Seven is the perfect number, and to paraphrase the late and great song writer Larry Norman, those who aren't for real in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings will now begin to slumber.
The Sprint Cup series is just under one fifth of the way through the season, just completing its seventh race Saturday night at Texas. And while it's common for two or three drivers to start off the season strong in the first couple of races and then fade, by now we are getting an idea of who the real contenders are.
We've got many of the usual teams in the top 10 with the Roushkateers of Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, the Hendrick guys of Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Stewart-Haas duo of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, and Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick.
Those teams and drivers are expected be there. If they weren't at least in the top 12, many would be asking what has gone wrong.
But the team to do a lot of things right so far this season is Michael Waltrip Racing. The Toyota-powered team has Martin Truex Jr. in the fourth spot in the standings, 20 behind Biffle and Clint Bowyer in 10th. And if you go by the owners points, the No. 55 car shared by Waltrip, Mark Martin and Brian Vickers is seventh in points.
Thanks to NASCAR's statistics these days, there's evidence that at least one, if not more, of Waltrip's drivers will be around to stay when it comes to the final 10 races, otherwise known as the Chase for the Championship.
Truex Jr. is just one of three drivers to run all of the 2,295 possible laps this season, along with Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr., who are tied for second in the points standings. Another good sign for Truex Jr. is that he has run the most laps inside the top 15 this season at 1996, just over 88 percent.
That means Truex Jr. hasn't been hanging around the top 20 in some of these races, and then just slipping into the top 10 or top 15 just because of others' misfortunes at the end of the race. Truex Jr. is also second in laps run on the lead lap, at just over 98 percent, just behind Kenseth.
Another good sign for Waltrip Racing is that Martin has run 78.5 percent of his laps in the top 15, too. And even though he has not driven in two races (Bristol and Martinsville) he is still 20th in points. Martin is scheduled to run 26 races this season. If he runs well enough to finish in the top 20 in points, and wins two races, he could make the Chase. It's not likely, but stranger things have happened.
And of course there is Bowyer, who is 10th in the standings and has run nearly 70 percent of his laps in the top 15 and is certainly capable of winning at any track. And that could happen this week as Kansas is considered his home track.
Michael Waltrip Racing can't quite be called an elite team yet when it comes to comparing it with Hendrick, Roush or Gibbs. That's because you can't be considered truly elite until you win a title
There's no doubt Waltrip Racing has come a long way since its embarrassing debut at Daytona in 2007, where penalties cost the team 100 points (that was under the old points system).
The numbers undoubtedly tell us the team is gaining on the rest of the field. The question is not if the team will make that key winning pass, but when.
That's when the numbers will be just perfect for Michael Waltrip Racing.
Showing posts with label Ryan Newman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Newman. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Friday, August 26, 2011
Welcome to the quiet before the storm hits ... and picks
I had to take this blog post title right of the lyrics from the TobyMac song Ignition, which is of course, where I got the idea for the name for this blog. And yes, this really is the quiet before the storm hits the East Coast.
There's a storm, or maybe even storms, of another type that could be brewing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol tonight. Let's hope we have power long enough to at least watch the race, which starts at 7 p.m.
Some questions:
Will we see a Keselowski-Kyle Busch push and shove battle on the track?
Will we see a Kurt Busch-Jimmie Johnson push and shove battle on the track?
Will we see an upset driver who gets crashed out of the race throw a helmet at a fellow competitor?
Isn't it about time Tony Stewart's frustrations boil over at somebody, since he's got to be frustrated about not winning a race yet this year?
Is this the night Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks his over three-year winless streak?
The answers:
Yes, no, yes, yes, no.
OK, on with the picks
Kyle Busch - He's on a roll right now.
Ryan Newman - He's on the pole and that's important at the concrete half-mile of Bristol.
Kurt Busch - He'd love to bump Johnson out of the way for a win here.
Carl Edwards - A Roush car is due for a win.
Kevin Harvick - No better track for the neighborhood bully
Until next time
There's a storm, or maybe even storms, of another type that could be brewing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol tonight. Let's hope we have power long enough to at least watch the race, which starts at 7 p.m.
Some questions:
Will we see a Keselowski-Kyle Busch push and shove battle on the track?
Will we see a Kurt Busch-Jimmie Johnson push and shove battle on the track?
Will we see an upset driver who gets crashed out of the race throw a helmet at a fellow competitor?
Isn't it about time Tony Stewart's frustrations boil over at somebody, since he's got to be frustrated about not winning a race yet this year?
Is this the night Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks his over three-year winless streak?
