Chase Race No. 3: Four Drivers Face Elimination at "Monster Mile," Almirola Will Advance

Aric Almirola won a Truck Series race at Dover in 2010 (Photo: Google Images)

This Sunday, NASCAR will be at Dover International Speedway. This track has always been one that provides a great deal of excitement for fans (they don't call it the "Monster Mile" for nothing) but this weekend's event might prove to be one of the more exciting race's held at the high banked concrete oval in recent memory.

That is because, for the first time ever, NASCAR has implemented elimination rounds in their often maligned Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff system and Dover is the first of these three elimination races. Right now there are some big names that face not advancing to the next round; the bottom four include Denny Hamlin in 13th, Greg Biffle in 14th, Kurt Busch in 15th and Aric Almirola in 16th. But don't think that any of these drivers are out of contention and there can't be a major shakeup going into next week's race at Kansas. Hamlin and Biffle are tied for 13th, Busch is two points behind them and Almirola is two points behind Busch. And Hamlin Biffle are only six markers behind 12th place Ryan Newman, while last place Almirola is only ten points back of Newman.

But while he entered the Chase as a major underdog, scoring an upset victory in Daytona's rain-shortened July race, Almirola stands just as good a chance of advancing as anyone else facing elimination. And I believe that he will.

Title contender Denny Hamlin faces elimination Sunday (Photo: Google Images)

While most feel like they lucked into their playoff spot and wouldn't run competitively (this author included), Almirola and his Trent Owen's-led No. 43 Smithfield Ford team have really surprised in the first two Chase races. While they did suffer a blown engine in the closing laps of the race at Chicagoland Speedway, they were running well inside the top 10 at the time. And while they didn't move out of 16th in the standings, they finished a very solid sixth last week at Loudon. Almirola has run well at Dover in the past, scoring a best finish of sixth at his first Cup race in the "First State" and an average finish of 15th at the track and he has also won there before.

Driving the No. 51 Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota Tundra for the now shuddered Billy Ballew Racing team, Almirola started seventh that day and went on to score the win when Kyle Busch's truck ran out of fuel. Yes it may seem like a fluke, but to run second to Busch at a track as tough as Dover still takes some work. Almirola's team this year has been very consistent and they have returned owner Richard Petty's famous No. 43 to prominence after years of being a back-marker, while perennial contenders like Hamlin and Busch have been wildly irregular when it comes to decent finishes. While these three combined only have a handful of wins this year, it might be Amirola's consistency that carries him into round two and perhaps even further into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But there are other drivers in the playoff mix as well and the points are so tight that any one driver having a problem could open the door for another to take his place in the top 12. It will be very interesting to see who can advance and who will get grabbed by the Miles the Monster in Sunday's AAA 400.

New Hampshire Race Proves to be Feast or Famine for Chase Drivers

Joey Logano poses with a New England "lobstah" after winning in New Hampshire
(Photo: Google Images)

Going into Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it appeared Brad Keselowski was going to nab his third win in a row. But after being outdueled on a few late race restarts, it was his Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano who wound up in victory lane. He also grabbed the the second of three spots in round two of the Chase for drivers who win in round one. This was the Middletown, Conn. native's second win of his career at what he considers his home track and his fourth win of the year.

But while Roger Penske's reign of dominance was extended with his third consecutive win, many of the Chase drivers want so lucky. Many frontrunners experienced issues at Loudon and  face elimination heading into Dover next weekend. The race was also about a few drivers 3who no one expected to contend in NASCAR's version of the playoffs, grabbing back some of the spotlight and letting everyone known they aren't finished yet.

Many of the drivers who many expected to run away in the points and battle for the championship experienced issues, either from someone else s mess or from their own team having problems. Dale Earnhardt Jr lost a lap early after he had to pit so his team could replace a loose wheel; a costly, careless error that a team running for it's first championship can ill afford to make. But "June Bug" would rebound to finish an impressive ninth on the day. Matt Kenseth also experienced issues. His first problem came when he got loose down the backstretch, crumpling the hood of teammate Kyle Busch's car. The result of these two getting together also collected Ksaey Kahne, who drilled the back of Busch's No. 18 Camry and ended any hope of his No. 5 Chevy being competitive again. But while Kahne limped home 23rd, Busch's team managed to keep their driver on the lead lap and repair his car enough to score an eight-place finish.

