Chaser Or Racer: NASCAR's Race To The Chase (Daytona)

Chasing or Racing: Daytona

New Hampshire left us with a jumbled set of finishers. The guys who ran up front finished in the middle of the pack (the highest ranking of that bunch being Denny Hamli in eighth) while Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, and J.J. Yeley led the way at the end. That’s what a little rain and strategy can do; the guys running toward the rear took a gamble and it paid off nicely for them.

However, don’t expect the results to be indicative of performance. Kurt Busch isn’t going to make a run at qualifying for NASCAR’s playoffs, and Elliot Sadler isn’t going to use his fifth to kick-start a summer hot streak. All the same, it did provide some headaches for the drivers on the bubble, as a few of them were bitten by mother nature.

10th place Kasey Kahne: The Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver looked to have momentum on his side after two wins in three races (three out of four if you also count the Sprint All-Star race). However, consecutive finishes of 30th and 35th have thrown and the team back a little. 

I don’t anticipate this group missing The Chase; Kasey’s very talented, Kenny Francis is a sharp crew chief (team director I mean), GEM as a whole is making strides (see the improved performance of Elliot Sadler and Patrick Carpentier), and it’s an even numbered year. Kahne’s Cup history says years that end in even numbers are his best. Expect him to rebound from his struggles in the past two races.

11th Clint Bowyer: Another mediocre finish at New Hampshire sees him drop one more spot in the standings to 11th. As I wrote last week, something seems missing from this team this year. Even though they didn’t win a race until after The Chase started in 2007, he and the team were consistent finishers, rarely running lower than the top 15.

However, this year, especially over the past month, that consistency seems to have disappeared. They may have a win, but there’s more work to be done to solidly lock in a Chase spot. Can they do it? Sure, but they’ve got to start getting results.

12th place Kevin Harvick: Finally, this team seemed to get things figured out. He led early, the team performed well, and a possible top five beckoned. That is, until mother nature came into play. Choosing to follow the strategy of the other leaders, he waited and pitted on that last yellow, rather than stop during the previous yellow (which had occurred numerous laps in the rear) in anticipation of the rain.

Of course, they got bitten, and ended up a disappointing 14th. Certainly, they wanted more. They’ll need more runs like this one to stay in the hunt. However, I’m still not entirely sold on him and the team. They still need to show they can run consistently, especially on the intermediate tracks.

13th place Matt Kenseth: Like Harvick, he got caught out by the rain, and dropped out of The Chase, for the time being at least. However, considering he and the team came from 22nd to 12th in about a month, I see no reason to doubt their status in NASCAR’s postseason. I have faith that he’ll be a part of it.

Surely, rain won’t come into play in the manner it did in New Hampshire for some time. This team is running well, meaning they’re frequently in a position to bring home nice results without depending on strategy to help them. Again, I see no reason to think this driver won’t be in the mix after Richmond.

14th place Martin Truex Jr.: Last year, he and the team seemed iffy until he won at Dover in June. That win gave the team a shot of momentum unlike any I’ve ever seen and helped propel them into The Chase. However, this season seems to be more of a struggle.

The entire Dale Earnhardt Inc. organization doesn’t seem to be as strong as it was last year, and it looks more likely with every race that Truex will need another shot of momentum like he, and the team, got last year at Dover. While it’s possible they could get a win in this stretch run to The Chase, I don’t know if it will have the same remarkable affect as it did last year. I don’t see him qualifying this year, even if the team does get a win. They just aren’t running well enough right now.

15th place Ryan Newman: He was actually helped by the rain a bit; I doubt he would have ended up in the top 15 had the race gone the full distance. Even still, the Penske group is simply not performing well enough for him to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs.

I think they’ll need to look to next year soon; they’ve got a lot to gain before they can become consistent threats in every race. Roger Penske’s got the resources and the drivers have got the talent, but I just don’t see it happening for them this year.

16th place Brian Vickers: From “giveth and taketh away” vault, Vickers and his Red Bull team used strategy brilliantly to get him in the top five early on, and he ran there the rest of the race. However, as much as it helped, it hurt him and the team equally so, as the rain saw him only finish 16th.

Certainly, a tough break; they looked poised to make up more ground and possibly crack the top 12 by the end of the race; they did not need the rain to wreak the havoc it did. 

However, I’m not counting this bunch out just yet. They’ve been running well, but small mistakes, such as speeding at Dover, have cost them dearly. If they can cure those small miscues, they could make a run at the last Chase spot. However, the mistakes need to stop.