From Harvick to Homestead
there are many things going on in NASCAR heading into the season finale. This week we will take a look at just a few of those
things.
Title hopes dashed
He
Said: It looks like Kevin Harvick tried to save a little for his Cup ride. Is it too little too late? Jimmie Johnson only
needs to finish 12th or better next week to win his first Cup title. Rookie Denny Hamlin is even with Harvick now in the points. Matt
Kenseth has the best shot and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an outside shot. Is this "drama" yet? I am not hanging on the edge of
my seat. Barring a mechanical failure all Jimmie has to do is... avoid a wreck and he is a Nextel Champion. I have to
say though that of all the drivers in the "hunt" Harvick is the most talented and most "deserving" of a title.
She
Said: I wouldn't call Harvick deserving of the title. He opted for a Busch Series title first and I think that
will be the major factor why Harvick does not win the Nextel Cup Championship. He HAD to finish out the Busch series even
after he clinched the title. Even though I think most fans wouldn't have minded him taking a break from the series and giving
the actual Busch drivers an opportunity to actually race and maybe win. But then the media would have hyped it up to be something
bigger than it was. He had to run both series to the end and I think that is what has cost him the championship.
He Said: Mark Martin tried and came up short, AGAIN... While an awesome driver, Martin should have raced open
wheel with his driving style if he ever wanted a Championship. I can not think of any Cup Champion that would not put a bumper
on someone for the win. Martin will not and as such he is not. He can claim the "moral victory" but he will not claim a Championship.
Why did he continue to beat his head against this wall, if he will not "penalize'' another driver for blocking, then why did
he not go to open wheel years ago?
She Said: I think Martin's clean driving
style probably played a big part in why he never won a championship, but I also just think that he wasn't all that either.
Look at Bobby Labonte, probably the second nicest guy who wouldn't wreck anyone for a win, he is a champion. He was able to
get it done without compromising his driving style. Martin just didn't have it all to win it all.
He Said: Au Contraire Ma Cherie, Labonte has judiciously applied a fender to the rear of a deserving opponent.
Granted he doesn't do it often, but he will do it.
She Said: Bobby is one of the cleanest drivers out there. He doesn't wreck a guy for position or
to win. He could have easily wrecked Jimmie Johnson for the win at Lowes last year, but didn't. And who would have
blamed him? He hasn't won in quite a while. Again, one of the cleanest drivers out there.
Tis the time for silly season
He Said: Let’s talk about Roush Racing. How many more drivers will he lose? How about Chip Ganassi? He has
good ole Juan Pablo Montoya coming up. Will Ganassi ever realize that it is not the DRIVER that keeps him from a Cup Championship?
It is his threatening ways combined with his inferior equipment that kept him from the Top 10 last year. I do not know about
his threatening ways this year, but his inferior cars once again kept him out of the Chase. What happens next year when Montoya
does not make the Chase? Will he be fired as well? Wake up Chip, build good cars and they will come. Do not threaten your
drivers at the beginning of the year with firing and they will win. If you can do better then hop your butt in the car and
show them how it is done. Otherwise be supportive of those who risk their lives every weekend for our amusement and your profit
and listen to what they want in a car.
She Said: I think Roush will lose
a driver, only because they have to go to four teams in the very near future. If they are going to let one go it should
be Jamie McMurray. Talk about a driver who has failed to impress. Roush Racing has struggled this season, but two of his five
teams are in the Chase. Carl Edwards has endured more bad luck than anyone and I think that dictated why he isn't in the Chase.
Aside from Tony Stewart, Edwards has earned more points than even the Chasers. McMurray is just a waste of good sheet metal
and sponsor money. He thought he was far better than his equipment at Ganassi, and he isn't. In fact, his old team is thriving
without him. I think Montoya will be around for a while. I don't believe Ganassi will ship him out if he doesn't make
the Chase in 2007. The guy is still learning the ways of this sport. Success won't come swiftly, but it will come.
What do you think NASCAR should do to make the Chase better?
