Bump 'n' Run: BK, Larson impress; Danica deserves to dance
Kenny Wallace, the all-time leader in Nationwide Series starts who also serves as a FOX Sports analyst on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane, joins FOXSports.com editors Tom Jensen and Joe Menzer to debate this week's hottest NASCAR topics.
1. After winning the last two races, including the Chase opener last Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, is Brad Keselowski the clear title favorite now?
Tom Jensen: Is Keselowski the favorite? Of course he is. He's won two races in a row and is red hot. He's the only driver with multiple wins at 1.5-mile tracks this year -- he has three of them, in fact -- and he's been through the fight before.
Kenny Wallace: I would have to say, after high school, I'm now a quick learner. And he has taught me that he's the fastest right now. And if he's not the fastest, he's incredibly lucky.
Joe Menzer: Well, Kenny, high school was a long time ago for you. As well as for Tom and I. But I said last week in this very space that BK was my pick to win it all. He certainly has done nothing to change that.
Jensen: But here's the deal -- a blown engine, a wreck at Talladega, a backmarker getting in his way -- any of these could radically change the Chase.
Wallace: I think that's why I'm so excited about the new format. Because in reality there are only two races left to determine who's going to the next round.
Menzer: Exactly. It's like a mini-Chase. Three of them, in fact, until we get to Homestead.
Jensen: And here's NASCAR's worst nightmare: Keselowski wins four Chase races but at Homestead gets wrecked by a guy running 30th and winless Matt Kenseth takes the title on points.
To be the man you've got to beat the man, and right now, nobody is beating Keselowski.
Wallace: I cringe at the thought of determining a champion in one race. Although it might be exciting, it's any driver's worst nightmare to have a caution with 10 laps to go -- and then have a bad pit stop. For that to determine the champion would be very difficult for me to swallow.
Kenny Wallace
Follow Kenny on Twitter @Kenny_Wallace
Menzer: That's what you both have said is the only thing that bugs you about this new Chase elimination format, right?
Jensen: Yes. The final round should be three or four races, not one.
Wallace: When you look at other sports, they make sense. For example, baseball has 162 games. So the World Series is best-of-seven games. Football has a Super Bowl because they only play 16 games. So I agree with you, Tom.
Menzer: Well, I'm going to break up this love fest and disagree with you two. I love the idea of it all going down to the final race, and seeing what happens.
Wallace: You would ... because you don't have any skin in the game!
Jensen: Imagine if in 2011, Carl Edwards had gotten one more point over 10 races. He would have won the title win zero wins in the Chase, to Stewart's five. NASCAR lucked out then. This year, who knows?
Tom Jensen
Follow Tom on Twitter @tomjensen100
Wallace: You know, Tom, that's one thing I worry about. With these rules changes every year, how do we compare history now?
Menzer: While I think that's a legitimate point, I like the fact that this year none of us knows what's going to happen -- except that there will be lots of pressure on all four teams going for the title in that final race. I like that.
Jensen: You can't compare history. You have to look at eras. Petty was the best in his era, Earnhardt in his, Gordon in his and now Johnson. Hard to match up.
I'll say this much, though: The true greats you know would have been great in any era. It's comparing the guys who are merely good that's tough.
Wallace: In the first race of this Chase, we already saw drama with Aric Almirola leading and running in the top five, running the race of his life in that iconic No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports car, and then his motor blows up and lets him down. Now he's out of the Chase unless he wins one of the next two. It's a hard pill to swallow when equipment lets you down.
Menzer: As far as comparing eras and great drivers, that's one of the fun things about all sports. You can't necessarily do it fairly, but it sure is fun to talk about it.
Joe Menzer
Follow Joe on Twitter @OneMenz
Jensen: Oh, I felt so bad for Almirola. What a great young man and a talented racer, too.
2. Speaking of great young talent, Kyle Larson really put on a show at Chicagoland. Is he the one non-Chase driver with the best shot at winning one of these next nine races?
Jensen: Yes. Might be more than one, even.
Wallace: No doubt Kyle Larson is the next superstar in NASCAR Sprint Cup. But I was impressed that both Ganassi cars were so competitive. Jamie McMurray AND Larson were fast all day.
Menzer: Easy now, Kenny. What about Chase Elliott? I mean, he's not in Cup yet. But he soon will be and might have something to say about being the next NASCAR superstar.
Jensen: And Ryan Blaney ... And Bubba Wallace ...
Wallace (Kenny, not Bubba): I believe Kyle Larson will win one of these next nine -- because points don't matter anymore to him now, and he can drive without worrying about that. As we saw Sunday.
And I think it's safe to say, Tom, that we have 3-5 drivers just now coming up that are the real deal.
Jensen: Oh, yeah. What's interesting to me is how comfortable the veterans are racing with Kyle. They love to race him.
Menzer: You saw that with the way Jeff Gordon battled with him and then went up to him on pit road and talked with Larson about it at Chicagoland, and then the way Gordon talked about Larson to the media afterward. As for the question, though, I don't know. Larson may have had his best shot at winning at Chicagoland. I think the deeper this goes, the more you'll see almost exclusively Chasers at the front of these fields.
Wallace: I think Larson can win Homestead. That's his type of track, where he can run high.
Jensen: High, wide and handsome.
Wallace: The crew just needs to add a little more sheet metal to that right side of Larson's car -- because he's going to hit that wall three or four times, trying to win. Like he did at Eldora -- and to a lesser extent, Chicagoland. He will burn the house down trying to win.
Jensen: And the fans love a guy who races that hard.
Menzer: Heck, he probably hit the wall 30 or 40 times at Eldora! And he kept on coming. That was a blast to watch.
3. So Michael Waltrip is competing in Dancing with the Stars. Which driver or drivers, past or present, would you guys like to see or have seen dance in a similar competition?
Menzer: I'm going to go with Kenny Wallace!
Wallace: I don't know if I would want to put that much work into it, but thanks. But hey, after watching Jeff Gordon breakdance at the (NASCAR post-season awards) banquet, he could be the next Helio Castroneves.
Jensen: Menzer, I can honestly say I've spent one scintilla of my brain power thinking about which male NASCAR driver I'd like to see dance.
Menzer: Well, then, I guess the answer is obvious. It's Danica Patrick.
Jensen: I like to see drivers race. What we saw Sunday in the closing laps at Chicagoland was a ballet at 200 miles per hour.
Wallace: Hey, Danica is hard to argue with. But seriously, I'm flying out to Los Angeles to cheer Mikey on. He's done a lot for me. Don't forget he let me sub for him in the No. 00 Aaron's car in the Daytona 500 in 2005. I hope he wins it all!
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