NASCAR Notebook: Johnson Faces Talladega-Sized Climb

Jimmie Johnson, thanks to the fifth-worst finish of his Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup career (34th), now sits eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, 35 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

With any other driver, that would register a minor blip on the news radar. Bad finishes happen. Sometimes it’s just not your year.

But with Johnson, this is a bombshell, adding yet another chapter in the ongoing “Is He Done?” saga.

Face It, It’s Just Not His Chase

There are two reasons to believe Johnson won’t climb out of this hole.

1)  That famous luck that blankets Johnson? Gone. His statistics over the first five races would suggest that Johnson is dominating. Of course, that’s not the case. Through the first five Chase races, Johnson has a Driver Rating of 114.2, an Average Running Position of 6.5, 234 Fastest Laps Run and 395 laps led. All those figures rank first among Chase drivers.

2)  There are A) too many drivers ahead of him and B) those drivers ahead of him show little sign of faltering. Points leader Edwards has top-10 finishes in all five races, the only driver to do so. Second- and third-place Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth have each finished in the top 10 in four of the five Chase races. Only two drivers in the top eight have two finishes outside the top 15 in the Chase: Johnson and Brad Keselowski. Consistency from those ahead of him may end his unprecedented run.

It’s Not Over ’Til It’s Over, Especially With Johnson

There are three reasons to believe Johnson will climb out of this hole.

1)   Johnson’s current 35-point deficit roughly equates to 145 points in the “old” points system. With five races to go in 2006, Johnson overcame a deficit of 146 points to win his first championship.

2)   He can win races in bunches, especially in pressure packed situations like this one. In 2007, Johnson won four consecutive races – at this exact juncture.

3)  Talladega and Phoenix await. Talladega is the ultimate wild-card track. Phoenix, with its repave, is an unknown. Some called it a brand-new track after the test two weeks ago.

Points Lead In Peril As Series Heads To Dega?

Points leader Carl Edwards should just sit in his No. 99 Ford and wait until the race weekend begins. At the very least, he should avoid any statistics pertaining to Talladega Superspeedway.

There are two worries for Edwards going into this weekend, one personal, the other historical.

For one, Edwards’ statistics at Talladega pale in comparison to most other tracks. His Driver Rating of 67.8 makes Talladega his worst track in terms of the Loop Data stat (by the way: second-worst is Martinsville, which awaits on deck, at 81.1). His average finish of 20.9 also makes Talladega his worst track. Edwards has scored just four top-10 finishes in 14 starts, which includes four DNFs. He has led laps in seven different Talladega races, but never more than eight in any given event. A bit of optimism: Edwards is coming off a sixth-place finish in April, his best Talladega result since 2005.

Two, Chase points leaders have a varied history at Talladega. Recently, the points leader has thrived. In the last three Chases, the points lead – each time held by Jimmie Johnson – has grown after the Talladega race.

But prior to that, trouble. The breakdown:

-In 2004, Jeff Gordon lost the points lead at Talladega after a 19th-place finish. Kurt Busch took over, and held on for the remainder of the season. That year, Talladega was the third race of the Chase.

-In 2005, Johnson entered Talladega with a seven-point advantage over Rusty Wallace. After the race, in which he finished 31st, he trailed Tony Stewart by 82 points.

-In 2006, Jeff Burton’s points lead shrank from 69 before Talladega to just six leaving it.

-In 2007, Johnson again lost a points lead at Talladega. He went into the race with a six-point advantage over Jeff Gordon, and left trailing his teammate by nine.

Enough Is Enough: Junior Primed To End Drought

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s winless drought is 124 races, but when the series hits Talladega Superspeedway, there’s a better-than-average chance that slide stops.

Earnhardt boasts a number of impressive statistics at the largest track in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. He won four consecutive races there from 2001-03, and five overall. He owns the top pre-race Driver Rating at Talladega – 92.7. And he has led at least two laps in each of the last 11 (and has led laps in 21 of his 23 Talladega starts).