He Said: NASCAR should award more points for a win only if they deduct points for a DNF. Was it not 2003 that
Ryan Newman won 8 races yet had 8 DNF's? While 8 wins is great, 8 DNF's are deplorable, talk about going from one extreme
to the other. Wins are rewarded weekly as they happen with money and accolades. Championships however are won by consistency.
Using the "win" logic can we not add the "lose" logic? If a driver is so bad that he drives his car into the wall so hard
8 times that he can't finish the race is that the true measure of a "champion"? A champion doesn't hose up that many times.
She Said: I think most everyone agrees that more points should be awarded
for winning. Consistency is the key, but winning should be vital in a championship. I shutter to think anyone could win a
title without a single win. At first, I thought a wild card would be perfect, but Tony Stewart said it best, he came on too
late in the season and he doesn't deserve to be in the Chase. A pretty powerful statement from a guy who should be defending
his title.
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Will ESPN make an impact on the ratings for 2007?
He Said:
Why would it? NASCAR fans watch NASCAR no matter what station it is on. If it is run on a cable only channel then those without
cable will either get cable or go someplace that they can watch the race. Messing with the traditional Sunday afternoon start
time in favor of Saturday night starts has more impact than what network the race is on. More "events" in people's
life happen on Saturday night than on Sunday afternoon. I do not care how rabid a NASCAR fan is, if it is a decision
between seeing your child play football or march in the band on Saturday night or watch a NASCAR race, the race is a far second
place. An important "date night" with ones significant other for supper or a movie or whatever is going to take precedence
over a NASCAR race. I may be living in the dark ages but I have yet to schedule a "date night" on a Sunday afternoon. The
occasional "Saturday night under the lights" race was an event, 4 or 6 of them in a row is a pain in the butt. Whatever brainiac
thought it was a good idea is a complete moron. I love NASCAR, but I love my wife and child more. It is no contest as to where
my priorities lie, if "Honey" or "child” wants to go do something on a Saturday night and there is a race on, I am not
going to see the race. NASCAR is also trying to appeal to the "younger" fan. Hello? NASCAR, TV? Young folks go OUT on Friday
and Saturday nights, they don't sit at home to watch a commercial inter-spaced with a few laps of racing. What network it
is shown on doesn't matter. If ESPN decides that the RACE is the main event and the announcers are the sideshow, they will
be more successful than the FOX/NBC duo who felt that the announcers were the show and that the race was just something to
be an interlude.
She Said: I do not think ESPN will make a huge impact
on ratings. I think the ratings will increase, but the ratings will never be as good as the NFL. I believe many at EPSN probably
still hold a grudge due to NASCAR leaving for the bigger and more "profitable" FOX and NBC packages a few years back, plus
I think the racing itself and the Car of Tomorrow have left fans uninterested in the sport. ESPN cannot make the racing better. In
my house, racing is more important. I'm kidding, but my husband doesn't think twice about having "date night" or heading to
the woods. So from Oct.-Jan. I am second fiddle and I accept that. I do think family time is more important, and for that,
I have DVR. That way I never miss a race and I can fly right through the commercials. It's a win-win situation. But you have
to admit, Saturday night races are pretty nice to see, if anything it is a small reminder of how racing is the best. Saturday
night short track racing, there is nothing better and I will even say a lot of families attend those races together.
Any surprises for Homestead?
He Said: Of course there is always a surprise somewhere. That is why they run the races they just don’t
hand out a trophy before the Daytona 500. But I do not foresee anything untoward. Johnson will race very conservatively to
protect his lead while the other four go hell bent for leather to stay ahead of him. The usual pattern in Cup on the
last race is that other drivers move out of the way for the ones "fighting" for the championship. I predict Stewart or Harvick
will win the race and Johnson the title.
She Said: I err on the side of caution for Jimmie Johnson. It's his title to lose. The team is on,
the driver is on, but will the 42 other drivers cooperate and the No. 48 team finally gets the title? Barring any
type of mechanical failure or a wreck, I think Johnson will win it all, but it won't be by much. Matt Kenseth is hanging on
for dear life in second and I think Harvick, Hamlin, and Junior will eat him up. I predict Kenseth finishes fifth on the season.
Fourth through second is a toss up. I predict Junior wins the finale, but Johnson the title.
2006 StockCar Review.