Could AJ Allmendinger be the 2014 champion? (Photo: Google Images)

 

However Kenseth wasn't so lucky. He got collected in a late wreck with Paul Menard with 30 laps to go and came home in 21st place.

Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin might have also seen their chances to advance to round two take a serious turn for the worse after Sunday. They finished 36th and 37th respectively. After leading early, Hamlin's car had an issue with the fuel probe, an integral part of making sure the car can be filled with fuel, and this cost him four laps while his team fixed the problem. But later on, he was collected in a lap 180 wreck with Martin Truex Jr and David Ragan crashed and Hamlin slid right into their mess. Busch was strong early on as well, but after losing a lap for having to pit for a loose wheel, "The Outlaw" clobbered the wall in turn three and saw his day end abruptly.

But drivers like AJ Allmendinger finished 13th, Aric Almirola came home a very impressive sixth place, Ryan Newman finished 18th after crash damage to keep his hopes alive another week. It's these drivers who snuck in under the radar that might prove more dangerous in this fight than anyone  thought. The drivers who didn't expect to make the Chase and really have nothing to lose and are trying to prove they belong in the second round.

A scant 12 points separate eight place Kenseth from last place Almirola in points. The drivers are eight places apart in the standings. While many criticized the new format for the Chase, myself included, it looks as if NASCAR got what they wanted. Fans might get a tight championship battle after all. We might see what can happen when eight drivers fight to get out of the bottom four in the standings and they are forced to run all-out to do so.

Next week's trip to the "Monster Mile" might be more monstrous than ever before.

Chase Race No. 2: Keselowski Looks to Pull off Hat Trick at "Magic Mile"

Brad Keselowski celebrates his win at Loudon this past July (Photo: Google Images)

In hockey, when one player scores three goals in a single game, that player has just accomplished what has become known as a "hat trick" and fans will  show their appreciation by throwing their caps onto the ice. While fans at New Hampshire Motor Speedway might not throw their caps onto the track if he wins, Brad Keselowski is going for Nascar's version of the hat trick. He not only tring to win his third race in a row, but also to sweep both races at the "Magic Mile" and potentially show himself to be the driver to beat in the championship hunt.

In that race, Keselowski dominated the field, leading seven times for 138 laps. The next highest lap leader was first place starter and second place finisher Kyle Busch, who was out front once for a total of 62 laps. This will be a great chance for Keselowski to assert his dominance and establish himself as the 2014 champ.

Both he and teammate Joey Logano ran very strongly in the Granite State last July. The only reason Logano was not up front at the end was because he was collected in an accident on lap 213 of the 305 lap event. While both Penske teammates were strong, it was Keselowski's Redd's Apple Ale Ford that had the field seeing red and, with the dominating performance he gave ten weeks ago, it might take some doing to take down Keselowski this weekend.

Matt Kenseth also won this race one year ago in his 500th start. He has never had a great record at Loudon,  his win last September is his only victory at the track, But his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Busch and Denny Hamlin have run strong at New Hampshire in the past, with Hamlin finishing outside the top ten only six times in seventeen starts at the speedway for Gibbs. Perhaps being teamed with these two drivers is what Kenseth needed to help perfect his setup for this flat, tricky race track. While Kesneth's win last September was a surprise, it would not be total shocking to see him or either of his teammates win this Sunday. This past July, Busch finished second, Kenseth was fourth and Hamlin was eighth.

Kevin Harvick won on a flat mile track at Phoenix in February
 (Photo: Google Images)

There are also a few Chasers who might prove to be dark horses at Loudon. At the top of that list is someone who, in my opinion, has been the king of the dark horses this year is Ryan Newman. Newman has three wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and an average finish of 13th. He also finished fifth in July in his first race at the speedway for Richard Childress Racing. So look for the Rocket Man to run strong yet again.

And while they didn't run strong this summer, look for Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick to run strong this weekend. Gordon and Johnson both have average finishes of tenth at New Hampshire and their teammates, and fellow Chasers Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Kasey Kahne finished tenth and 11th respectively last July. Both Johnson and Gordon could glean some information from their teammates and run strongly this Sunday. Hendrick Motorsports always seems to turn up the wick when the Chase begins.