One of Earnhardt’s best chances at ending the drought came last April at Talladega. He didn’t win, but he did help the driver who did. Earnhardt, who finished fourth, pushed Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson to victory that day. After the race, Johnson tried to give Earnhardt the checkered flag. Earnhardt refused the offer, opting to earn it at a later time. Is Sunday that time?

Hendrick, RCR Spring Performances Portend Talladega Milestones

Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500 could produce at least two milestones – especially if the race follows the form of April’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway in which Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing swept each of the top-five finishing positions.

•Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing are vying to break the deadlock atop the all-time owner wins list at Talladega (11). Either Hendrick or RCR has won the most recent three Talladega races.

•Hendrick Motorsports continues its bid for a 200th series victory.

•Richard Childress Racing can score its 100th series victory.

Jimmie Johnson scored his second Talladega victory in the spring, besting RCR’s Clint Bowyer by a miniscule 0.002 seconds. Click here to download a photo of last April’s finish.

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. flashed across the stripe in third and fourth, chased home by RCR’s Kevin Harvick. Bowyer, who failed to qualify for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, is the defending winner of the Good Sam Club 500. Gordon (six Talladega wins), Earnhardt (five) and Harvick (one) all have visited Victory Lane at the Alabama track. Harvick also boasts this resilient Talladega statistic: Zero DNFs (did not finish) in 21 starts.

Talladega’s Good Sam Club 500 An ‘Opportunity Race’ For Spoilers

It’s a fact that letting a non-Chase qualifier win a race represents points left on the table for the 12 competitors battling for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

At Talladega Superspeedway, not so much.

No driver will be holding anything back – especially on the final laps – but philosophically, a solid finish at the unpredictable Alabama track is the equivalent of a win at the other nine Chase tracks.

That’s why it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a “spoiler” go to Victory Lane following Sunday’s race. It’s happened before – three times since the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format was instituted in 2004.

•Jamie McMurray was the most recent non-Chase winner of Talladega’s fall race in 2009, edging Chase qualifier Kasey Kahne in a race that ended under caution.

•Brian Vickers won in 2006 with Kahne, again, the runner-up finisher.

•Dale Jarrett took the victory in 2005, the last of 32 wins scored by the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

Last year’s Sam’s Club 500, won by Clint Bowyer in a one-two finish with Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick, saw three non-Chase qualifiers – Juan Pablo Montoya, David Reutimann and Joey Logano – finish among the top five.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Notes

After a record-tying 88 lead changes in last April’s Talladega race, the track has instituted a bonus plan this weekend: If there are 100 lead changes in Sunday’s race, the driver who takes the lead the most times will win an extra $100,000. … Rule changes to watch for this weekend: The size of the restrictor plate that teams will use to prepare and practice for the race will increase by 1/64 inch and is now going to be 57/64-inch diameter. This will provide the teams with an additional 7-10 horsepower. Additionally, the pressure relief valve on the cars’ cooling system will be re-calibrated to reduce the pressure by approximately eight pounds per square inch from this past April’s race at Talladega. … Milestone marker: Bobby Labonte will attempt to make his 650th series start – he is 16th on the all-time NSCS starts list. Juan Pablo Montoya will attempt to post his 200th NASCAR national series start and his 50th series top-10 finish, Ryan Newman will attempt to post his 50th series Coors Light pole, Kurt Busch will be going for his 25th series win, AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose will attempt to post their 25th top-10 series finish each. … Honoring Hall of Famers: Two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip owns 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Talladega Superspeedway, and this weekend he’ll be celebrating the induction of his brother Darrell Waltrip into the NASCAR Hall of Fame by racing a special brown-and-gold paint scheme similar to the Terminal Transport car Darrell drove in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega on May 7, 1972.

Nationwide Series: Series History At The Doorstep of Season’s End

With two weeks off, followed by the final three races, there are two opportunities for history to be made by season’s end – a fourth consecutive owner title for Joe Gibbs Racing, or the driver and owner titles could be split among two teams but won by the same organization – Roush Fenway Racing.

