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

            The Brickyard 400 has a habit of making drivers and teams ignore the points for at least one race, so they can possibly have the honor of winning at the heralded track. Races there (even if they aren’t the Indianapolis 500) have that lure about them. The rewards of employing that strategy can be great, just ask Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and others who have run well and won there. For others, this race can leave them with a bad taste their mouths, as they will first realize the missed chance to win at Indy, and will then realize how much their failed effort hurt them in the standings (just ask Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth who ran into serous trouble at Indy). This race can always throw a curve ball into the Race to the Chase, as some teams will be unable to overcome their failures here, as has happened in the past. As the series heads back to Pocono, the those vying for a Chase spot will look to either capitalize on or rebound from their performances at Indy.

10th place Tony Stewart: The Brickyard should have been the place for Stewart to put his season back on track. However, even though the tire issues saw numerous cases of teams taking two tires to gain track position (Stewart’s team included), the 20 team could never stay at the front, even when they got up there on pit strategy. The pace just wasn’t there. Before this race, I would have safely said Stewart would be in The Chase. Now, I’m not so sure. This stretch he’s having is similar to the one he had during the summer of 2006, the only year to date that saw him not qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs. I think this team should start to worry about their place in the standings. There are teams behind them who have been running much better of late.

11th place Matt Kenseth: Kenseth, like many, was a victim of Goodyear’s “tire” last weekend, as he had a failure that ripped the left rear off of the car. However, I’m not sure if the finish they had is indicative of the team’s true performance. This team has been very consistent of late, and has as many top ten finishes (12) as Dale Earnhardt Jr. (who sits second in the standings). I still feel safe in saying this team will be in The Chase, given their rebound from early season struggles. Plus, this team is battle tested and can vault themselves into the Chase when needed (see their 2005 season). Look for this team to comfortably qualify.

12th place Clint Bowyer: Bowyer and 07 team continue to struggle since they’re win at Richmond in May, with the only reason they sit in 12^th being Kevin Harvick’s troubles with Kurt Busch. Even though he was in a similar position last year at this time (in that had few top fives), he and his team were consistent top 15 runners, something they haven’t been since May. I’m beginning to seriously doubt if this team is capable enough of qualifying for this year’s Chase. They’re not quite out of it yet, but they need to pick up their performance now. Otherwise, they’ll be on the outside looking in very soon.

13th place Kevin Harvick: “Happy” Harvick can’t be smiling very much at the moment, as he sits outside of top 12. Plus, like teammate Bowyer, he’s been inconsistent in his performances and finishes. For example, he had four top tens by Easter, but then did not have another one until Richmond, and not another one after that until Chicagoland. We know that the Richard Childress organization is championship worthy and has the equipment to do so (see Jeff Burton’s performance this year), but the 29 team has not sold me since April. I’m not expecting to see them qualify for this year’s Chase. Maybe next year, but their accomplishments have been too few and far between this year to merit a Chase birth.

14th place David Ragan:  He continues to be a thorn in the side of the drivers who “should” be in NASCAR’s post-season, as he remains in the top fifteen in the standings and well within striking distance. He and his team have made enormous progress since last year, and are consistent top fifteen runners this year, which has them in this position. However, top fifteens may not be enough to vault them above the drivers and teams ahead of them; they’ll have to make one more performance jump and become top ten and top five runners. All the same, I think that is a jump this team can make. They may be an underdog, but an underdog is never complacent and always makes a great effort to gain that little bit more. Look for this team to make that last jump in performance and qualify for this year’s Chase.

15th place Brian Vickers: He was my other dark horse Chase pick... until his engine failed at Indy. He now has to rely on his opponents having problems something that is rarely reliable, in order to climb back into Chase contention. This team has made some great strides (even A.J. Allmendinger managed to finish in the top ten in a race, coincidentally last weekend), but they may be too far behind at this point to make a serious run. They may not be in the running this year, but I became a fan of the entire team after Vickers’ honest take on Sunday’s race (which he said was an embarrassment).

16th Ryan Newman: The writing may be on the wall regarding Newman’s status as a Penske driver; rumors say he’s reached a verbal agreement to join the Stewart Haas team next year as a teammate to Tony Stewart. He remains in mathematical contention for this year’s Chase, but a birth is simply not in the cards this year and Roger Penske’s outfit will have some rebuilding to do in the offseason if they want to be contenders next year.