Harvick on the other hand, has an average finish of 14th and only has one win at Loudon, scoring a victory in September of 2006 for Richard Childress Racing. He may have finished 30th in July, but that was his first race at New Hampshire with his new team. His crew chief Rodney Childers has had success there in the past, having strong runs with drivers David Reutimann and Brian Vickers (the duo won at this track in September of 2013). Harvick and Childers have run strong in almost every race this year and it would not be a shock to see them do it again.

When the dust clears and the checkered flag waves this Sunday afternoon, it would not be surprising to see any of these drivers in victory lane, locking themselves into round two of the Chase for the Championship. But look for  either Keselowski or Logano to grab the win and move closer to a second Nascar title for Penske Racing

Keselowski Nets Win, Extends Points Lead in Windy City; Almirola's Title Hopes Go Up in Smoke

Brad Keselowski poses next to his name at the top of Round Two in the Chase
Grid. He automatically advanced after his win Sunday (Photo: Google Images)

The first race in the Chase for the Championship took place Sunday afternoon in Chicago and, just like he did two years ago, Brad Keselowski threw down the gauntlet. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford scored his second win in the Windy City in three years. Why is this significant? When he scored that first Chicagoland win, he went on to win the 2012 championship nine races later.

This was also Keselowski's second win in a row, after netting the victory last weekend at Richmond. However, when the race started any chance of Keselowski winning seemed like a long shot. Because qualifying was rained out and the field was set by practice speeds, Kyle Busch was on the pole and Keselowski rolled off in 25th position. Even during the event, he was forced to come back down pit road after a stop to tighten a loose wheel, miring him back in 16th place on the lap 287 restart.

Keselowski gained the lost track position on the restarts that came following his team's botched pit stop. Then with 15 laps to go, he drive his Ford in between fellow Chase contender Kevin Harvick and rookie sensation Kyle Larson, who was vying for his first career Sprint Cup Series victory. The driver known as "Bad Brad" made it three wide off of turn two and passed both Harvick and Larson by the end of the backstretch. Had he clipped either driver on his way past, it would have been detrimental to not only his Chase hopes, but also Harvick's.

On a restart that resulted from Danica Patrick getting into boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr's No. 17 Ford, Keselowski took the green with five laps to go and not only held the lead, but continued to stretch it out. He would win by almost two seconds over fellow Chaser Jeff Gordon.

Keselowski leads the field around Chicagoland Speedway
(Photo: Google Images)

But while both the No. 2 team had a great start to their post-season run, not every Chase driver was that fortunate. Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards  both had flat tires, but both rallied back to finish 15th and 20th respectively. Other big names also experienced trouble. Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch also had issues, with Busch and Kenseth spinning out as they entered pit road for routine service and Johnson's tire changer tripping as he ran from one side of the car to the other, turning what should have been a 12-second pit stop into a 17-second stop. Busch and Kenseth would rebound to grab top ten finishes and Johnson would finish a respectable 12th place.

However, AJ Allmendinger and Greg Biffle were slow all day long, finishing 22dn and 23rd respectively. Both these drivers are now in the bottom three in the standings and will have to find speed quickly or face elimination. The third Chase driver to have issues, and be the bottom of the bottom three drivers, was Aric Almirola. With 37 laps to go, the motor under the hood of Almirola's No. 43 Ford just let go, forcing him to go to the garage and ruining what was a surprisingly strong sixth place run for the underdog Chaser.

To quote Keselowski in victory lane, "It was a crazy day." There were a few wrecks, a lot of Chase contenders ran well, a few didn't, and there was a three wide battle for the lead that definitely gave fans their moneys worth. At the end of the day it was Keselowski in victory lane, advancing into the Contender Round of the Chase and making sure the Nascar world knows he will be a driver to watch for the championship. Just like he did when he won this race two years ago.

The next race on the schedule is the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Keselowski will go for three wins in a row and the rest of the field, Chasers or not, will try to knock him off the top of the hill.