Ever since 2007, when Carl Edwards won the driver championship but was unable to unify it with the owners title, he has wanted to win an owner title for Jack Roush. Richard Childress Racing won the owner title in ’07.
There are specific reasons so as to why various amounts are provided out. It’s a great choice for patients with seminal vesiculitis are certainly care about the efficient treatments of the disease. Most men experience a gradual decline in their sexual competencies as they age. This product has been launched in a smooth shampoo form.
In 2008, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota claimed the owner championship while Clint Bowyer won the driver title for Richard Childress Racing. Then the following year, Kyle Busch unified the championship (2009) in the No. 18 Toyota and last year, the No. 18 again claimed the owner title while Brad Keselowski won the driver championship for Penske Racing.

That 2010 championship tied Joe Gibbs with Bill Baumgardner for most consecutive owner championships – three – in series history.

Only three points separate the top two in the owner standings and if Joe Gibbs Racing is to set the mark with four straight, it will have to overcome the focused No. 60 team, which has gained 47 points over the last three races. Busch and Edwards will face off in two of the final three races (Texas and Homestead-Miami).

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. maintains the driver standings lead over second-place Elliott Sadler. However, Stenhouse has seen his 22-point advantage over Sadler just three weeks ago following Dover shrink to 15 points following last Friday night’s race at Charlotte.

Stenhouse continues to hold the standings lead by being consistent. He posted his sixth consecutive top-10 finish at Charlotte. However, Sadler has countered with two straight top-five efforts, which have resulted in the current deficit, the closest he’s been to Stenhouse since the September race at Chicagoland when he was 14 points out of first.

Competition Update: Series Stats Through 31 Races

Here is quick glance at the stellar competition of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season:

•13 different winners, most through 31 races since 2007

•13 different Coors Light Pole winners

•An average of 7 different leaders per race

•An average of 14 lead changes per race, the most through 31 races in series history

•49 drivers have led at least one lap

•55 drivers have scored at least one top 10

•Average margin of victory of 1.161 seconds

•19 races have had a margin of victory under 1 second

•An average of 1,467 green-flag passes per race

•An average of 24 green-flag passes for the lead all around the track per race, most through 31 races since the inception of Loop Data in 2005

Rookie Battle Between Three Now; Kenny Wallace To Become All-Time Starts Leader

With three races to go, Blake Koch has cut his deficit to one point behind leader Timmy Hill in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award chase. Hill has held serve with a two-point lead over Koch since mid-summer. However, Koch has finished in front of Hill over the last three races, the best such stretch for Koch this season.

One point was the deficit in the closest-ever series rookie battle. In 2006, Danny O’Quinn Jr. edged John Andretti, 235-234.

And look who’s gotten back into contention … Ryan Truex, sitting three points out of the lead. His six-race deal with Joe Gibbs Racing has one event left to go, at Phoenix. A top finish at Phoenix may be enough to propel him into first and perhaps the ROY nod if he doesn’t secure rides for Texas and Homestead-Miami.

In February, Truex had the best result (14th) of the three rookies at Phoenix. Koch finished ahead of Hill at Phoenix and Texas (Truex didn’t run at Texas in April).

As for the veteran Kenny Wallace, assuming he grids the No. 09 RAB Racing Toyota on Nov. 5 at Texas Motor Speedway, he officially will become the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ all-time starts leader.

Wallace tied the record of 519 starts set by his good friend Jason Keller, last Friday night at Charlotte.

Over his 22-year series career, Wallace has posted nine wins, 10 poles, 65 top fives and 170 top 10s. He’s currently seventh in the driver standings and aiming for his first top-10 finish in the points since a seventh in 2005.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Notes

Mike Wallace will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at Talladega driving the No. 33 truck, normally manned by four-time NCWTS champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who will drive the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. truck. Wallace spent three full-time seasons in the series, collecting three wins and four poles . … With Carl Edwards’ win last weekend at Charlotte, he tied Kevin Harvick for third on the all-time series wins list with 37. He is only 12 wins behind second-place Mark Martin and 14 wins back from all-time series wins leader Kyle Busch.

