NASCAR Momentum Quietly Slipping From Hendrick To Roush?

Momentum is defined as the capacity to develop, the power to increase at a growing pace. The phenomenon is shortened to ‘Mo’ for this series and it’s not unique to NASCAR. Mo is a force in all sports even though no one really knows how to possess it. That’s good for sports because if anyone owned it, losing for them would never happen.

Not everyone believes consistent results are anything other than focused effort over time producing positive outcome. In other words, Mo doesn’t exist, teams do. Yet no one ever seems to know everything about why a team surges or why Mo comes and goes. So call it Mo or whatever, in sports getting wins is more elusive than most want.

The fluid path of Mo this week looks like a quiet Roush Racing surge in NASCAR’s top 12. Hendrick Motorsports remains strong with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon performing well. Joe Gibbs Racing has Joey Logano and Kyle Busch leaping up positions. Richard Childress Racing slipped out of the top some, but Clint Bowyer improved.

Perhaps fans can sense what the following NASCAR teams have going on by what top drivers are saying this week.

Greg Biffle [Roush Racing] commented on moving up quietly before the Phoenix race.

“When the race is over, the TV cameras rush over to that car or that car, they want to interview -- or sometimes they overlook how good our team is,” Biffle said. “That's a little bit under the radar. That's sort of a good thing, because this sport is about momentum.

“I like to stay focused on what I'm doing. I don't mind -- I can deal with the camera and the asking the hard questions. But it just makes it easier when they don't.”

Matt Kenseth [Roush Racing] tends to be brief when facing cameras, but his words before Phoenix were upbeat.

“Already this season, I can say that we’ve really improved,” Kenseth said. “A lot of those tracks that challenged us last year, have been ones where we’ve had some great finishes this season.” 

Carl Edwards [Roush Racing] may have predicted his six position climb at Phoenix.

“We just need to make up a few points and get back in the hunt,” Edwards said. 

Joey Logano [Joe Gibbs Racing] was jubilant after his latest Cup performance.

“You gotta be on your ‘A’ game and see it coming,” Logano said “It’s huge. It’s a really big deal that we’ve moved up now.”

Clint Bowyer [Richard Childress Racing] seemed to take good results one race at a time.

“It was a great team effort,” Bowyer said. “We'll try to improve on this top-10 finish next weekend."

Jeff Gordon [Hendrick Motorsports] analyzed his season to date.

“I'm really excited the fact that our team I feel like has really improved this year,” Gordon said. “I like how we get stronger as the race goes on. That's something that we haven't had for a while.”

Jimmie Johnson [Hendrick Motorsports] talked about his consistent wins after Phoenix. He pointed out that fans care about their drivers. 

“Our fans are extremely passionate,” Johnson said. “And their driver, their team, their manufacturer, if it's a product on the car, they want their team or position or whoever it is to win. They're pretty vocal about that.”

1 (--) Jimmie Johnson [1073 points]
2 (+1) Matt Kenseth [-36] 
3 (-1) Greg Biffle [-92]
4 (--) Kevin Harvick [-112]
5 (+2) Jeff Gordon [-125]
6 (+3) Clint Bowyer [-188]
7 (-2) Jeff Burton [-200]
8 (+6) Carl Edwards [-200]
9 (-1) Tony Stewart [-204]
10 (--) Dale Earnhardt Jr. [-207]
11 (+2) Joey Logano [-211]
12 (+4) Kyle Busch [-218]

Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com