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StarterWith five races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup, it looks like eight drivers are battling for six spots. The standings 1-14 are as follows:
1 Kyle Busch 3059
2 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 2883 -176
3 Carl Edwards 2874 -185
4 Jimmie Johnson 2859 -200
5 Jeff Burton 2833 -226
6 Jeff Gordon 2678 -381
7 Kasey Kahne 2592 -467
8 Greg Biffle 2589 -470
9 Tony Stewart 2569 -490
10 Denny Hamlin 2547 -512
11 Kevin Harvick 2520 -539
12 Clint Bowyer 2512 -547
13 Matt Kenseth 2501 -558
14 David Ragan 2466 -593
The top-5 drivers are most certainly IN the Chase, and I'm reasonable sure Jeff Gordon is not going to lose his 177-point cushion over 13th-place. What is interesting is looking at where the eight battling drivers are in point over the last five races.
7 Kasey Kahne 2592 -467 Last 5 races: 634 points (6th)
8 Greg Biffle 2589 -470 Last 5 races: 570 points (14th)
9 Tony Stewart 2569 -490 Last 5 races: 661 points (3rd)
10 Denny Hamlin 2547 -512 Last 5 races: 539 points (16th)
11 Kevin Harvick 2520 -539 Last 5 races: 630 points (7th)
12 Clint Bowyer 2512 -547 Last 5 races: 588 points (12th)
13 Matt Kenseth 2501 -558 Last 5 races: 609 points (11th)
14 David Ragan 2466 -593 Last 5 races: 621 points (10th)
ALL of those drivers have been VERY close, with none slumping too badly. What that means is while you would tend to follow the drivers up-front - check to see if any of these eight guys experience misfortune and end up near the back. One 40th-place finish could be enough to knock a driver out of the Chase.
Incidentally, a guy who should be REALLY hacked off is Martin Truex Jr. Without the 150-point penalty he would be 52 points behind David Ragan, and he has scored the eighth-most points over the last five races, so he would be poised to capitalize on misfortune instead of 17th in points.
In JJD points news, Carl Edwards has finished second and first the last two weeks, and with Kyle Busch's two subpar results (15th at Indy and a bad-luck 36th at Pocono) he has closed right up on Busch. Kyle and Carl each have a series-leading eight top-two finishes in 2008. (Jimmie Johnson is next with five top-twos, and Kasey Kahne is the only other driver with more than two.)
SPRINT CUP (DRIVERS)
Rank Points LW
1 Kyle Busch 240 1
2 Carl Edwards 200 2
3 Jimmie Johnson 167 3
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 146 4
5 Jeff Gordon 126 5
6 Denny Hamlin 123 5
7 Tony Stewart 118 11
8 Kasey Kahne 114 7
9 Greg Biffle 108 7
10 Jeff Burton 106 9
Matt Kenseth 106 10
12 Clint Bowyer 96 12
13 Kevin Harvick 79 13
14 David Ragan 65 17
15 Ryan Newman 64 14
16 Kurt Busch 63 15
17 Brian Vickers 62 15
18 Martin Truex Jr. 52 18
19 Mark Martin 50 20
20 Elliott Sadler 45 19
JGR continues to lead the owners points as Hendrick and Roush continue to chase. The last two weeks have seen top-three finishes of HMS-RFR-JGR at Indy and RFR-JRG-HMS at Pocono. And - a big shout-out goes out to the Wood Brothers, who scored their first JJD point of the season when Bill Elliott led lap 170 Sunday.
SPRINT CUP (TEAMS)
Rank Points
1 Joe Gibbs Racing 355
2 Hendrick Motorsports 306
3 Roush Fenway Racing 282
4 Richard Childress Racing 192
5 Gillett Evernham Motorsports 136
6 Penske Racing 110
7 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 97
8 Red Bull Racing Team 66
9 Yates Racing 49
10 Chip Ganassi Racing 47
11 Michael Waltrip Racing 28
12 Robby Gordon Motorsports 18
13 Hall of Fame Racing 15
14 Petty Enterprises 13
Bill Davis Racing 13
16 Haas CNC Racing 5
17 Furniture Row Racing 2
18 Front Row Motorsports 1
No Fear Racing 1
Wood Brothers Racing 1
However, Ron Fellows winning in Canada? Cool. Same with the overall experience of watching a rain race. Now, just put some REAL headlights in the cars next time (like ALMS cars) and have a REAL rain race.
NATIONWIDE SERIES
Rank Points LW
1 Kyle Busch 232 1
2 Clint Bowyer 189 2
3 Carl Edwards 166 3
4 Brad Keselowski 148 4
5 Denny Hamlin 143 5
6 Tony Stewart 124 6
7 David Reutimann 113 7
8 David Stremme 98 8
9 David Ragan 96 9
10 Kevin Harvick 93 10
11 Scott Wimmer 91 11
12 Mike Bliss 80 12
13 Joey Logano 71 13
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 64 14
15 Jason Leffler 60 15
16 Greg Biffle 57 16
17 Jeff Burton 51 17
18 Marcos Ambrose 50 21
19 Brian Vickers 47 18
20 Mike Wallace 46 19
Despite Joey Logano's unfortunate crash at the race's end Saturday, the 20 team continues to be way out in front. Interestingly for this week's race at the Glen, we'll get to see Kyle Busch in probably the worst car he's driven all season (at least on paper) - the #92 D'Hondt Motorsports Camry making its maiden appearance of 2008. Kyle's win at ORP (less 15 or so HP, as you know), amazingly bumped the part-time #18 Camry up to third in the JJD owners standings.
