkered flag.
2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson rolled to a fifth-place finish, a very satisfactory result considering those ahead of him were the seemingly unbeatable Stewart, and three road course ringers, Robby Gordon, Boris Said, and Scott Pruett. J.J. did lose 30 more points in the standings to Stewart, but added to his cushion on his closest pursuers.
"I'm beginning to like this second-place position," explains Johnson. "In the four instances I haven't led the points this year, I've responded with a second, a first, a sixth, and a fifth. I like it just where I am. Stewart can win the next four races as far as I'm concerned. I'll only be five points behind when the Chase starts, even though, under the old points system, I would be about 250 behind."
Johnson is comfortably in the Chase, but needs to mount a challenge to Stewart, if not to boost his own confidence, then to make the rest of the field feel better as well. Back in June in Michigan, Johnson finished 19th. Nineteenth may win championships in April, May, or June, but certainly won't do the trick in August through November.
3. Rusty Wallace — Wallace celebrated his 49th birthday with a sixth-place finish, his 12th top-10 finish of the year. While losing a bit of ground to Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, who finished ahead of him, Wallace picked up 101 points on Greg Biffle, and now trails the No. 16 by only six points.
"While I'm happy with the sixth," says Wallace, "a win would have been much sweeter, especially on my birthday. And fans would have been treated to the greatest post-race celebration ever: me, in my birthday suit, running around the track on foot with a strategically-placed checkered flag."
As it was, Rusty remained clothed, but, nevertheless, has to feel good about his 12th top-10 of the year. And he has to feel good about another run at Michigan — in June, Wallace scored a 10th in the Batman Begins 400.
4. Greg Biffle — The suddenly-struggling Biffle, who, just under two months ago was leading the points, now finds himself scrambling for top-15s. Earlier in the year, it looked like Biffle, not Stewart, was likely to run away with the Chase. Last Sunday at the Glen, a broken transmission left Biffle eight laps down, and he limped home in 38th position.
"No worries," says Biffle. "It's been a chaotic last couple of months, for me and the entire Roush organization, what with bad finishes, drivers signing new contracts, and a generally unhappy vibe hanging around. But, we're headed back to Michigan, site of my last victory, so I'd love to duplicate that win and get back on track."
Biffle also won the GFS Marketplace 400 last year, so, if anyone is to break Stewart's momentum, Biffle would have to be the favorite.
5. Mark Martin — Martin collected his second straight seventh-place finish, and third straight top-10, with the highest finish by a Roush driver at Watkins Glen. Martin moves up a notch to number five in the points, his highest points position since June. But has he made up his mind about retuning to race next year?
"No, I haven't," says Martin, "but it's out of my hands. I figured if the fans can choose a driver to race in the All-Star Challenge, then they can decide whether or not I return. So fans, log on to ShouldIStayOrShouldIGo.com and vote. Psstt! Vote for me to retire. I don't know if I want to be around the tension between Kurt Busch and Jack Roush next year."
Martin finished third the last time out at Michigan, and finished second in the GFS Marketplace 400 last year. With his Chase aspirations secure, Martin is looking for a points-race win.
6. Kurt Busch — Like teammate Greg Biffle, mechanical issues were the downfall of Busch last Sunday. An early broken sway bar left Busch way back in the field, and, with only two laps remaining, Busch had to check up to avoid an accident, and the resulting spin left him mired in the kitty litter. He finished 39th, 12 laps down.
"Not the kind of performance you want after signing a contract with a rival team," adds Busch. "I'm sure Jack Roush was snickering and muttering something about 'poetic justice' when I crossed the line 39th. Hey, a few more finishes like that and maybe he will release me from my contract."
Here's to hoping, Kurt. In the meantime, you could concentrate on defending your Cup title, while Jack looks into signing another driver to fill your shoes, and thereby putting another car owner in the position he's in and so deplores. Now that's poetic justice.
7. Jeremy Mayfield — While he lost ground to points leader Tony Stewart, Mayfield picked up a spot in the standings with his 11th at Watkins Glen. Mayfield leapfrogged Ryan Newman for seventh in the points, and gained 86 points on sixth-place Kurt Busch, now trailing Busch by only eight points.
"I don't want to relive last year," says Mayfield, "in which I waited until the last race before the Chase to earn my entry. That was extremely nerve-racking. So, 'Mayfield's Map to the Chase' is to clinch before the final race, and experience a nice, leisurely drive around the Richmond track while those who haven't clinched race for their lives."
Mayfield's position in the standings is mainly due to his remarkable consistency. While he only has three top-fives, he only finished out of the top-20 four times, with two of those coming in the year's first two races. Another came in the Batman Begins 400 back in June, when Mayfield finished 22nd. Expect him to make a top-15 run this time.
8. Ryan Newman — Brake problems that began on lap 15 were just the beginning of a long and frustrating day for Newman and the No. 12 Alltel crew. After rectifying the brake problem during a caution on lap 26, Newman fell to 40th, but the car was running fine. Then, on lap 50, Newman reported that he's lost second and third gear. He actually led a lap despite his problems, but only because he stayed out when the leaders pitted on lap 58.
"We knew we were toast," says Newman, "but we did pick up those five bonus points. That could be crucial to our Chase aspirations. When mechanical gremlins strike, you've got to keep the profanity to a minimum and make the most of the situation."
You damn right, Ryan. Pardon my English. Five points may not seem like much — that's because it's not. To you, Ryan, five points won't be the difference. But another 30th-place finish might be your downfall. Especially if it follows a 34th. So keep your finishes under 20 and you should be okay.
9. Jamie McMurray — McMurray's solid 13th-place finish could have been much better, had a clutch problem not manifested its wrath late in the race. McMurray ran as high as fourth after starting on the grid in 11th, but fell to 19th when his clutch stuck, stalling the engine. His crew managed to push him away, and the engine refired, but any hopes of a top-10 were dashed. However, McMurray still moved up two spots in the points to ninth, holding a six-point edge over 10th-place Carl Edwards, and a nine-point cushion on Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett.
"Not much of a cushion, is it?" asks McMurray. "But I'll tell you what a cushion is. Knowing I'll be driving the No. 6 car in 2007, maybe sooner if Felix Sabates and Chip Ganassi will let me out of my contract. They may not realize this, but I can go 'Terrell Owens' on them in the blink of an eye."
Last year, McMurray finished fourth in the GFS Marketplace 400, then reeled off three more top-10s, but fell just short of qualifying for the Chase. This time, to be a part of the Chase, McMurray knows that he must continue with top-15s, at least, and hope that those that trail him so closely don't outrun him.
10. (tie) Carl Edwards/Elliott Sadler/Dale Jarrett/Jeff Gordon/Kevin Harvick — In all likelihood, only one of these five drivers will be sitting in the 10 spot four races from now, thereby qualifying for the Chase. Right now, only seventy points separates them. Edwards has a minute three-point edge on Sadler and Jarrett, with Gordon and Harvick 67 and 70 back, respectively.
In June, Edwards and Sadler scored top-10s at Michigan, while Jarrett, Harvick, and Gordon faltered, with none finishing on the lead lap. Expect one of these drivers to finish in the top five on Sunday to give his Chase hopes a boost. It may likely be Gordon. He's posted three consecutive top-15s, and probably would have been in the top five at Watkins Glen had he not suffered a flat tire. If he is to make the Chase, his bad luck has to end now.
Leave a Comment