Chase Race No. 1: Chicagoland Speedway a Good Barometer for Who Might Be Champion

Number one seed Brad Keselowski won Chicago in 2012 (Photo: Google Images)

After 26 regular season races, it is time for Nascar's top 16 drivers to battle it out for the 2014 Sprint Cup title. The first stop on the ten race stretch that will decide the next champion is the Chicagoland Speedway this Sunday and, the last three seasons at least, this race has proven to be a good indicator of which drivers will be serious title contenders.

When last season's Geico 400 was completed, Matt Kenseth found himself in victory lane after edging out Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch for the victory. Kenseth was also the number one seed entering last year's chase and it appeared that his No. 20 team had only gotten more dominant, as this was their sixth win of the season. Kenseth would go on to win the next race at New Hampshire, but he would come up just short of Jimmie Johnson in the championship standings, finishing second overall after a bad race in Phoenix. But despite this, in my opinion at least, with seven wins, 20 top-ten finishes and an average finish of twelfth, last year truly was Kenseth's championship to lose.

The year before, Brad Keselowski won in the "Windy City," for his fourth win of the season. This Chase would also prove to be a battle between Keselowski and Johnson and Keselowski made no bones about the fact he was out to take the No. 48 team down a peg or two. Both drivers had five wins going into the finale, Johnson had 24 top-tens to Keselowski's 23 and both drivers had an average finish between tenth and eleventh. It would come down to Homestead, a broken rear-end gear on Johnson's Chevrolet and a fifteenth place finish for Keselowski and when the checkered flag fell, "Bad Brad" was the 2012 Sprint Cup champion.

Tony Stewart with the 2011 Sprint Cup (Photo: Google Images)

In 2011, Tony Stewart famously said his team did not deserve a spot in the Chase because they were nowhere near ready to contend for a title. Well, Stewart's team would go on to qualify for the Chase and win the first race at Chicagoland. They would also go on to win four more Chase races (that's right. They won HALF of the Chase races), including the season finale at Homestead. It was that win that netted Stewart the 2011 title as well, as he was tied in points with Carl Edwards and the tiebreaker was number of wins. Stewart's No. 14 team might not have been ready before the Chase began, but they sure caught fire once the final ten races began.

So heading into this weekend's race at Chicago, knowing that the track has shown who will be strongest over the final ten weeks, look for Keselowski to win again in Illinois. He was won already this year at Las Vegas and Kentucky, two tracks very similar to Chicago. And, while it isn't all that similar to Chicago, his Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano won at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year.

In addition to the two Penske cars, would also look for Hendrick Motorsports to be strong as well. Jeff Gordon won at Kansas and Michigan this year and, while they are bigger than Chicagoland Speedway, they have the same type of sweeping corners as Chicago. Dale Earnhardt, Jr is another driver who should also do well. He won at Chicago back in 2005 and he's already won three times this year. With this being crew chief Steve Letarte's last season with the No. 88 team, they want to send him off with a championship so that could be all the motivation they need to get their Chase off to a strong start. And Jimmie Johnson is Jimmie Johnson, six-time defending champ and 69 races. He's strong just about everywhere.


Kevin Harvick (L) and Rodney Childers have been a very
strong duo in 2014 (Photo: Google Images)

As far as any dark horses, while he might not really be a dark horse, look for Kevin Harvick to be a threat. He and crew chief Rodney Childers have already won twice this year as a new team and, save for a few slow pit stops and a lot of mechanical issues, with thirteen top-ten finishes they have been in contention almost every week. While everyone is focusing on drivers like Keselowski and Johnson, "Happy Harvick" might just sneak up into the top-five and show he's ready to land Stewart-Haas Racing its second Sprint Cup title.

Other unassuming drivers could be Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman. While they have not won yet this year, they have been quiet and consistent with both Newman and Biffle netting ten top-tens this year. Aric Almirola could also surprise some people. He managed to sneak into the top ten and finish tenth at Richmond last week, his sixth of the season.

While the Chase is only beginning this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway and there will still be nine races left to run once the dust clears Sunday night, this race will help separate the contenders from the pretenders. Two champions and a runner-up have won this race the last three seasons. Will that trend continue this weekend? If a Chase driver wins on Sunday, he might be someone to keep an eye on over the next several weeks.