Random aside: I wonder why Jack Roush doesn't run a full season with three cars? He's got the #60 and the #6 full-time, but he's got the #16 in 18 races and the #17 in 8 so far in 2008. I don't think the world would end if Matt Kenseth drive the #16 or Greg Biffle the #17 (Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin drive the #20 and we survive OK). Seems like Roush is just sacrificing some spots in the owners standings for no reason. The #16 is 23rd and they would probably be sniffing the top-10 if they were a full-time team. Jack must get a lot of cheddar to have the #17 out there sometimes when the #16 is parked.
NATIONWIDE SERIES (TEAMS)
Rank Car# Owner Points
1 20 Joe Gibbs Racing 299
Drivers: T. Stewart (8 starts), J. Logano (7), D. Hamlin (5), Ky. Busch (3)
2 2 Richard Childress Racing 189
Driver: C. Bowyer (23 starts)
3 18 Joe Gibbs Racing 171
Driver: Ky. Busch (10 starts), D. Hamlin (1)
4 60 Roush Fenway Racing 166
Driver: C. Edwards (23 starts)
5 88 JR Motorsports 148
Driver: B. Keselowski (23 starts)
6 29 Richard Childress Racing 142
Drivers: S. Wimmer (14 starts), S. Wimmer (9)
7 5 JR Motorsports 124
Drivers: L. Cassill (11 starts), D. Earnhardt Jr. (6), M. Martin (2), M. Truex Jr. (1), A. Fernandez (1),
J. Johnson (1), R. Fellows (1)
8 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. 121
Drivers: K. Harvick (14 starts), C. Gale (7), R. Hornaday (2)
9 32 Braun Racing 118
Drivers: Ky. Busch (7 starts), D. Hamlin (5), J. Buescher (5), B. Vickers (4), M. Jourdain (1), J. Villeneuve (1)
10 99 Michael Waltrip Racing 113
Driver: D. Reutimann (23 starts)
11 64 Rusty Wallace Inc. 98
Driver: D. Stremme (21 starts), M. Papis (2)
12 6 Roush Fenway Racing 96
Driver: D. Ragan (23 starts)
13 16 Roush Fenway Racing 87
Drivers: G. Biffle (10 starts), C. Braun (5), J. McMurray (3)
14 9 Gillett Evernham Motorsports 80
Drivers: K. Kahne (8 starts), C. Miller (8), P. Carpentier (5), E. Sadler (2)
15 1 Phoenix Racing 62
Drivers: M. Bliss (17 starts), J. Sauter (5), S. Marlin (1)
NATIONWIDE SERIES POINTS RESET ELIMINATING SPRINT CUP RACE WINNERS
Rank Points
1 Brad Keselowski 3578
2 David Ragan 3476
3 David Reutimann 3450
4 Mike Bliss 3342
5 Mike Wallace 3125
6 Jason Leffler 3053
7 Jason Keller 3036
8 David Stremme 2990
9 Marcos Ambrose 2986
10 Steve Wallace 2943
11 Kelly Bires 2781
12 Bobby Hamilton Jr. 2719
13 Brad Coleman 2582
14 Kenny Wallace 2468
15 Scott Wimmer 2296
Rank Points
1 Brad Keselowski 258
2 David Reutimann 227
3 David Ragan 226
4 Mike Bliss 186
5 David Stremme 176
6 Scott Wimmer 151
7 Jason Leffler 123
8 Mike Wallace 98
9 Jason Keller 95
10 Joey Logano 92
11 Marcos Ambrose 91
12 Steve Wallace 85
13 Kelly Bires 77
14 Bobby Hamilton Jr. 64
15 Dario Franchitti 53
Johnny Benson and Ron Hornaday continue their death struggle in the Craftsman Truck Series, finishing 1-2 last week at ORP. Benson's win ties Hornaday for the series lead with three in 2008.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
Rank Points LW
1 Johnny Benson 157 1
2 Ron Hornaday 154 2
3 Matt Crafton 123 3
4 Kyle Busch 109 4
5 Todd Bodine 98 5
6 Erik Darnell 96 6
7 Mike Skinner 83 7
8 Jack Sprague 71 8
9 David Starr 68 9
10 Rick Crawford 66 10
Two weeks after the much-ballyhooed horsepower reduction of Toyota's Nationwide engine, the results have been inconclusive at best. Kyle Busch won immediately at ORP, but no Toyota finished higher than 15th in the wacky Montreal event. However, Jacques Villeneuve and Joey Logano were among the leaders before accidents on the final lap cost them good finishes.
MANUFACTURERS
Rank Points LW
1 Toyota 1079 1
2 Chevrolet 968 2
3 Ford 758 3
4 Dodge 420 4