The answers:
Yes, no, yes, yes, no.
OK, on with the picks
Kyle Busch - He's on a roll right now.
Ryan Newman - He's on the pole and that's important at the concrete half-mile of Bristol.
Kurt Busch - He'd love to bump Johnson out of the way for a win here.
Carl Edwards - A Roush car is due for a win.
Kevin Harvick - No better track for the neighborhood bully
Until next time
Friday, July 22, 2011
The 1-2 punch
The Sprint Cuppers have the week off before they head to Indianapolis next week. Here's a look at some things about teammates Ryan Newman's and Tony Stewart's 1-2 finish at New Hampshire last week.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
It was the first time that the drivers who started first and second finished first and second since the June 2006 race at Pocono.
It was the first time that teammates started 1-2 and finished 1-2 since the 1989 Daytona 500 when Darrell Waltrip and Ken Schrader did it for Hendrick Motorsports.
It was also the first time that the teammate who started first finished first, and the teammate who started second finished second since April 7, 1957, when Fireball Roberts won and Paul Goldsmith was second at North Wilkesboro.
CHASE CITY
There are seven races left in the race for the Chase to the Championship, and obviously, Newman is almost certain to make it. With a coveted victory and an eighth-place spot in the standings, he's in good shape. Stewart helped himself with the second-place finish, but is still 11th in points (he's actually tied for 10th with Denny Hamlin, but Hamlin has a win) and without a victory. However, he does have some tracks where he has been successful coming up on the schedule, including Indianapolis, Pocono and the road course at Watkins Glen. Stewart's bound to get a win at one of those places.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took another hit in the points standings with a 15th-place finish due to a penalty when his pit crew didn't corral a tire properly during a pit stop. Junior is now just seven points ahead of the 11th-place Stewart and doesn't have a win to fallback on like 13th place David Ragan does, who would be in the Chase if it started this weekend. And for those of you snoring at home, Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won in over three years and 111 races.
Another driver to watch if he gets another win is Brad Keselowski. He's 23rd in points, but has one win. If he gets into the top 20 in points he would be eligible for one of the final two Chase spots. A second victory would likely accomplish that feat.
There have been 13 different winners in 19 races this season. If that trend continues the race for those two wild-card spots to reach the Chase could be wild. And there will likely be a lot more gambling on fuel and tire strategies to gain track position for drivers in the top 20 who need a victory.
PICK RESULTS
Not a bad week in the picks department here last week. My five were Kyle Busch (blown tire put him in 36th), Kurt Busch (10th), Stewart, Jimmie Johnson (5th) and Newman.
Until next time
ONE-TWO PUNCH
It was the first time that the drivers who started first and second finished first and second since the June 2006 race at Pocono.
It was the first time that teammates started 1-2 and finished 1-2 since the 1989 Daytona 500 when Darrell Waltrip and Ken Schrader did it for Hendrick Motorsports.
It was also the first time that the teammate who started first finished first, and the teammate who started second finished second since April 7, 1957, when Fireball Roberts won and Paul Goldsmith was second at North Wilkesboro.
CHASE CITY
There are seven races left in the race for the Chase to the Championship, and obviously, Newman is almost certain to make it. With a coveted victory and an eighth-place spot in the standings, he's in good shape. Stewart helped himself with the second-place finish, but is still 11th in points (he's actually tied for 10th with Denny Hamlin, but Hamlin has a win) and without a victory. However, he does have some tracks where he has been successful coming up on the schedule, including Indianapolis, Pocono and the road course at Watkins Glen. Stewart's bound to get a win at one of those places.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took another hit in the points standings with a 15th-place finish due to a penalty when his pit crew didn't corral a tire properly during a pit stop. Junior is now just seven points ahead of the 11th-place Stewart and doesn't have a win to fallback on like 13th place David Ragan does, who would be in the Chase if it started this weekend. And for those of you snoring at home, Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won in over three years and 111 races.
Another driver to watch if he gets another win is Brad Keselowski. He's 23rd in points, but has one win. If he gets into the top 20 in points he would be eligible for one of the final two Chase spots. A second victory would likely accomplish that feat.
There have been 13 different winners in 19 races this season. If that trend continues the race for those two wild-card spots to reach the Chase could be wild. And there will likely be a lot more gambling on fuel and tire strategies to gain track position for drivers in the top 20 who need a victory.
PICK RESULTS
Not a bad week in the picks department here last week. My five were Kyle Busch (blown tire put him in 36th), Kurt Busch (10th), Stewart, Jimmie Johnson (5th) and Newman.
Until next time
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