Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisOff week for NASCAR
March 12th 2009 17:38
There isn't a NASCAR Sprint Cup race this coming week, so we'll look instead at where NASCAR stands four races in.
Of course last week the winner, Kurt Busch, wasn't on our radar. We weren't thinking about back-to-back Busches so we admit we overlooked that one.
But we did have the No. 2 (Jeff Gordon) and No. 3 (Carl Edwards) finishers. Our other picks, Greg Biffle and Bobby LaBonte, along with wildcard Joey Logano weren't exactly on the money.
Our top pick was Carl Edwards. Edwards had the lead on the final green flag, which was to be a green/white/checker sequence. Edwards had a decent run all day, but his car was no match for a very dominant Busch, who probably got a huge break by the late caution flag.
As the race reached the final laps, Busch had a decent lead over Brian Vickers. But Vickers had been shaving off fractions of a second every lap and it was thought that by the final lap the two would probably duel to the checkered flag. Each had slight issues—Busch was low on gas and was likely to be empty by the final lap, so he had been conserving slightly. Vickers had enough gas to make it to the end, but had been burning up his tires.
The caution came on lap 323, and since NASCAR likes to try to finish each race under green, the leader and those following had no choice but to pit.
Busch, Gordon and Vickers all took four tires and gas. Vickers, however, had the worst pit stop of the day, one which he wasn't too happy about. (He cussed out his crew on the radio as he drove out of his pit, and didn't get back on the radio the rest of the race) Busch got out quickly, ahead of Gordon, but behind Edwards, who emerged in the lead. Only problem was, Edwards took a risk by only take two tires instead of four.
The results were obvious quickly. Edwards couldn't hold off Busch or Gordon, and had to settle for third. The irony here is that Edwards' team was awarded the Dow Automotive “Strategic Call of the Race” Award for being able to finish third.
What lies ahead is Bristol, a short track with lots of action, in a week from Sunday. Being the fifth race of the year, it adds extra importance because it establishes the season's first standings used to set the field. The top 35 in the standings are guaranteed a spot in the field each week, and everyone else has to qualify on speed. Right now Aric Almirola has the finals spot, but he is just one point ahead of David Gilliland. And Mark Martin is just ahead of Almirola,
Also dangerously close to the bubble are rookies Scott Speed, who is in 37th place and Logano, in 33rd. Right above him is Ryan Newman, a fairly experienced driver.
For what it's worth, Newman and Martin have decent driver ratings at Bristol, slightly ahead of Almirola. Gilliland does not. And as for the rookies, their crews would be smart to tell them not to even think about points, Bristol is a beast without having extra pressure added.
Next week we'll give our picks for Bristol.
And also a note soon this report will be moving completely to a new site at www.prosportswrapup.com
Of course last week the winner, Kurt Busch, wasn't on our radar. We weren't thinking about back-to-back Busches so we admit we overlooked that one.
But we did have the No. 2 (Jeff Gordon) and No. 3 (Carl Edwards) finishers. Our other picks, Greg Biffle and Bobby LaBonte, along with wildcard Joey Logano weren't exactly on the money.
Our top pick was Carl Edwards. Edwards had the lead on the final green flag, which was to be a green/white/checker sequence. Edwards had a decent run all day, but his car was no match for a very dominant Busch, who probably got a huge break by the late caution flag.
Carl Edwards didn't get to show off his famous back flip on Sunday as he couldn't hold off Kurt Busch in the final two laps.
As the race reached the final laps, Busch had a decent lead over Brian Vickers. But Vickers had been shaving off fractions of a second every lap and it was thought that by the final lap the two would probably duel to the checkered flag. Each had slight issues—Busch was low on gas and was likely to be empty by the final lap, so he had been conserving slightly. Vickers had enough gas to make it to the end, but had been burning up his tires.
The caution came on lap 323, and since NASCAR likes to try to finish each race under green, the leader and those following had no choice but to pit.
The results were obvious quickly. Edwards couldn't hold off Busch or Gordon, and had to settle for third. The irony here is that Edwards' team was awarded the Dow Automotive “Strategic Call of the Race” Award for being able to finish third.
What lies ahead is Bristol, a short track with lots of action, in a week from Sunday. Being the fifth race of the year, it adds extra importance because it establishes the season's first standings used to set the field. The top 35 in the standings are guaranteed a spot in the field each week, and everyone else has to qualify on speed. Right now Aric Almirola has the finals spot, but he is just one point ahead of David Gilliland. And Mark Martin is just ahead of Almirola,
Also dangerously close to the bubble are rookies Scott Speed, who is in 37th place and Logano, in 33rd. Right above him is Ryan Newman, a fairly experienced driver.
For what it's worth, Newman and Martin have decent driver ratings at Bristol, slightly ahead of Almirola. Gilliland does not. And as for the rookies, their crews would be smart to tell them not to even think about points, Bristol is a beast without having extra pressure added.
Next week we'll give our picks for Bristol.
And also a note soon this report will be moving completely to a new site at www.prosportswrapup.com
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