Don't get too excited about Dale Jr. just yet
I know there are a lot of people out there thrilled about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s third-place finish Sunday. While it was a great run for him and the team, I am sorry, one great run does not make an entire season for me.
I don't want to come off overly critical, but this is what's expected of him. Heck for that matter, this is what he should expect from himself. That's his job. To his credit, he was very candid about that.
One race does not classify as a turnaround. They simply have to keep it going. Sure it lessens some of the sting of this season's disappointing finishes. But let's face it, three of the four Hendrick Motorsports teams are in the top 12. Junior is the only one that isn't going to make the Chase right now. Mark Martin is the only other Hendrick driver that is still on the bubble.
But Sunday clearly showed that if you get the car right for Dale Jr, well he can make it happen. That said, I am not necessarily buying his comments after the race about finally getting a car built like teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. Surely it wouldn't take Hendrick Motorsports that long to give him what the other three have. That organization is sharper and smarter than that. If I am proven wrong, then I stand corrected, but would also be amazed.
Winners and losers
Going into Michigan, we were talking about fuel mileage. Coming out of Michigan, we are again talking about fuel mileage.
It also was a win for pit strategy, so it was almost a mirror from the spring race at Michigan only with a couple different players.
It was amazing to me to watch Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus roll the dice to try to get their first win at Michigan only to come out few laps short again. It's just astonishing that Johnson led 279 of 400 laps at the 2-mile venue this year and still could not come away with a win. Clearly, the No. 48 team has the racetrack figured out — except for one exception, how to finish the race with fuel in the tank.
Knaus and Johnson did what they had to do to try and win the race Sunday. For whatever reason, it was pretty obvious that some guys made it. You can play the proverbial Monday morning quarterback after every race but in the heat of the battle Sunday you don't have the time or the privilege. You make the call and are committed to it.
Jimmie and Chad have and always seem to have a very competitive race car. Sooner or later they will figure out the right fuel combination at Michigan and it wouldn't surprise me to see them win several in a row. Take it from me, because I have lived it, fuel mileage races will drive you crazy. It doesn't take a whole lot to mess up a truly beautiful plan.
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Unfortunately Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Mark Martin, couldn't cash in on the fuel gamble, either. The bad thing for Martin is that he is now on thin ice. He dropped to 12th in the points. Remember, after Richmond the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set with the top 12 in points. Martin and his No. 5 team can't put themselves in harm's way with only three races remaining.
You simply can't take a fast race car and a great weekend and turn it into a throat-cutting situation.
The No. 5 team should have more than enough race car, more than enough talent on pit road and behind the wheel, to maintain a top-12 standing following Richmond. Unfortunately, Sunday clearly points out that Martin doesn't have a big enough cushion to make any mistakes or take too many gambles.
To potentially have the guy with the most wins of the season so far not make the Chase highlights to me the type of competition you have today in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. After Sunday, we went from seven or eight teams being in pretty good shape to about six. Now seventh through 12th place in the standings are holding on for dear life.
There is a lot of pressure on those positions. Trust me, it's not going to ease up anytime soon. For that matter, it's not going to end until the checkered flag waves in Richmond in four weeks and the playoff field is locked.
To me, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers are in the catbird seats. They know what their mission is. It's easy. They have to do everything they can to get into the top 12.
Conversely, Martin, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, who are just inside the top 12, have to do everything they can not to shoot themselves in the foot in these last three races. The have to play some serious defense to keep from falling out of the 2009 Chase. This part of the year in NASCAR is similar to making the wildcard games in the NFL and MLB. All these cats just inside and outside the top 12 are playing for that wildcard berth.
Now the guys at the top end of the points are in good enough shape that they don't have to worry. They know they are in NASCAR's playoffs and their goal, like we saw with Johnson rolling the dice Sunday, is to win a race to get those 10 bonus points when the Chase starts.
Who is going to step up to the plate with the guys just hovering in and out of the top 12 is the real storyline right now. Who is going to make it happen and who is going to come up short? Stay tuned because it's about to get even more interesting!
A little bit different
If you liked this story...
 Then you need to read Lee Spencer's take on Dale Jr.'s criticism of NASCAR. Her conclusions will surprise you. Also, check out DW's piece on Kyle Busch. The NASCAR legend really takes the fiery Busch to task for his immature postrace antics. |
At least in my opinion, Michigan was a little different than what I anticipated when you look at the overall weekend. We saw some good moments during the race. In Saturday's Nationwide race you couldn't have asked for a more exciting and eventful race. Sunday's race had an exciting finish.
One last thing
One thing that is crystal clear after this weekend is that Brian Vickers is good at Michigan. He has three poles in a row there. He had the pole sweep this past weekend. He was also in a position to win on Saturday but finished second. Then Sunday he capped it all off with a win from the pole.
Can't get much better than that.
FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.
For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.
For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site
www.jeffhammond.com.
