Does Team Penske have a leg up on Hendrick in the Chase?
This season we have seen Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske go at each other like two heavyweight champions. Both have come out punching and counter-punching at each other. I mean, collectively, I think they have won 17 of 26 races so far between the two organizations. So as we start the Chase this week, the biggest question I keep getting asked is, "Is there a favorite within those two organizations?"
With this being the first year of the new Chase format, we now have in our sport a bracket-style playoff, if you will, for the 10-race Chase. I think it's pretty cool for our sport because for the first time, in a lot of places you are going to see these brackets hanging on a wall as folks try and determine who will move on in the Chase to the next round.
Honestly, I like both cars of Team Penske. I just like what I see over there from both drivers and teams right now. Sure, Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 races to Team Penske's seven, but the No. 2 and the No. 22 are my pick for the championship. Both cars are fast in practice, qualifying and in the race. They have just been solid since the drop of the green flag back in February in Daytona.
Both drivers do the best to complement each other. Actually, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano may be the best set of teammates we have in the sport right now. I just see both drivers and both crew chiefs on the same page week in and week out. I really look at them as one team building two cars, and I honestly think that's the way they look at it.
My bracket is filled out and I have the No. 2 car winning the championship. With that said, let me add that in talking to other drivers and crew chiefs in the NASCAR garage area, there are a lot of folks pointing to Joey and the No. 22 camp as the ones to watch to win the championship.
