Although it's not official, Speed Channel flashed on its screen during coverage of Friday's Sprint Cup practice that the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup title would begin at Chicagoland instead of New Hampshire.
NASCAR already has begun to tweak its schedule with the announcement this week that Atlanta, which is owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., would lose one of its races in 2011. It marks the first time since the track opened in 1960 that it will not host two Cup events in a season.
SMI owner Bruton Smith said recently he would like to have at least one Cup date at each of his NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, and a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that SMI's Kentucky track will host a Cup race next July. Kansas also is in line to get a second date.
That's good news in the garage area.
''The sponsors, just like NASCAR and the rest of us, want to see a packed grandstand. They want to see a lot of excitement around the event,'' said four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon. ''As long as we're going there (to Atlanta) once a year, I think it's good because we're still hitting that market. Wherever we end up going, if it draws a bigger crowd or at least draws a lot of attention and excitement and puts on a good race, it's a good change.''
''I think all tracks need to be held to a standard,'' said Kevin Harvick, who leads the Cup standings. ''Whether it be safety, whether it be crowd attendance, whatever it is. The biggest boom we have ever seen in this sport came in 2001 when we went to new venues in Chicago, Kansas, and you had all this movement with the schedule and you created all these new fans. Sometimes things become stale.''
Atlanta, which has been plagued by poor attendance, had its defenders.
''Some of the races make sense, some of them don't, in my opinion,'' said Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing. ''Losing Atlanta is a disappointment to me. I think there are a couple of other tracks that have two races that I would, if it was my pick, go once to.''
''I hate to see Atlanta losing a race,'' added Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing. ''It's a great race for us to race. I don't know if it's a great race to watch, the fans will have to decide that. They gotta go where the fans go.''
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THE GLEN GETS GOOD MARKS: While Pocono Raceway has received its share of criticism for its failure to institute needed safety measures, Watkins Glen International received glowing reviews for the improvements it made in the offseason following horrific wrecks the past two years on the 11-turn, 2.45-mile track.
''Unbelievable,'' said Greg Biffle of Roush Fenway Racing. ''It is amazing to see what they have done around this race track. It is so nice to see a race track respond so quickly to what appeared to be a pretty bad accident last race.''
SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers have been installed in the area of the chicane, or inner loop, and final turn, guard rails have been moved back in turn 9, gravel areas have been paved in an effort to reduce cautions, and sand barrels have replaced the tire barriers that contributed to last year's violent crash involving Kasey Kahne, Sam Hornish Jr. and Gordon, among others.
In 2008, a stunning multicar crash in turn 11 with eight laps remaining brought out a red flag stoppage that lasted 43 minutes. The pileup started when Michael McDowell spun David Gilliland, who caromed off the wall and was slammed hard again by Bobby Labonte, with both cars spinning violently around. Max Papis, Dave Blaney, and Sam Hornish Jr. also were unable to avoid the carnage, with Hornish slamming hard into the sand barrier at the entrance to pit road.
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JIMMIE'S DRIVE: Four-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's casual demeanor belies a fiery competitive spirit.
Just ask Bob Stallings. He's seen it firsthand.
Stallings recruited Johnson to drive for the No. 99 GAINSCO team at Watkins Glen International in the Rolex Series in June the same weekend the Cup series was competing at Pocono, a short helicopter ride away. Johnson also raced this year for Stallings in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
''He has a pretty high standard for himself, not in comparison to anybody else, but he's very, very aware of who he is, very comfortable in his own skin,'' Stalling said. ''He challenges himself in everything. Last year at the (Rolex) 24, we were doing driver changes and I said, 'I think we're OK.' He said, 'Nah, nah Bob, if you don't mind, we'll do a couple more.'
''I didn't get it, but I finally figured out he wanted to be a little quicker than (regular driver) Alex (Gurney) getting in and out of the car,'' Stallings said. ''As soon as he got there, he says, 'OK, I'm fine.' That's another indication that he's measuring himself against his own standards. He just wants to be good.''
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SPARK PLUGS: Pocono winner Greg Biffle topped both Cup practices on Friday. ... Jimmie Johnson spun out early in the first practice, doing damage to the splitter on the front end. He was 29th on the speed charts in the first session, one ahead of four-time Watkins Glen winner Jeff Gordon as the Hendrick Motorsports cars struggled all day. Johnson was 13th in the final session while Gordon faded to 39th. ... Mohawk Valley Community College Aviation Training Center is an associate sponsor on the No. 28 Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet Kenny Wallace will drive in Saturday's Zippo 200 Nationwide race at The Glen. Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim is grand marshal. ... Former Formula One champ Jacques Villeneuve will make his first start on Saturday at Watkins Glen International in the Zippo 200. It will mark his fourth career Nationwide Series start, all on road courses. His best finish is a fourth last August in Montreal on the track named for his father.
