Browse > Home / NASCAR / A new winner shakes up the chase!

A new winner shakes up the chase!

Written by Rich Hemstreet · September 14, 2008

Qualifying was rained out yet again, so the top 12 starting spots on the grid were filled with Cup chasers. Unlike last week, Gibbs racings’ new star Joey Logano did get to take part, as he drove the Hall of Fame #96 Toyota.

The majority of the race the Chasers made up the top five spots, and usually ten of the top 12 spots. Clint Bowyer had the quickest practice times, but he never made it to the front of the field. Kyle Busch grabbed the early lead, until Carl Edwards got past him. Busch started falling back shortly after he lost the lead as his car started leaning to the right and obviously became a handful even for Kyle to drive. A broken sway bar connector on the left front proved to be the problem. Busch incurred a pitting penalty while trying to get the problem resolved and fell a couple of laps back.

Mean while the Chase continued. Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart all grabbed the lead at one point, with Johnson making the most of it. But during the last 40 some laps Greg Biffle came up through the pack and took the lead. He lost it briefly after a slow pit stop, but recovered and went back to the point for the duration. This was despite Biffle having a very soft brake pedal.

Kyle eventually spun unassisted and was hit by Jamie McMurray when Kyle slid back out to the apron of the track. Ultimately Kyle finished 12 laps off the pace, now in eighth place in the chase. Only Matt Kenseth finished the race lower than Kyle. Matt recorded a DNF after wrecking.

There is now a tie at the top of the Chase, betweem Johnson and Edwards. Biffle’s first victory of the year moved him up the third place in the Chase, just 30 points behind. Earnhardt and Jeff Burton are tied for fourth place.

Who were the top finishing non-Chasers you ask? Kurt Busch in sixth and Martin Truex in seventh. The Dodge boys are trying to gain respectability. Beside Kurt’s sixth place finish, Kasey Kahne finished eleventh and Bobby Labonte finished thirteenth. I’m sure you will see these Dodge teams pulling out all the stops to try to steal some of the Chase Thunder.

As expected, the new Gibbs superstar, Joey Logano didn’t have much of a day. He finished thirty-second, three laps off the pace. I think he probably was in a Hall of Fame car, rather than a “wrapped” Gibbs car. Perhaps Joe had better order a wrapper for Joey’s next #96 start. He should get a chance to drive a car similar to what he’ll have under him next year.

Hopefully there will actually be qualifying at Dover, the next stop on the Sprint Cup series. Dover probably won’t ultimately decide anybodies points fate. But Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth can’t either one take another big blow and expect to be in contention at Homestead.

One last question… what’s wrong with Jeff Gordon, and his team? With a fourteenth place finish at Loudon, and no victories in 2008, I’m not sure if it isn’t time for a major shake-up with the #24 team. Perhaps a new crew chief would be able to light a fire under a guy that seems to have lost his spirit to win. Gordon has the abilty, but he seems to settle with what ever is the easiest place to run the car, rather than chargibg for the front like he used to do.

Filed Under NASCAR 

Comments

3 Responses to “A new winner shakes up the chase!”

  1. George Katinger on September 17th, 2008 12:22 am

    The wonders of the COT! No qualifying, and the points leader brings a car to the track starting on pole that has no possibility of winning the race. The kid (Kyle) drove the wheels off the car, and dropped two positions per lap!

    I hope it was only an aberration and that Kyle wins the title he has earned this year. NASCAR has converted the series to a similar format as the NFL. And why should I bitch about it as my Gints (spelling intentional for you non New Yorkers) were able to pull off the Super Bowl win of the decade because of the rules package? I still like the chase format.

    As to what’s wrong with Jeff , I attribute it to the eye of the tiger syndrome as well as the new car. Jeff is no longer willing to drive as hard as Kyle or Jimmy or Dale Jr, and he might not be able to drive the new car on the ragged edge as Jimmy and Kyle can.

  2. Double Clutchin’-The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly From New Hampshire - FastMachines.com on September 17th, 2008 6:00 pm

    [...] harped on Jeff Gordon for awhile, and Rich also mentioned it in his post here.  Gordon looks bored, but more than that he just appears to be completely unsure of what his car [...]

  3. Rich Hemstreet on September 17th, 2008 10:50 pm

    In 2007 Jeff looked like he had the COT figured better than most of the other drivers. I agree with you George, I think Jeff has lost the “eye of the tiger,” and if he doesn’t get it back soon 2009 may be his final year. I know he’s not ready to retire, but maybe he’d get fired up to race for the Indy 500 and the Indi Car title. I’m sure somebody would give him a shot at a top level ride.

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.