NASCAR Cup Series

Drivers need seat time on road course

Published Aug. 11, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Jeff Hammond

Heading to the road-course race in Watkins Glen this weekend, a handful of NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have a lot on the line.

These are guys that don’t have the safety net of a win in their back pocket. These are guys like Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne.

These guys really need at least a single win to secure a position in the 2011 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup. With only five races left, they cannot afford to have a bad race this weekend. As we count each race down until the Chase field is set, each race becomes more and more important.

Now the real problem on a road course is that a mistake can put you in the rear of the field and you simply can’t make it up.

This is a narrow track and passing on road courses is always tough. You could have a tire go down. You could overdrive the corner and spin out. You could possibly also get dumped by a competitor. These are the things that really could hurt the guys that are on the edge of making the Chase, but still don’t have a win.

Why is a win important? Because there are two wild-card slots available into the Chase for drivers that are not locked into the top 10 in the points, but have a win and are in the 11th through 20th position in the standings.

Now the guys who do have a single win, but are deep down in the top 20 in points also have to be worried. By winning for a second time this year last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Brad Keselowski has upset a lot of apple carts. Those others might have thought they had a plan, but trust me, that all changed Monday morning back at the shop.

Remember there are two wild-card spots in this year's Chase. With win No. 2, Brad has pretty much secured one of them.

Now, Paul Menard is praying that Denny Hamlin gets into the top 10 in points and gains that automatic berth. The reason Paul wants to see that happen is that Denny already has a win and is ahead of Paul in points. So if Denny gets into the top 10, then Paul moves up and is first in line right now for that second and last wild-card spot.

You have drivers like David Ragan, who is trying to save his job and his sponsor. He probably felt he had done that by winning in July at Daytona. Now, with Brad vaulting past everybody with that second win, David is once again fighting for his life. You have to know he realizes that and is feeling the pressure of needing a second win.

So this weekend, and then on the other four that follow, you are going to see a high level of urgency and, quite honestly, desperation. There is just so much going on in these last five races leading up to the Chase.

In the past, you didn’t see a whole lot of attention given to the road-course races. Let’s face it, there are only two on the entire schedule each year. Now every single driver, even the good road-course drivers, works on improving his skills. If you don’t believe me, then why was our five-time champion Jimmie Johnson testing at Road Atlanta last week? He clearly understands what is at stake and what he needs to accomplish.

If that wasn’t enough, Jimmie is even going to run the Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen on Saturday. Jimmie hardly ever runs anything but Cup races, so why is he taking this step? He realizes that if he wants to be a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, he needs to bring his 'A' game and he’ll tell you, he knows he doesn’t have an 'A' game at the Glen.

He knows he needs to be better there. He also knows the answer is more seat time. That’s why he is racing on Saturday.

More time on the track getting that rhythm will sure help him. It will translate over to helping him on Sunday. When you look at the guys that are good there, if they get track position on you, it becomes so hard to make up ground on them. They are just that smooth and just that good.

What I don’t understand is why Jimmie’s teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., isn’t running Saturday’s race. He’s even fielding the car for Jimmie but really Dale Jr. should be behind the wheel. We all know Dale Jr. doesn’t like racing on the road courses. But he is one of those guys on the bubble of making, or not making, this year's Chase. He’s also one of the ones I mentioned earlier that doesn’t have the safety net of a win.

So I really don’t understand why Dale Jr. isn’t running Saturday’s race, which might help him in Sunday’s race when it really counts. Again, there is a lot on the line here, so why isn't he taking advantage of any possible opportunity to help his chances in making the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase?