Part of being successful in NASCAR takes a little bit of brain surgery (the psychological type), a bit of lawyer-like persuasion and then simply having the guts to make the right call at the right time.
All of those things came into play when Tony Stewart's crew chief, Steve Addington, made the call to keep his leading car out as the rain drops began to fall Sunday afternoon in California. There were a couple of scenarios that could have played out. If the sun had come out and dried the track in time to go back green, Stewart would have lost the lead and that precious clean air these cars seem to need. But Addington pointed out in a post-race interview, that about six or seven other cars also didn't pit, so Stewart would have likely come out in sixth or seventh place anyway, keeping the eventual winner in contention for the lead. Also, Addington had a full view of the weather radar and liked the odds of the rain continuing. Those were easy selling points to Stewart.
Meanwhile, Stewart's champion crew chief last year, Darian Grubb, made the call for the then second-place Denny Hamlin to come into the pits. He came back out in 11th, so the move cost him nine points. Not the end of the world, but you never know when those nine points will come in handy. Grubb's a proven champion, so we know he can rebound from a mistake. He just may have to do a little more brain surgery and lawyer-like persuading the next time a key race call comes up.
As for now, Addington gets an upper hand with two wins in five races for Stewart. If the team continues to do well, that will allow them to do some experimenting later in the season before the Chase, which could put Stewart in position to make another title run.
Here are this week's picks for the 1 p.m. Sunday race at Martinsville to be shown on FOX and yes, Stewart and Hamlin are among them.
Tony Stewart - He's got three wins at Martinsville and nine top five finishes. And he's won seven of the last 15 Sprint Cup races, so have to go with him here.
Denny Hamlin - He's got four wins and nine tops fives and an average finish of 6.5. We may see these two battling for the lead again this week.
Jimmie Johnson - Six wins and 14 tops fives. The No. 48 might not need its share of good luck this week.
Kevin Harvick - He won here last fall and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him contend again.
Brian Vickers - Yes, a bit of long shot here, but he was great on the short-track concrete of Bristol, leading 125 laps and finishing fifth. He's back in the No. 55 car which has been a solid ride this season, no matter who is driving.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Yes, I've just got a gut feeling that this could be Junior's week. The fact that he hasn't won in 134 races (for those of you snoring at home) kept me from pulling the trigger on the No. 88 this time.
ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Here's a review of last week's picks at California and how they finished.
Kyle Busch - 2nd. He led 80 laps and most likely would have contended for the win if the race had not been rain-shortened.
Matt Kenseth - 16th. A respectable showing and he's sitting there sixth in the points standings here in the early going.
Kevin Harvick - 4th. He was strong all day, even doing some pushing at times. Also a likely contender to win it if not for the rain.
Tony Stewart - 1st. There we go. Five races and finally a winner for me. He had a strong car that was improving throughout. He also had the best strategy in the end.
Jimmie Johnson - 10th. There's no official Rain Dance Award listed after race results, but the No. 48 team was probably doing just that once they realized they had an oil leak and the rain drops started falling. Johnson kept the car running until the red flag. It was a points saving-rain for five-timer, who probably would not have been able to continue.
Here's a look at my stats after five races and 25 picks.
1 win
7 top fives
4 top 10s
Grade for this week: A minus. I had three of the top four and four of the top 10. Also, I mentioned that Jeff Gordon was a possible pick that I didn't make because while his cars have been strong, he's been a bit snakebit. He was running in the top 10 Sunday when after pitting the fuel can got stuck in the car. It cost him a drive-through penalty and about 20 places in the final results.
One Last Thing: After five races this season there have been 1,410 possible laps for a driver to complete. Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth are the only drivers to all of the laps this season. They also represent five of the top six in the points standings. However, out of that group, only Kenseth has won this season.
Until next time
Showing posts with label NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A Busch brother out of hand is worth ...
The question about Kurt and Kyle Busch is not do they need to mature? We all, and I think even they know, that yes, to continue on with any kind of future in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition, they do need to grow up at least a little bit.
But the question is will they?
The problem here, is if you talk with either of the Busch brothers in a calm quiet moment, they seem like quite normal guys. If you didn't know about their much-publicized tempers in NASCAR, they each can come across as ordinary and decent human beings. And for most of the hours in a week, or even a month, they are probably just that.
