Waid's World
A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid
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Busch, others have an edge for the Chase
Aug
11
After Kyle Busch finished 15th at Indianapolis and 36th at Pocono and came to Watkins Glen with a real chance to finish out of the top 10 in three consecutive races for the second time this season, rumblings in the garage were that the dominant driver of 2008 was beginning to wither.
They¹ve pretty much stopped.
Busch won at The Glen to achieve a sweep of the two road-course races on the Sprint Cup schedule.
He remains in first place in the point standings, now 242 points ahead of new runnerup Carl Edwards. Going into The Glen, Busch was 176 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Busch, who now has eight Sprint Cup victories this year and will enter the Chase with a minimum of 80 bonus points, can pretty much coast through the four races leading up to the annual "playoff."
He's in no danger whatsoever of not making the Chase. Truth be known, he hasn't been for quite some time, which has given his Joe Gibbs Racing team a tremendous opportunity to gain a significant advantage when the final 10 races of the year begin.
Busch's dominance has allowed his team to tinker with its Toyotas for the season's final races - the critical ones that will determine the championship. Busch's crew chief, Steve Addington, has already indicated that's been the case.
The Gibbs team has the luxury of getting ready for the Chase as opposed to doing all it can simply to be a part of it.
In an effort to make the Chase, teams on the bubble concentrate mainly on the next race. They have to because it can be a make-or-break situation. They really don¹t have much choice.
Busch and his guys aren't the only ones who can afford to prepare for the near future. Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, for example, have picked up the pace and will assuredly be a part of the Chase.
But there's a dogfight among positions nine through 13 in the point standings among Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.
Logic dictates these guys can't look beyond the next race.
They don't have the opportunity to gain the edge that Busch, and others, may well have when the Chase begins.
They¹ve pretty much stopped.
Busch won at The Glen to achieve a sweep of the two road-course races on the Sprint Cup schedule.
He remains in first place in the point standings, now 242 points ahead of new runnerup Carl Edwards. Going into The Glen, Busch was 176 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Busch, who now has eight Sprint Cup victories this year and will enter the Chase with a minimum of 80 bonus points, can pretty much coast through the four races leading up to the annual "playoff."
He's in no danger whatsoever of not making the Chase. Truth be known, he hasn't been for quite some time, which has given his Joe Gibbs Racing team a tremendous opportunity to gain a significant advantage when the final 10 races of the year begin.
Busch's dominance has allowed his team to tinker with its Toyotas for the season's final races - the critical ones that will determine the championship. Busch's crew chief, Steve Addington, has already indicated that's been the case.
The Gibbs team has the luxury of getting ready for the Chase as opposed to doing all it can simply to be a part of it.
In an effort to make the Chase, teams on the bubble concentrate mainly on the next race. They have to because it can be a make-or-break situation. They really don¹t have much choice.
Busch and his guys aren't the only ones who can afford to prepare for the near future. Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, for example, have picked up the pace and will assuredly be a part of the Chase.
But there's a dogfight among positions nine through 13 in the point standings among Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.
Logic dictates these guys can't look beyond the next race.
They don't have the opportunity to gain the edge that Busch, and others, may well have when the Chase begins.
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Comments
2 responses to "Busch, others have an edge for the Chase"
Maria Hicks said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 6:46 PMNot until now did I rethink Jeff Gordon"s comment about a reward for points leading into the chase. He might change his mind this season. Still the amount Busch is awarded for actual wins when the chase starts.... A race equals 180 points??? Thats the chase for the chance. Too bad charecter didnt merit a few points the field would gain.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportShirley Welborn said:
Aug 18, 2008 at 7:59 AMI believe that Carl Edwards has a strong chance of knocking Kyle Bush aside and becoming the Champion this year. I'm not a Jack Rousch fan AT ALL, but Carl would represent NASCAR with more grace & dignity than Kyle has ever shown in his entire life. Carl's post race interviews are alway positive and he's always pleasant and polite, even when he doesn't win. Kyle on the other hand shows his smiling face when he wins, but shows the other end when he doesn't. Seems like all the media has already given the championship to Kyle. Well they had the trophy just about engraved last year for Jeff Gordon, but that didn't happen either because Jimmie made a come-back in the chase to win. That could happen this year with several of the contenders, and I certainly hope it does.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report