Larry Mac: Let's hope things calm down a bit in race at Texas
I hope going into Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway that we can put what's been going on these last few weeks, with all the controversy, behind us and concentrate on our last 500-mile race of 2015. It's the second race in this round, and I hope the focus is totally on who is going to be the four finalists as we get to Homestead in two weeks.
I think we're back to a race Sunday where we are going to see some long runs which will equate to green-flag pit stops. I think mistakes on pit road are inevitable, but the question becomes who makes them and when. Whether it's the driver speeding on pit road or the teams not getting the lugs tight, I just think somewhere at a crucial point it's going to rear its head and probably bite one of our remaining eight Chase drivers.
At our last six mile-and-a-half tracks going all the way back to the Coca-Cola 600 in May, the only remaining Chase driver who has won has been Joey Logano in his Penske Ford, or one of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. So should we expect more of the same? I think the answer is "absolutely" at Texas.
We also know that Jimmie Johnson has won five times at Texas and wouldn't mind taking a win away from one of these seven drivers still vying for the remaining three spots in the championship race at Homestead. Jimmie's actually won four of the last six Texas races, including the last two. Is this the weekend where he breaks the drought that he and the No. 48 team have been on?
Texas is always a track that is hard on engines. We had engine issues there in the spring, and I see no reason to suspect we won't have issues again Sunday. If you remember one year ago at Texas, we had a lot of drama with Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. It was only a few years earlier we had a flare-up with Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon. The truck race saw issues with Ron Hornaday and Kyle Busch. Heck, we even had issues with a couple wives on pit road a number of years ago, so my point is we should expect the unexpected this weekend.
I love this Chase format. It truly is working at building the tension and the pressure. Who can handle it the most when it is at its highest is the question. These drivers know what is at stake, and that's why we are seeing the competition the way it is plus the overflow of tempers and emotions. So I can't wait to see how it all unfolds Sunday.