Keselowski Wins Richmond, Field of 16 Drivers Set to Chase Championship

The 16 drivers who will race for the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship
 Top (L-R): Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman,
Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Aric Almirola
Bottom (L-R): Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, AJ ALlmendinger, Kasey Kahne,
Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick (Photo from Google Images)

After 25 grueling races, it all came down to Richmond and the regular season finale to see who would capture the final few spots in the top 16 in points and qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Just like he had done three previous times in 2014, Brad Keselowski qualified his Miller Lite Ford on the pole. Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman were trying to maintain the final two spots in the Chase, while Clint Bowyer was faced with a "win-and-you're-in" scenario that would bump out either of the Biffle-Newman duo. With some drivers racing for the win, others racing for pride, and still others racing for their shot at a title, the Federated Auto Parts 400 got underway.

Keselowski put on a clinic at the three-quarter mile Virginia short track, leading a staggering 383 of the 400 laps run Saturday night, with Kevin Harvick leading the other 17 circuits in his Budweiser Chevrolet. For a race that would set the championship field, not to mention racing at a short track where tempers usually flare up quickly, the race was very tame. The only real on-track slip up came when Matt Kenseth slid his Dollar General Toyota into the outside wall. The resulting damage would  ruin his night and relegated driver No. 20 to a 41st place finish. But while the racing on the track was calm, there was an incident off the track that got everyone's attention.

James Richard Dennis sits atop the catch fence in turn four at
 Richmond International Raceway (Photo from Google Images)

Nascar fans tend to have a reputation as drunken lunatics and that stereotype was not really helped on Saturday when a fan decided to climb the retaining fence (normally meant to protect spectators from the potential of flying debris) and sit atop it for several laps. James Richard Dennis, 53, sat atop the fence, arms raised, cheering to his fellow fans. Shortly after, Nascar placed the race under caution to slow the cars down and bring the fan down from the fence. Dennis was then arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness and escorted off the premises.

But when the fans settled down and the smoke had cleared, it was Keselowski who grabbed his fourth win of the season and the number one seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jeff Gordon finished a strong second place and Bowyer finished third. But despite his top three finish, Bowyer missed  qualifying for the Chase by a scant seven points to Biffle. That equates to seven finishing positions during any of the previous 25 races, which really illustrates just how close making the cut to run for the championship playoff can be. There was also a scary moment after the checkered flag fell.

Title contender and defending six-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished a strong eighth in the race. But when he exited his car on pit road afterwards, he sat on the wall surrounded by his crew. He then sat on the ground, rolled over to lay on his back. Track medical personnel placed Johnson on a stretcher and rushed him to the infield care center where he was later diagnosed as being severely dehydrated and received an IV to help return him to normal. This was very odd, as Johnson is a big advocate of physical fitness and often competes in triathlons. Johnson is fine and will compete in Chicago this weekend.

Brad Keselowski celebrates his Richmond win
(Photo from Google Images)

So the field of 16 title contenders is set and the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set to begin this Sunday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway. Keselowski is the number one seed going into the race, followed by Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Johnson and Joey Logano round out the top five, followed by Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch. The eleventh spot is held down by Kasey Kahne, Aric Amirola is twelfth and AJ Allmendinger is thirteenth. Matt Kenseth is fourteenth, and is the first of the drivers to lock into the Chase on points because they failed to win a race. He is followed by Biffle in fifteenth and Newman in sixteenth.

This 16 driver playoff is part of a new Nascar initiative to place more of a premium on winning races. Not only did winning a race in the first 25 events lock a driver into the Chase, the field was also set by who had the most victories (which is why Keselowski is the top seed with four wins). However, in the final ten race playoff, every three races, four drivers will be eliminated from title contention. The only way to avoid being knocked out is to win a race or run at a competitive level every week. This new system also results in a winner-take-all finale between the top four drivers in points going into the tenth race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the highest finishing driver from those four will be crowned the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Champion.

While it has been heavily criticize by some and hard to understand at times, this new system should be good for the sport. It will force every driver to race hard if they want to be champion and really help the cream rise to the top. This should be a very exciting stretch for drivers and fans alike and I'm looking forward to posting for you every step of the way. Lets go racing!