Jock Jerseys’ Flash

NASCAR News from ThatsRacin.com

Clint Bowyer has it. David Ragan and Kasey Kahne both want it. One race, one night and only one will go home happy.

Boiled down to its bones, that’s the story for Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Bowyer, Ragan and Kahne may not figure in who wins the 26th race of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, but going in they are the main players in the event’s central drama - the battle for the final spot in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

It is at least mathematically possible that Bowyer, Ragan and Kahne could all make the Chase. That, however, would take a remarkable set of circumstances given the gap between Denny Hamlin, who’s currently 11th in the standings, and the three drivers directly behind him.

Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Hamlin primarily need only to avoid disaster to secure their slots in the 10-race championship battle that commences next weekend at Loudon, N.H. Kenseth is 109 points ahead of Ragan, who’s 13th, while Gordon’s Chase cushion is 102 points and Hamlin’s is 93.

In the first four years of the Chase, the largest gap that’s been closed in the final regular-season event at Richmond is 55 points. That’s how far behind Jeremy Mayfield was in 2004, the year NASCAR implemented the Chase when he came from 14th to knock Kahne from one of the 10 qualifying spots.

Kahne was 30 points out of the top 10 in 2006, the last year only 10 drivers made the Chase. But he was actually 45 points behind the driver he passed with his third-place finish at Richmond, Tony Stewart, who finished 18th and missed the playoff.

Bowyer’s perch, then, seems precarious. He’s only 17 points up on Ragan, who’s trying to make the Chase for the first time the way Bowyer did a year ago. Kahne is 48 points back as he tries to fight his way in at the last race the way he did two seasons ago…..

The players

Who’s in, who’s close and who’s clinging to hope going into the final race before NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup:

Clinched Chase spots

Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton

On the brink

GREG BIFFLE: Clinches when he starts Saturday’s race.

KEVIN HARVICK: Needs only to finish 42nd or better at Richmond.

Must dodge disaster

TONY STEWART: Clinches with a finish of 35th or better.

Still some angst

MATT KENSETH: 109 points ahead of 13th, clinches with a finish of 25th or better.

JEFF GORDON: 102 points ahead of 13th, clinches with a finish of 23rd or better.

DENNY HAMLIN: 93 points ahead of 13th, clinches with a finish of 20th or better.

Sweating bullets

CLINT BOWYER: 17 points ahead of 13th, but if he wins the race he’s in the Chase.

Heart’s still beating

DAVID RAGAN: 17 points behind Bowyer.

KASEY KAHNE: 48 points behind Bowyer.

Continue reading this story on ThatsRacin.com

If Kyle Busch appeared “vulnerable” in recent weeks to some of his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors, the aura of invincibility returned to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on Sunday at Watkins Glen International. Read the full story at NASCAR.com

The younger of the Busch brothers, Kyle has easily shown that he not only belongs among the top names in NASCAR, but that he’s a driver to be reckoned with. Doubters have tried to point out Kyle’s weaknesses, including that he hadn’t won any road courses before. That argument was officially put to rest Sunday, as Busch won his 3rd road coarse this season - 2 in the Sprint Series and 1 in the Nationwide Series.

Joe Gibbs Racing has a great driver to continue winning races and building fan base; JGR’s (former) top driver Tony Stewart is leaving to start his own team after the year. Busch left Hendrick Motorsports to make way for Dale Earnhardt Jr., but it appears JGR got the better of the two drivers. Kyle now has 8 wins on the season in the Sprint Series and is challenging the record for most wins in a single season - and that’s w/ the Chase still on tap.

Kyle is still a semi-hated NASCAR driver, but winning so consistently has helped sway a great number of fans onto his side. It will surely be a pleasure to watch the remainder of the season and see if Busch can maintain his torrid pace & win his 1st championship.

Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Inc. principals Max Siegel and John Story appeared at the Watkins Glen International media center to confirm what had been reported earlier in the week — that Truex will drive the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet next season with continued sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops. Read the full story at NASCAR.com

This is great news for DEI, who was at risk of losing Truex Jr. to a higher bidding NASCAR team. The season has already featured several top drivers moving to different teams or being released, including: Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, JJ Yeley and others.

He could have easily moved to another team, but this contract ensures that Truex will be the lead driver at DEI for at least 3 more years vs. being a 2nd or 3rd driver on another team. Surely, this had to figure in Truex’s decision - the money would obviously be another strong consideration.

View all Martin Truex Jr. merchandise

Good news for Jimmie Johnson fans - their driver has earned the pole in this weekend’s Allstate 400 race at the Brickyard.

In a Saturday morning qualifying session dominated by Chevrolet and Dodge, Jimmie Johnson won the pole for Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, narrowly edging Mark Martin for the top spot (watch video).

Read the full story at NASCAR.com

Jimmie Johnson currently sits in the 5th spot of the NASCAR driver standings. He has not performed quite up to his capabilities so far this season, but there are quite a few races remaining and Johnson usually finishes the race season extremely strong.