But somewhere in their makeup, or personality, there's an invisible switch, that when it gets hit, it just can't help but hit back in some way, whether it's completely inappropriate verbal behavior, or physically hitting another competitor's car or truck on the track.
Kurt Busch has now worn out his welcome at two top-tier teams, first at Roush Racing and now with Penske Racing as it was officially announced as a mutual parting of ways. Kurt Busch said in a statement that he is seeing a sports psychologist to help him learn how to deal with frustrating moments.
There's certainly nothing wrong with a little emotion in NASCAR. It's part of what makes the sport the great. However, when the youtube video of Kurt Busch spewing expletives at ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch went viral, you could say that Kurt Busch pretty much punched his ticket to leave Penske Racing. While Roger Penske is loyal, he also runs a first-class organization in terms of having respect for others. And it wasn't as if Kurt Busch was being badgered by a reporter, looking for an emotional soundbite.
It's never too late to change, but it might be too late for Kurt Busch, who turned 33 in August, to secure another top-flight Sprint Cup ride. He may be financially secure for life, but his emotional security, however, appears to be a completely different case.
Which brings us to his brother Kyle.
He visited Philadelphia early in the fall to promote the October race at Dover. During his visit with a handful of reporters, he was respectful and really, quite normal. There was no hint of bitterness or anger in his responses, so much so, that you could easily think he was done with the whole anger/road rage thing.
But that apparently wasn't the case as Busch wrecked Ron Hornaday in a truck race at Texas in early November. It was bad enough for NASCAR to sit him for the rest of the weekend, including the Sprint Cup race.
So, Kyle's not all the way there either.
There are plenty of things to like about Kyle Busch, too. He loves to race, often competing in truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races in the same weekend. He's also the driver most likely to give you an honest answer to a question. He once called the Hendrick Racing a six-car team (technically against NASCAR rules), making his point that the Stewart-Haas team was simply an extension of the Hendrick shop. It's not quite that simple, but he raised a valid point. He's also extremely talented, winning over a combined 100 races in NASCAR's top three series.
Since the talented Mr. Busch turned 26 in May, he's still got a chance to settle down a little, a chance to learn how to not step over the line of out-of-control behavior while still being emotional. He remains on a first-class team at Joe Gibbs Racing. And it was Gibbs who mentored a sometimes too emotional Tony Stewart in his early days and helped him learn to control that anger. So, Gibbs has experience at this kind of thing. And surely Kyle Busch has seen the recent experience of his brother.
So he's got a realistic chance to reign in his emotions some and understand himself better.
Kyle certainly wants to and has the ability to be a Sprint Cup champion and Gibbs Racing has proven it can win championships.
If Kyle Busch can make it through a season without a major infraction, one that causes a $50,000 fine, points penalty or race suspension, then just maybe that will be his first step in proving he's ready to be a champion.
And whether he likes it or not, we'll all be watching.
But the question is will they?
The problem here, is if you talk with either of the Busch brothers in a calm quiet moment, they seem like quite normal guys. If you didn't know about their much-publicized tempers in NASCAR, they each can come across as ordinary and decent human beings. And for most of the hours in a week, or even a month, they are probably just that.
But somewhere in their makeup, or personality, there's an invisible switch, that when it gets hit, it just can't help but hit back in some way, whether it's completely inappropriate verbal behavior, or physically hitting another competitor's car or truck on the track.
Kurt Busch has now worn out his welcome at two top-tier teams, first at Roush Racing and now with Penske Racing as it was officially announced as a mutual parting of ways. Kurt Busch said in a statement that he is seeing a sports psychologist to help him learn how to deal with frustrating moments.
There's certainly nothing wrong with a little emotion in NASCAR. It's part of what makes the sport the great. However, when the youtube video of Kurt Busch spewing expletives at ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch went viral, you could say that Kurt Busch pretty much punched his ticket to leave Penske Racing. While Roger Penske is loyal, he also runs a first-class organization in terms of having respect for others. And it wasn't as if Kurt Busch was being badgered by a reporter, looking for an emotional soundbite.
It's never too late to change, but it might be too late for Kurt Busch, who turned 33 in August, to secure another top-flight Sprint Cup ride. He may be financially secure for life, but his emotional security, however, appears to be a completely different case.
Which brings us to his brother Kyle.
