The Chase: Now What?

ATTENTION RACE FANS: If anybody can come up with a plausible scenario how one of the "other nine" takes home the Sprint Cup trophy, SPEAK UP!!! We'll be watching Homestead at a lovely ocean front resort just outside Hagerstown, Maryland too!!!!
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Didn't Sunday's Richmond race seem a little anti-climactic? The Chase for the Chase fever reached its peak when Carl Edwards pushed Kyle Busch out of the way to take the lead and win in Bristol. All the energy of the 2008 season seemed to be falling in behind a glorious old style NASCAR rivalry that would seem to involve either Dale Earnhardt or Darrell Waltrip locked in a high octane fender pounding duel be it those two fellows going after each other or it could be DW and a cast of folks he successfully unnerved like Cale Yarborough or Bobby Allison. Earnhardt had his series of dance partners probably the most long lasting was taking on Rusty Wallace. California brought forth another NASCAR legacy, the reign of the current super star. Jeff Gordon knows what that's all about. So does Richard Petty. However, with his dominant win at Fontana then again at Richmond, now Jimmie Johnson seeks to put his wheels in a spot only occupied by Cale Yarborough should he be able to make the 2008 championship his third in a row.
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Can you imagine someone other than Johnson, Edwards, or Busch winning the Sprint Cup championship? Kasey Kahne is the only other driver with more than one win, but he's just outside looking in in 13th spot.
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Three former champions besides Johnson are in the chase, not a single win between them -- Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth with Kenseth just barely sneaking in.
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xShaking Down the Chase Field...

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The REAL Deal!!!
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Kyle Busch.......................leader (5080 points)
Carl Edwards........... -30 points (5050 points)
Jimmie Johnson..... -40 points (5040 points)
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The 2nd Wave (4 drivers tied)
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... -70 points (5010)
Clint Bowyer
Denny Hamlin
Jeff Burton
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The 3rd Wave (5 drivers tied)
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Tony Stewart.............. -80 points (5000 points)
Greg Biffle
Jeff Gordon
Kevin Harvick
Matt Kenseth
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What's the difference between the 2nd and 3rd wave of contenders? Ten points and not much more. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon have proven their talent to dominate the field for an extended period. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shown he can outrun the field and dominate races but there's always that little something that went wrong that has taken away potential wins and top ten fniishes and resulted in mediocrity for the 88 team.
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Realistically, aside from the triumverate atop the standings, the rest of the chase's nine teams have won their trophy for the year, an invitation to the Waldolf-Astoria in December. They'll be looking for wins and anything that can be interpreted as momentum for next season. All drivers spare Tony Stewart are signed for at least another year with their current team. Stewart, of course, sets up his own shop as co-owner of Stewart-Haas racing. Mr. Stewart would do well not to have the kind of flame outs at his crew chief like he showed toward the end of Richmond's race.
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One other note, no Dodge teams made the chase this year. Kahne fell just below the cutoff leaving the field with three Toyotas (all Joe Gibbs racing), three Fords (all Rousch-Fenway cars), and of the six Chevy's that fill out the field, Hendricks nails down three spots as does Richard Childress. These are truly the elite operations in Sprint Cup racing. Only Gillette-Evernham, two wins for Kasey Kahne, and Penske -- Daytona 500 for Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch's triumph over the rain Gods have wins from the rest of the field. The last ten weeks will provide some teams the chance to show if they're ready to be knocking on the door of NASCAR's big four.
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The interesting side story for the rest of the year will be watching Joey Logano. Not since Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s rookie season has there been so much buzz about a rookie driver in NASCAR. Logano will be held back so he'll be eligible to run for the "Rookie of the Year" title next year. The last few races of the season will provide a few last looks at Bill Elliot and who knows what Ken Schrader's fortune will be on the cup level in the future?
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For NASCAR, fall officially begins in New Hampshire where up in New England the first signs of fall color will remind us all, IT'S CHASE TIME!!!










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