As NASCAR celebrated an entertaining race at Bristol and the run for those final Chase spots heats-up, we learned an awful lot about a few drivers and their teams.
First and foremost, let’s take a look at Kasey Kahne. By Kahne’s own admission he had the best car at the end of the race. Then one has to ask why he didn’t take the checkered flag? His tires were nearly 100 laps newer then race winner, Matt Kenseth, and clearly looked like he was much faster. He drove his #5 Chevrolet to Kenseth’s bumper with plenty of time to set up a pass.
As the ESPN/ABC announcers were stating that Kahne will have to put a bumper to Kenseth to pass him, it seemed just a matter of time before Kenseth was pushed out of the way. It never happened.
Wins are very difficult to come by in NASCAR. Jimmie Johnson only wins about 15% of the time. Jeff Gordon? 13% of the time. Those are the two of the winningest drivers on the circuit today. Kahne has 16 wins for his career. He should have 17.
Kahne, who has been upset with the Roush Fenway stable for what he termed “aggressive driving”, had an opportunity to provide a little payback. His sheepish response Saturday night leaves a big question around Kahne’s toughness to be considered a serious Sprint Cup Contender. You’d be hard-pressed to find any driver in the garage not willing to push Kenseth out of the way given the same opportunity Kahne had Saturday night. That was as soft a finish as I’ve seen in years.
And how about Jeff Gordon? Race after race we’ve seen Gordon lose spot after spot after nearly every restart. It doesn’t matter which track; mile and a half, miles, and now the half mile track at Bristol. For the longest time I thought it was with the car set-up. Now I’m pretty sure it’s something else.
On a night when Gordon showed the ability to pass cars on the track using his old “slide job”, it looked like he had a legitimate shot to win the race. However, after a late race caution his chance was all but sealed.
Gordon’s restart misery has been going on for seasons. The blame can be laid solely on the driver of the #24 Chevrolet. He lost at a chance for victory at Pocono because of a poor restart. It seems that Gordon consistently loses 3, 4, 5 or sometimes more positions after every restart.
Look, Gordon is a champion and one of the sport’s greatest ever. He is a sure Hall of Famer. Far be it for me to label him, but it is fair to start asking some questions. Has he lost his nerve? Is he now racing too conservatively? Is he being too nice on the track? Are we just seeing the end of a great racing career?
Whatever the reason may be, clearly Gordon cannot be taken seriously as a Cup contender even, if he somehow finds his way into the Chase. That being said, I have a soft spot for old timers and I’ll be rooting for him.
Next, let’s start taking a look at Danica Patrick. Seriously, she was just plain awful Saturday night. The only time we noticed her was when she was in the way, which was often.
I’ve been a huge supporter of her. I’ve advocated the fact that she needs more time in the car before we can call her a dud. The problem is she should be getting that experience driving in the Nationwide series and not in the Sprint Cup series. The decision to push an inexperienced driver to the Cup series after a few races in the Nationwide series was made for one reason and one reason only; money. Clearly she was not ready for the big time.
We’ve all seen other athletes who were rushed and seen some of their careers ruined because of it. Danica’s confidence has to be shaken somewhat by these experiences. Is this really the best way for her to become successful in stock car racing? She should have been given the time to learn stock car racing in the less intense Nationwide series.
Oh yeah, congrats to Matt Kenseth who now looks like he is more than prepared to give Jimmie Johnson a real challenge for the Championship. While most of us had expected defending Champion, Brad Keselowski to be Johnson’s biggest challenger, it’s the two men from Roush Fenway Racing, Carl Edwards and Kenseth, which appear to be ready to meet the challenge. The Chase is shaping up to be a good one.
My picks for Atlanta
1) Carl Edwards
2) Kevin Harvick
3) Kyle Busch
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