Second means first
Tony Stewart picked a fine time to get hot: Two races, two wins ... and a firm grip on 11th in the points. (And the diet seems to be working - he said in pre-race he has dropped 20 pounds. He's still big, but he's not sloppy. Two thumbs up.)
But Stewart's two-for-two run hides (or at least obscures) this nugget: Jimmie Johnson hasn't finished worse than second in four races.
JJ doesn't need to win as long as he keeps everyone else in the Chase in his rear-view, and that's what he's doing. Since Talladega and Vickers' friendly game of last-lap bumper tag, Johnson has gone from eighth to the points lead.
Someone smarter than me wrote not too long ago that Hendrick Motorsports was built on wins, not top 5s. If Johnson keeps this up ... do I really have to refer to him as "Nextel Cup champ"? I guess I'll get used to it.
Comments (5)
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There is another guy who has been driving hard and has been covered by Smoke...Dale, June Bug, Earnhardt. How about the fact that he came back from 34th for another top 10! Both JJ & Jr. have been gettin it done over the past few races but with Tony being so dominant and gaining all the media hype, those efforts seem to be taking a back seat! Not to take anything away from the #20 Team, but 11th place just does not get me all warm and fuzzy inside...
Phoenix...this is going to be the race that is going to decide the championship! Who ever can come out next week with a good finish, is going to have a championship...my opinion of course.
One more thing, what's up Riggs crew? I did not see anything that Harvick did on the track that would warrant a physical attack on Kevin and his wife and a NASCAR official...Sniff, Sniff, I smell a huge fine coming down. Any thoughts?
Posted on November 5, 2006 11:33 PM
I understand why the Riggs camp might be mad -- he had a really good car for a change, and Harvick took him out. (He got him aero loose and Riggs lost it, but it's the same difference - everyone knows that coming up behind someone that quickly will have disasterous effects on the car in front. Plus Harvick nudged him a bit.)
But, no, that doesn't justify shoving a guy's wife. That's just common. I suspect the 10 team will have a Help Wanted sign outside the shop this morning.
Posted on November 6, 2006 10:25 AM
Do you think Stewart's awesome run in chase races means that something's wrong with either the chase or how they assign points? If were in the chase, it would be he and JJ gunning for each other and it might have made for a more interesting finish to last night's race.
Posted on November 6, 2006 1:52 PM
John, I don't disagree that Harvick got Riggs Loose and maybe he did give him a little tap, but come on...I have seen worse hits on the back with less drastic results. Here is the rub, Harvick was racing for position and points in the chase. Riggs was also racing for position but not points, and I don't think any one had anything for Stewart at the end so in my opinion Riggs should have moved up...not down after Johnson made the pass. You can't tell me he did not see the #29 coming! Bad judgment on both drivers part I think. But like they say...that's racin'.
I don't think Stewart catching fire means that the chase has problems, other than the obvious ones like letting rookies get track time in the last 10 races...but that has nothing to do with Tony. Here again, the #20 team has found the right stuff and no one can seem to touch them. Much like last year when Stewart went on a 5 race total domination! Let's hope this is not a repeat performance, because it would be very dull to watch the #20 win again and again while the guy who gets the trophy runs in the top 5!
Posted on November 6, 2006 10:28 PM
Jim: Big Dog David Poole touched on that today. For once, I agree with him:
"Give Stewart one extra position in a handful of races, or a handful of spots in any one of the five races in which he finished 32nd or better in the season's first 19 events, and he'd be in the Chase.
"But he didn't get there, and that means that even though he could still wind up winning half of this year's Chase races, he'll do no better than 11th in the final standings.
"Some Chase opponents see that as the format's biggest flaw, but I see it as validation" that the regular season (i.e., the first 26 races) matter.
Shorter Big Dog: Stewart had his shot early and blew it.
Right now, though, Stewart's my pick to be the champ in 2007.
Posted on November 7, 2006 10:26 PM