With just two races to go before the Chase for the Sprint Cup starts, there are eight drivers battling for six spots. Sunday night’s primetime race at Atlanta—the first Labor Day race in the Southeast in many years—will go a long way in deciding who’s in and who may miss the cut.
Even though I’ve had my head firmly entrenched in college football stories and storylines this week, it’s time for me to turn my attention back to NASCAR as I look at some of the more interesting storylines of the weekend.
1. The drive for #5
No other driver who is in the top twelve in points has won more races this season than 50-year old Mark Martin, a fact that most old timers can’t get enough of. If the points race was reset today, the Batesville, Arkansas native would hold a ten point lead over pseudo-teammate Tony Stewart and real teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Mark Martin snatched his first pole since 2001 at Atlanta in March, and he had a very fast racecar. However, his season took a turn for the worse when his number five car blew out a left rear tire going through turn two.
Even though I’ve had my head firmly entrenched in college football stories and storylines this week, it’s time for me to turn my attention back to NASCAR as I look at some of the more interesting storylines of the weekend.
1. The drive for #5
No other driver who is in the top twelve in points has won more races this season than 50-year old Mark Martin, a fact that most old timers can’t get enough of. If the points race was reset today, the Batesville, Arkansas native would hold a ten point lead over pseudo-teammate Tony Stewart and real teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Mark Martin snatched his first pole since 2001 at Atlanta in March, and he had a very fast racecar. However, his season took a turn for the worse when his number five car blew out a left rear tire going through turn two.
Mark Martin’s decent day in Atlanta turned south when he blew a tire
Martin and the Kelloggs/Carquest race team could have given up and thrown in the towel at that moment, and considered their season a wash. They didn’t though. They fought back and put Mark in four winning racecars and have run second twice since that date.
Now, with Martin just 60 points ahead of 13th place Kyle Busch, the #5 team cannot afford another tire failure, engine failure, or any failure at all. Earlier this week Martin said, “We had three bad races in a row. And I didn't think there were too many teams that would have that much trouble as well. This season has just been remarkable. And this team has been remarkable.”
They may not need remarkable to win on Sunday night, they might be in the running because of just plain Mark.
2. Carl Edwards injury report
Normally on Friday before a big game the head coach will provide the media with an injury report. Well, after yesterday, we found out that it might be Carl Edwards who needs his team owner Jack Roush to release an injury report on the driver of the #99 car.
The #99 car of Carl Edwards may have a “wounded duck” behind the wheel this weekend
Edwards broke his foot while playing Frisbee with some friends. And, in true Carl Edwards fashion, never missed a beat to plug for his sponsor Aflac. “I guess you never know when something is going to happen. This is obviously an unforeseen accident and even though I am not going to miss work, my Aflac policy has me covered. I've now seen firsthand how Aflac works and it’s clear that no matter how big or small the accident is Aflac is there for their policyholders.”
We’ll see how the foot affects “Cousin Carl’s” run on Sunday.
3. Can Kurt Busch lock down a season sweep at Atlanta?
He dominated the race in March, leading over 230 of the 334 circuits, but since then has had a relatively quiet year. Kurt Busch, who seems content to let little brother Kyle make all the headlines, sits fourth in points and needs to just finish the race to lock himself into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
But I’m sure just finishing the race isn’t what Kurt and crew chief Pat Tryson are aiming for. They’ll most likely put it all out on the line and try to win again at Atlanta, a place they owned in March.
4. Bobby Labonte out of a ride, and back in
It was announced earlier in the week that 45-year old Bobby Labonte would be pulled from his Ask.com ride for 7 of the final 11 races of the season, including this weekend’s race, in favor of young gun Erik Darnell. Lots of fans are excited for Erik Darnell, who has proved he can run well with decent finishes in the Nationwide and Truck Series in the past few seasons.
Fortunately for Labonte—the 2000 Winston Cup Champ—TRG Motorsports has stepped in to put him in their #71 entry for the races he won’t be in the #96 car. Kudos to TRG for stepping up and putting Labonte in a car. It’s too bad the #96 team (Who is owned by whom? Well we’re still not sure…) couldn’t keep the champ in their car.
Tune in to ESPN on Sunday night to keep up with the race. I’ll be in New York City (hopefully) watching the race, cheering for Mark Martin (as always) and prepping for one busy Monday of college football as the UC Bearcats take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 4PM on Labor Day. More on the UC football team in a few minutes though. Check back for a story written specifically about someone I work with…
No comments:
Post a Comment