Camping World Trucks: Anyone Who Counted Hornaday Out Counted Too Soon

Invitations to this year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck championship party came a bit late for four-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr. It remains to be seen if he has time to return an emphatic RSVP for next month’s South Florida championship festivities.

Hornaday stood ninth in late August after finishing 24th at Bristol. He trailed then-leader Johnny Sauter by 69 points – a race and a half – after July’s event at Nashville Superspeedway.

In other words, Hornaday had been left in the dust and all but out of the title picture. Not so fast.

Hornaday’s 51st series victory, and first in Las Vegas, halved a 42-point deficit to 21 heading into the season’s final four races. With two wins and top-10 finishes in eight of the last nine races, the Palmdale, Calif., competitor’s “drive for five” is very much alive.

Las Vegas was Hornaday’s 16th win since turning 50, two shy of Harry Gant’s NASCAR national series record total. Hornaday sat on the Keystone Light Pole for a seventh consecutive season, breaking a record he jointly held with Mike Skinner.

Hornaday’s stay in Kevin Harvick Inc.’s owners championship leading No. 2 Chevrolet was supposed to be brief – two races – but he’ll remain with crew chief Bruce Cook at least for Talladega. Cook also oversaw set-up of the team’s No. 33 truck in which Hornaday finished first, 10th and fourth at Atlanta, Chicago and New Hampshire.

“I’m looking forward to be back in the No. 2 truck this weekend,” said Hornaday, who won the Keystone Light Pole for last year’s race, led the most laps but was knocked out by accident. “With four races to go, Talladega is a track where we will just have to hold our breath all weekend and hope we don’t get caught in the big one. We are in the midst of this championship battle and would really like to make it out of Talladega with momentum.”

Dillon Holds Serve But Allows Veterans Back In The Game

Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway figured to be wild card races – events where the standings leaders rightly worry about losing points and positions with the 2011 season’s finish line in sight.

Surprise: a trap race came a week early for Austin Dillon and James Buescher, who both suffered accidents in the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and in the process let three rivals back into the championship picture.

The good news for Dillon, who at age 21 bids to become the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck champion, is that he’s still the points leader. More concerning, however, is that it’s veteran Johnny Sauter, not fellow “young gun” Buescher, 22, who’s giving chase five points back. Buescher is seven points down in third. Just 25 points are the difference between Dillon and fifth-place Timothy Peters.

“We didn’t have a good day but nobody gave up and we battled back to make the most of what we could, that’s what makes a championship team,” said Dillon, who finished 17th.

Advantage, perhaps, to veteran pursuers Sauter, Hornaday and Peters. All have been there before, battling for championships. Sauter finished third and Peters seventh a year ago at Talladega. Peters also counts a Daytona victory.

This is the first go-round under title pressure for the two youngsters, but each finished among the top 10 at Talladega Superspeedway in 2010, Buescher sixth and Dillon eighth.

Bodine Counts On ‘Bama Boost To End Drought

Time is not on Todd Bodine’s side. With four races left on the schedule, Bodine’s NASCAR Camping World Truck winning streak – at least two victories a year beginning in 2004 – is very much at risk.

Bodine, however, could replace the goose egg with a “W” beginning this week. The 47-year-old Bodine won consecutive Talladega races in 2007-08, has the Alabama track’s top Driver Rating (114.8), has led the most laps (85) and boasts the best Average Running Position (4.5).

The defending series champion figures to be a favorite in at least three of the last four races with a combined 10 wins at Talladega, Texas and Homestead-Miami speedways. His last win came Sept. 3, 2010, at Kentucky Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Notes

Cole Whitt is a single point up on previous Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Joey Coulter after finishing eighth in Las Vegas. Nelson Piquet Jr., sixth in the race, is four points behind Whitt. … Last year’s Talladega race, in which Kyle Busch edged Aric Almirola by 0.002 seconds, is the series’ closest finish as determined by electronic timing and scoring. … Busch also won the race in 2009 and seeks a third consecutive victory in his 100th series start. … Chevrolet, which leads series manufacturer standings by 11 points over Toyota, continues to be the only manufacturer without a victory at either Talladega or Daytona International Speedway.