Rea White: Battle for Chase spot, double-file restarts heighten excitement
COMMENTARY
Is this going to be the most exciting summer stretch of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing in recent years?
Several factors point to that being a clear possibility.
First, there are those double-file restarts among the leaders that are not only changing the way the field is aligned after a caution period but also the basic nature of how teams approach racing at that point. It's easier to gamble on getting a lap back by staying out when the leaders pit and being waved around to the rear of the field. In a season when fuel mileage is becoming the key asset for teams anyway, this just adds to that element of the racing. Drivers and crew chiefs are assessing what strategy will work at each track and beginning to adjust strategies.
In addition, the double-file restarts make each event more hotly contested. Certainly, one of the multicar crashes at New Hampshire Sunday came as the top drivers anxiously jostled for position on a double-file restart, though in general the new procedure has produced clean restarts that tighten the field and create more excitement for fans. Whether drivers like the new procedure or not, it's clear it has created tighter racing at points in events where leaders previously were able to pull away from the field.
For those fans both filling the stands and watching on television, this is nothing but a positive development.
And then there's the tight race to earn a berth in the championship-determining, 12-driver field for the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
With nine races to go before the field is locked in, the 11th through 14th spots in the standings are separated by a mere 15 points. Tenth through 16th are within 99 points of one another. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya sits in 12th, the final spot that will earn a Chase bid. Richard Petty Motorsports' Kasey Kahne is only one point behind him; Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin is only three points ahead.
And up next on the schedule is a race that could change everything, the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The restrictor-plate showdown locks the teams into tight packs and is generally known for hosting at least one multicar crash. It wouldn't take much for a team to go from contender to one on the outside looking in courtesy of an incident there.
Take the case of Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton. Two races ago, he sat in the bubble spot. Now, after getting caught up in incidents that resulted in a 36th-place finish at Infineon Raceway and a 31st-place finish at New Hampshire, he has dropped to 16th in the standings, 108 points outside of that final Chase spot. Now, instead of trying to hold his position in the coming races he's going to be fighting to rally back into the championship field.
All of these factors combined could change the nature of the nine races remaining before the Chase field is set.
And they could make this the most exciting summer of racing NASCAR has seen in years.
