Martinsville Review and Atlanta Preview

With Johnson winning again in the hills of Virginia, many people are ready to call this Chase over. I'm not, and according to NASCAR.Com neither is Johnson or his closest competitors. However, mathematically speaking Burton and Biffle are going to have to make up an average of 38 points a race against Johnson. It is possible, but highly unlikely, more or less if anyone other than Burton or Biffle even have a shred of hope left it's if Jimmie has trouble, and in the past few years, I've seen crazier things happen. It looks like Johnson will tie Yarborough's record after all. Once again, I'm not going to call this over until, at earliest, heading into Phoenix/after Texas.
Last week's race at Martinsville was fairly typical, it lead to a somewhat exciting finish with the same result we've seen as of late - a Hendrick car in victory lane, I can't say I expect that to change anytime soon, remember, they always seem to have an extra incentive for winning there since the plane tragedy -- it makes me wonder if they'd be even more dominant if Randy Dorton were still alive. Regardless, Knaus and crew had excellent pit stops and simply have put Jimmie in great cars week after week, now that they've finally figured out this new car.
History tells me though, that eventually this luck should run out, but as things are going, it may be a few years, we'll see; remember though, Jeff Gordon probably would've had more championships than 4 right now, but should haves, would haves, and could haves make no difference. So what does Atlanta look like?
First off GOOD NEWS -- According to NASCAR.com the tire issue we saw in the spring (incredibly hard tires, no handling, no passing) have been done away with and Goodyear has brought a softer compound that the drivers seem to be happier with.

True Contenders:
OK, True Contender:
Jimmie Johnson as much as I hate to say it, the likelihood of Johnson losing this championship is rather small, it's there, there is a possibility he will lose, but it grows more distant each week.

Fightin' Chance:
Jeff Burton: He's been through a lot in his career, he's able to keep his chin up and not worry about Johnson, he's hungry and is, in my opinion, long overdue for a championship, he will need Johnson to slip up just a bit to have any hope though.
Greg Biffle: He's been quietly hanging on this whole time, and I wont' count him out until he's mathematically not able to catch Johnson, he works wonders at Homestead and if he's within a hundred points or so coming into Ford Championship Weekend, he may be able to catch Johnson.
Carl Edwards: Fights always seem to mess competitors up. Edwards has been strong at the Hampton, Ga. track since his first start there, if he's going to make up points on Johnson it's going to be this week and next.

Waiting on others' mistakes:
Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick: These RCR teammates will most likely not be a factor in this year's chase from here on out. We'll have to wait another year, but I be live both of these guys are deserving of championships and will be champions one day.

Counting the days until Daytona:
Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Bush, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. I don't' see any of these guys really challenging for the championship this season so look forward to my season review and '09 preview over the off season. The only thing to expect from these guys is Jeff Gordon to win one before the end of the season, it will most likely come either this weekend at Atlanta or in two weeks at Phoenix.

Special note---Podcast versions of the season review and 2009 preview will be available as well. Both on iTunes or directly from dtsgarage.podbean.com

In The Rearview: Sharpie 500

Bristol is BACK! This race is exactly what the series as a whole needed! It's not the Bristol that Earnhardt, Wallace and Labonte clashed on, it's the new Bristol, with Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards. Hands down Bristol was the best race of the summer.

Why was the Sharpie 500 so important?

1) Good racing, it showed that even while a track is "multi-groove" it can still pinch nerves and make tempers flare. Multi-car wrecks, bumps and runs and taps and pushes. It's all back, but seemingly on a smaller scale

2) Clash of the Titans: The two sereies points-leaders, Kyle Busch and Edwards dukin' it out on the last lap and after the race. In case you missed what's being refferred to as "the bump heard 'round the world" Carl pulled a classic and textbook perfect bump-and-run on Kyle Busch coming out of turn 1 on the final lap. Edwards said he asked himself "would he do that to me? and the answer was 'he has before" so Carl slid Busch up the racetrack, not to the favor of Busch, who after the race colided with Edwards, and then Edwards proceeded to take the 99 Office Depot Fusion and spin Kyle around to loud cheers from the crowd.

3a) This is what the sport has been missing, and Carl admitted, basically, there is a true rivalry now between Kyle Busch and Edwards, light, and dark; good and evil, I think it' obvious to see which is which, but I'll leave that up to you.

Smooth Sailing: Clint Bowyer, even after involvement in the wreck with newley named teammate Casey Mears and Michael Waltrip, was able to push his 07 Chevrolet to a 7th place finish, he's back in the chase hunt. With a decent finish next week at Autoclub speedway, Bowyer should have no problem landing in the chase at Richmond.

Uh-Oh: once again, Clint Bowyer, after the aforementioned wreck, Bowyer stated, in a rather nonchalant manner, over the radio "Michael Waltrip is the worst driver in NASCAR, period...I can't believe NAPA signed back on" At the time, however, he had no idea Mears had just said in an interview that the 5 spotter said "Clear, clear, clear" when in fact, Michael was still close enough to Mears that he was not clear. Bowyer later apologized on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. This is proof that the temper and emotion is back at Bristol

Time to pack it up: Kasey Kahne, after the devastating race for Kahne, being in the Mears/Waltrip collection, Kahne is over 60 points out from 12th, making the chase at this point will require a bad week from another bubble driver.

What in the world?: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. passed many cars on the initial green flag, although that's ok, to the outside, on restarts, a competitor must be in his starting position when they cross the line the first time. Earnhardt Jr was a lap down and was being rather aggressive to lead-lap drivers after his pass-thu pit penalty.

That's my take on the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motorspeedway. I'll have a brief reaction to silly season announcments later this week and any penalties that may be levied, specifically to Kyle Busch, as he was called to the NASCAR trailer for his shenanigans.

all images used with permission