He visited Philadelphia early in the fall to promote the October race at Dover. During his visit with a handful of reporters, he was respectful and really, quite normal. There was no hint of bitterness or anger in his responses, so much so, that you could easily think he was done with the whole anger/road rage thing.
But that apparently wasn't the case as Busch wrecked Ron Hornaday in a truck race at Texas in early November. It was bad enough for NASCAR to sit him for the rest of the weekend, including the Sprint Cup race.
So, Kyle's not all the way there either.
There are plenty of things to like about Kyle Busch, too. He loves to race, often competing in truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races in the same weekend. He's also the driver most likely to give you an honest answer to a question. He once called the Hendrick Racing a six-car team (technically against NASCAR rules), making his point that the Stewart-Haas team was simply an extension of the Hendrick shop. It's not quite that simple, but he raised a valid point. He's also extremely talented, winning over a combined 100 races in NASCAR's top three series.
Since the talented Mr. Busch turned 26 in May, he's still got a chance to settle down a little, a chance to learn how to not step over the line of out-of-control behavior while still being emotional. He remains on a first-class team at Joe Gibbs Racing. And it was Gibbs who mentored a sometimes too emotional Tony Stewart in his early days and helped him learn to control that anger. So, Gibbs has experience at this kind of thing. And surely Kyle Busch has seen the recent experience of his brother.
So he's got a realistic chance to reign in his emotions some and understand himself better.
Kyle certainly wants to and has the ability to be a Sprint Cup champion and Gibbs Racing has proven it can win championships.
If Kyle Busch can make it through a season without a major infraction, one that causes a $50,000 fine, points penalty or race suspension, then just maybe that will be his first step in proving he's ready to be a champion.
And whether he likes it or not, we'll all be watching.
Friday, November 18, 2011
The end is near
One trophy, two drivers, three points.
That's what this NASCAR Sprint Cup season has come down to. Carl Edwards goes into Sunday's race at Homestead, Fla., with a three-point lead over challenger Tony Stewart. They are the only two drivers eligible to win the title. So while there will be 43 drivers trying to win the race, all eyes will be on where Edwards and Stewart are compared to each other.
The scenario for winning the title is pretty basic. If either driver wins the race, he wins the title. The other factors to throw in are the bonus point for leading a lap and the bonus point for leading the most laps. So, if Stewart does both of those and Edwards does not, and Stewart finishes one place ahead of Edwards, there would be a tie and Stewart would win the crown based on his four victories this year, to Edwards' one. Other than the bonus points, it's one point per place, so not too hard of math to do there.
At their press conference earlier this week, Stewart was clearly on the offensive and Edwards the defensive. Stewart even hinted that me might do a bump and run if that's what it takes to win the title.
While anything's possible, I don't really think Stewart wants to win the title that way. He was more planting a seed of doubt in Edwards' mind with that kind of statement.
Stewart didn't gain any points last week, but he's acting like he's the one with momentum and the one that's the underdog. That's a great way to relax his team and keep on the pursuit rather than defense. That's why I'm picking Stewart to win his third title this weekend.
That's what this NASCAR Sprint Cup season has come down to. Carl Edwards goes into Sunday's race at Homestead, Fla., with a three-point lead over challenger Tony Stewart. They are the only two drivers eligible to win the title. So while there will be 43 drivers trying to win the race, all eyes will be on where Edwards and Stewart are compared to each other.
The scenario for winning the title is pretty basic. If either driver wins the race, he wins the title. The other factors to throw in are the bonus point for leading a lap and the bonus point for leading the most laps. So, if Stewart does both of those and Edwards does not, and Stewart finishes one place ahead of Edwards, there would be a tie and Stewart would win the crown based on his four victories this year, to Edwards' one. Other than the bonus points, it's one point per place, so not too hard of math to do there.
At their press conference earlier this week, Stewart was clearly on the offensive and Edwards the defensive. Stewart even hinted that me might do a bump and run if that's what it takes to win the title.
While anything's possible, I don't really think Stewart wants to win the title that way. He was more planting a seed of doubt in Edwards' mind with that kind of statement.
Stewart didn't gain any points last week, but he's acting like he's the one with momentum and the one that's the underdog. That's a great way to relax his team and keep on the pursuit rather than defense. That's why I'm picking Stewart to win his third title this weekend.
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