So who’s the happiest guy at Phoenix this weekend? How about Michael Waltrip? Michael Waltrip? Yes, Mikey, indeed, look at the front row from qualifying with Martin Truex Jr. on the pole and Kurt Busch on the outside poll, and things look good for Michael Waltrip racing since Kurt Busch’s crew chief, Pat Tryson will be Martin Truex’s chief next year when they both work for MWR!
Get beyond the front row, and look at 3rd starting spot and it’s the same old story. Jimmie Johnson qualified 3rd with Mark Martin 10th and Jeff Gordon 14th as the results from last week’s race at Texas opened up “The Chase” to reintroduce an element of competition given the almost one race lead Johnson achieved after Talladega. Phoenix is a good track for Johnson who has three wins, seven top fives, and ten top tens with an average finish of 5.4 at the Arizona speedway. How many drivers have anything approaching a 5.4 average at any racing facility?
So then is Rick Hendrick the happiest of all? It looks like he’ll have positions one, two, and three in the championship standings. Of course Hendricks power drives two more chase teams with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.
For most of the field, it’s look good for next year as several drivers will be looking for rides and teams looking for sponsorship. Will Dale Earnhardt Jr. ever have a respectable finish in 2009? Can Roush-Fenway turnaround their slump with only Matt Kenseth victories for the first two races of the season to show for the Ford effort in 2009? It’s had to imagine that neither Carl Edwards nor Greg Biffle have a single win between them.
The ability for Martin or Gordon to win the championship is as conditional on Johnson floundering as it is their ability to succeed given there are but two races left and the lead Johnson currently has over them. Last week proved how costly an early race mishap can be on the front running team, but how likely is that to happen in the last two races? Having a starting spot of third toward the front of the field makes safe racing a lot easier for the #48 team.
For drivers like David Stremme and Jaime McMurray, Phoenix marks perhaps the next to last race they enjoy rides on the Sprint Cup level as neither driver has a sure ride for next year. Where will the remainder of the #26 team go?
The long season that started at Daytona in February is almost over. Assuming Jimmie Johnson hangs on and wins the championship, what else besides his accomplishments will be noteworthy for NASCAR’s future when the history of the sport is told.
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