The man in orange, “smoke”, Tony… whatever you like to call him, Mr. Stewart is on his way out of Joe Gibbs Racing after 10 years together in NASCAR. Reports surfaced yesterday and confirmed today that Tony Stewart, NASCAR’s current “meany”, will be leaving the JGR team to start his own team w/ Haas CNC Racing. The new name will be Stewart/Haas reportedly.

Stewart is my favorite driver, so I am quite upset that all my lovely orange merchandise will have to be thrown out… ok, it’s UGLY orange, so thank god he’s switching to another color. I wish he was keeping the #20 car, but that’s not likely.

Tony will be an owner/driver for the new organization, so there’s a lot riding on the deal. A familiar sponsor for Stewart, Home Depot, will remain w/ Gibbs racing and the #20 car will likely be filled by Joey Logano, a rising Nationwide driver and potential racing superstar.

JGR is definitely headed in a different direction than w/ Stewart, as evidenced by their switch to Toyota this year (Stewart is a Chevy guy) and the success of both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin this season. Their success has almost pushed Tony Stewart into the “3rd guy” role. Unfortunately, Tony is a “me first” guy, so that philosophy at JGR wasn’t vibing w/ him in my opinion.

Other drivers have moved to the driver/owner role in the past, including Michael Waltrip (unsuccessfully). Tony will certainly have his work ahead of him as he tries to field a competitive team w/ a lower-profile racing team. While the new team is a partner w/ Hendrick Motorsports, they will still be at a disadvantage w/ equipment and come race time. Stewart hasn’t really struggled to qualify in the past, but Gibbs racing is probably at least partially responsible for Tony’s driving success. No matter how good the driver, and Tony is good, you can’t win w/ a crappy car.

Other News…
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide team has lost NAVY as it’s sponsor. Not a good sign for JR Motorsports.

Shop below for Tony Stewart apparel & merchandise:

View all Tony Stewart merchandise

Kasey Kahne is on a bit of a roll these days. After needing a fan vote to get him into last week’s All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kasey took full advantage enroute to a victory and $1 million dollar payday.

Kahne followed up his All-Star win Sunday night w/ a late victory to win the Coca-Cola 600 (also at Lowe’s). Today’s race was the longest of the racing season - a true test of driving skills, mechanical expertise and a bit of luck. The Coca-Cola 600 spans 3 different parts of the day (mid-day, transition to night & night itself) and requires a lot of adapting and patience.

Had the Home Depot car, #20 Tony Stewart, not flattened a tire in the waning laps, Kasey Kahne would still have been looking at a #2 finish - not bad for a driver who’s been struggling for the past 2 years, following a great year in 2006 (6 total victories). With only a few laps left, Stewart hit the wall and surrendered the lead to Kahne, who cruised to the victory once conceded by the #20 car.

Kahne is definitely on the rise again - he’s been my Mom’s favorite driver for several years, as well as a driver that I have tried to follow closely. He is young and the ladies like him - if he keeps up his recent hot streak (he’s only 6 points out of the Chase), then you’ll want to be sure to pick up some Kasey Kahne apparel & merchandise.

With the victory, Kahne moves into 12th place for this year’s chase, only 406 points out of 1st place. Other drivers who made moves this week are Kevin Harvick (up 2 spots to #7), Matt Kenseth (up 4 spots to #16) and Jimmie Johnson (down 3 to #9). Fan favorite (besides Kahne of course), Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 5th in the 600 and sits in the 3rd position for the Chase, down just 139 points.

In his first race since joining Hendrick Motorsports this racing offseason, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88) passed Tony Stewart (#20) with a few laps left to claim the Budweiser Shootout.  Granted, the win doesn’t count towards points, but it has to feel good for Dale Jr. to get out of DEI and enjoy a win in his first start w/ a new company.

Dale Jr.’s issues w/ DEI are well documented, so I won’t get into them here.  What counts today is that Earnhardt scored a victory in his first race of the 2008 season (for Hendrick).  He got some help after a late caution from new teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon; their teamwork allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to pass Stewart and win the Budweiser Shootout.  The victory was Earnhardt’s first in the past 2 years.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is with a new team (Hendrick Motorsports), has a new number (#88) and new sponsors for the next few years (National Guard and Mountain Dew AMP).  All of you fans still wearing Budweiser red (from his old #8 car) will want to score some of the new merchandise so you look the part at the track (or in front of the TV).  Here’s a quick list of items you should consider:

Dale Jr. and the rest of NASCAR’s driver pool are now looking forward to next week’s Daytona 500 - the season’s first race & arguably it’s best.  Look for all of Hendrick’s cars up front (Gordon, Johnson & Earnhardt Jr.), DEI (Truex Jr., Martin) and also some new Toyota rides (Stewart, Hamlin).  Any driver could win, but you have to think these drivers are the favorites due to their previous restrictor-plate race results. 

Whatever your taste (hats, official racing jackets, license plate covers, etc.), you’re sure to find something to help show your love for NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

View all Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing gear
View general NASCAR merchandise

If you don’t see the Dale Earnhardt Jr. race gear you’re looking for, submit a comment below and we’ll help you find what you’re looking for.