Stock Car Insider – July 10th Issue
Upcoming events in the world of NASCAR
Next week, the NASCAR Nextel Cup teams head to the largest sports arena in the Northeast, New Hampshire International Speedway, NIS. It turns out that the friendly New Hampshire residents who live by the state’s “Live Free or Die” creed are huge NASCAR fans and regularly fill the seats with more than 100,000 seats.
The mile-long oval with its low-banked turns can be considered a close relative of Martinsville Speedway. Just like at Martinsville, racing at NIS offers strong braking and exciting corner overtaking, but with the added benefit of a second grove. Drivers push their cars and each other to the limit as they compete for position and sometimes “lean” each other for support.
Of all current drivers with 2 or more career starts at New Hampshire, Ryan Newman, who also holds the track qualifying record with a speed of 133.357 mph and who has an average finish of eighth, leads the pack.
Also expect the following drivers to do well next week:
Other drivers to consider:
Jimmie Johnson – Average finish 9th
Matt Kenseth – Average Finish 11th
Mark Martin – Average Finish 12th
Hours for next week:
Nextel Cup: @ New Hampshire International Speedway
7/15/06 – 10:05 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup LENOX Industrial Tools 300 Practice
7/14/06 – 03:10 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup LENOX Industrial Tools 300 Qualifying
7/16/06 – 02:10 pm NASCAR Nextel LENOX Industrial Tools 300
Busch Series: @ New Hampshire International Speedway
7/14/06 – 02:00 pm NASCAR Busch Series New England 200 Practice
7/15/06 – 03:10 pm NASCAR Busch Series New England 200 Qualifying
7/15/06 – 03:00 pm NASCAR Busch Series New England 200
Craftsman Truck Series: @ Memphis Motorsports Park
7/14/06 – 07:45 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series O’Reilly 200 Practice
7/15/06 – 05:00 pm NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series O’Reilly 200 Qualifying
7/15/06 – 08:15 pm NASCAR O’Reilly 200 Craftsman Truck Series
Who shot?
It always helps when your Belgian supermodel girlfriend says “I do,” and it certainly has helped Jeff Gordon. Now, I don’t mean to disparage all the hard work put in by the countless number of Hendrick Motorsports employees and I definitely don’t mean to disparage Jeff Gordon’s driving skills, just the one difference between the last 3 weeks and the first 15 races. of the 2006 season (and not to mention the entire 2005 season) is that Jeff has a new wife-to-be in Ingrid Vandebosch.
I did some research on my own and determined that if I were to choose my own supermodel to help me in my sports career, it would have to be from Belgium. To no avail, I’ve been racking my brain trying to determine a clever way to weave Belgian supermodels onto a NASCAR track for success. It’s just that Belgium is a land of beautiful people.
All jokes aside, Gordon drives like his butt is on fire, and he’s ready for the competition to find out who or what set him on fire. He has won 2 of the last 3 races and is now 10th in the drivers’ standings. Next week at New Hampshire International Speedway, expect Gordon to keep the fire burning. In 22 NIS races, he finishes in the top ten 55% and top five 41% of the time.
Perhaps Tony Stewart, and the rest of the repeat offenders who are falling down the points ranking, need to check out some Belgium mail order bride sites.
Who does not?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Carl Edwards definitely doesn’t qualify for the Chase for the Championship. Carl currently has 193 points from 10th and 625 points from 1st.
After a dazzling rookie season, many placed high expectations on Carl and thought he would once again make his way onto the 2006 Nextel Cup schedule. However, the careers of every NASCAR driver can be compared to a race at Bristol. Sometimes you’re racing in the inside grove smoking everyone, sometimes you’re in the outside grove watching everyone smoke you, and sometimes you’re circling the track looking your competitors first in the eye before they go under. to pass you by. Right now, I’d say Carl is definitely in the outer grove watching the world go by.
Carl’s performance at Chicagoland Speedway left a lot on the table for a Roush driver who normally dominates mile-and-a-half sprint events. Carl’s 20th place is all drivers like Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon needed to give them a shot at making the Chase for the Championship.
headlines from last week
There were several winners in yesterday’s USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. The main winner was Jeff Gordon, who had the car to beat for most of the day. After starting 13th, Gordon worked his way up to the front before making a pit stop that would drop him behind the leaders for much of the day. However, when the time was right, Gordon fought his way to the front, surviving a field starved for petrol to take the marked flag.
The other big winner of the day was the NASCAR “Car of Tomorrow” which will make its debut next year. The “Car of Tomorrow” has received much criticism from NASCAR purists who think the car’s boxy look and rear wing make it even further removed from a stock car. However, NASCAR’s intentions in developing this car were to improve side-by-side racing.
Future races at Chicagoland, and all other 1 1/2 mile supertracks, will be more entertaining because the “Car of Tomorrow” will allow trailing drivers to race to the leader. Often during the USG Sheetrock 400, the car in front was not the most powerful or best-handling car on the track. Instead, he had the advantage of breathing clean, less turbulent air. Cars trailing the leader were unable to outrun or even pass the leader as they bounced off its turbulent wake. It wasn’t until Matt Kenseth was slowed down by Casey Mears that Jeff Gordon was able to make his winning play (or wrecking play, as some angry fans would call it).
Other key finishes of the day included Tony Stewart (32nd) who slid quickly after running out of gas with two laps to go. Matt Kenseth fell on hard times after taking the kick from Jeff Gordon. Shortly after, at the next caution, Kenseth also ran out of gas. He was able to recover and explode at the start/finish line in the 21st-placed side.
Kenseth’s finish moved him 48 points away from first place currently held by Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie had an uneventful but typical day, finishing sixth after starting fifth.
The big mover of the day was Jeff Burton, who finished in second place. Burton gained 3 spots in points and now sits 4th.
Yesterday’s USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway marked the halfway point of the 2006 Nextel Cup season. The race featured 18 lead changes between 10 different drivers and 8 bookings in total.