September 2007 Archives

It's hard to say which is more impressive: winning the first race of the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup or coming from 42nd to 12th in a race at Dover International Speedway.
Clint Bowyer did both in consecutive weeks. He entered the Chase as the only driver in the top 12 without a win. He quickly erased that by winning the race at New Hampshire International Speedway.
But he followed the first win of his Cup career with a disappointing qualifying run at Dover and a 42nd-place start.
He worked his way through the field and posted a 12th-place finish. He left Dover fifth in the Cup standings and only 18 points out of first.
Bowyer said he still can't believe there were some who doubted if he belonged in the Chase after going through the first 26 races without a win.
"We went into this thing with people asking do you really feel like you deserve to be in the Chase. My answer to that question was heck yeah," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "It wasn't like we were 12th going into the thing. We were ninth. We beat three teams out of the Chase and yet people were still saying that the 13th guy belonged in it."
That 13th guy was Dale Earnhardt Jr. He missed the Chase for the second time in his Cup career. Bowyer said he didn't feel like Earnhardt Jr. was ever going to threaten for his spot in the Chase.
"He had a long ways to go to catch me," Bowyer said. "I felt like we deserved it and I feel like winning that first race of the Chase really proved not only to ourselves, but to everybody else that we belonged here. It's been such a confidence-booster and momentum builder going into the rest of the year."
That confidence was evident in the Dover race. Bowyer's team could have folded after qualifying 42nd. Instead it rallied and gave Bowyer a car that he say could have won the race.
"Last week at Dover, it very easily could have taken the wind out of our sails qualifying dead last," Bowyer said. "We went from the heroes to zeros just like that. We were able to bounce back from that and we had a car to win. We really did. We were less than half way through the race and we were passing for sixth from dead last . So it really says a lot about how strong our race team is and how we're learning. That's what championships is all about is being able to turn a bad day into a good one and we are on our way to doing that."

Tony Stewart won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway last year. It was his first of three wins in the Chase. Only thing, Stewart wasn't in the Chase. Because of that, It provided him the luxury to gamble a little bit and go for wins.
Now that he is in the Chase, second in the Cup standings and only two points out of first, he will be a little more conservative about his strategy in races.
"Absolutely; most definitely," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "We wouldn't have been able to take the gamble that we took last year if we were running for points. The risk versus reward wouldn't have been an equal value. In a situation like that where if it pays off; we gain six spots. If it doesn't pay off, we lose 35 spots. But for us it was about winning the races, not having to worry about the points. But right now, every point and every position counts."
Stewart is on the other side of the fence, one of the Chase drivers racing for the Nextel Cup championship. There are 30 drivers on the track who can gamble, take chances and have little to lose.
"Well, at the end of each day, you've got to keep in mind who you're racing," Stewart said. "There are 42 other guys on the race track but there are only 11 that matter as far as what goes on at the end of the year. Every position still matters, even if they're not a Chase contender.
"But it's a situation that you've got to think about. Everything that you do, you have to think about what the risk is and what the reward is if you make it or the penalty if you don't make it. So, you have to look at both sides of the coin."

This time last year, Jimmie Johnson was eighth in the Chase standings and 136 points out of first.
But he rallied in the last eight races of the year to win the Nextel Cup Series championship.
This year, he is third in the standings, a mere four points out of first. He he did drop out of tie for first after the race at Dover International Speedway, but he is still in very good position to make a run at his second Cup championship.
Making up four points should be a snap compared to having to make up 136. Johnson said having to recover from such a huge deficit last year gave his team valuable experience. But it probably also gives other teams in the Chase buried in the standings the confidence to recover.
"I think last year's Chase is helping us with our approach this year and unfortunately, I think it is helping the other Chase competitors out as well," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "They are thinking hey, we are 10th, 11th, 12th, wherever they may be right now, but the No. 48 recovered last year. We did a great job but things also came our way, we got off to a slow start."
Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, had the lead in the Chase after two races last year. But he couldn't hold it.
"I remember early in the Chase, the No. 31, he couldn't mess up," Johnson said. "He had so many good races getting started that I felt like it was up to other competitors to make mistakes top give us a shot. We performed and did our job with all those second place finishes, but some guys had to have trouble and we go that. I don't know with 12 guys in the Chase, if that is a possibility. I think that is a possibility, but it will be much more difficult and it is still too early in the Chase to really know what is going to take place. I think you get to seven, eight races in -- you can form a strategy. You can look at guys and so, OK, they are probably out, this is where the race is. But in a lot of ways, I think it is anyone's championship right now."

Jacques Villenueve, the former Indy 500 champion, will make his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series debut at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 7, prompting Jeff Gordon to wonder why that race.
Talladega is one of the fastest, most dangerous tracks on the Cup schedule. Villenueve tested at Talladega with Bill Davis Racing last week. There were a number of other Cup teams at Talladega for the test.
Villenueve did well, but his only NASCAR experience has been in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Gordon said a driver, any driver, making Talladega his first Cup race is the wrong decision.
"I am a big fan of Jacques, but I think this is not the right decision," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I didn't think it was the right decision with David Gilliland. Nothing against their talent, or anything else, I just look at that race in the Chase -- Why? You want to run a race, go to Atlanta, go to one of the mile and a half tracks. I am very very surprised that was approved as his first Cup race."
Gordon acknowledged Villenueve performed well in his test at Talladega. But he said it is crazy to expect a good test to translate into a good race at Talladega.
"You have to have a race," Gordon said. "I watched him in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from Las Vegas last week. Yes, he did a nice job, but he wasn't really in contention so wasn't really in the thick of things; he just didn't bounce off of anything which was very good. I think that you need to get some experience in something else before you go stic k them in the Cup race at Talladega, especially when it is so crucial for the championship."

Kurt Busch is 11th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, but he says he's a lot closer to the lead than people think.
“I’m one carburetor short of leading in points, so for us it’s been good," said Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing. "We’ve worked hard to get into the Chase and we’ll still continue to give a good effort all the way up until the end. Each race it just continues to get tougher and tougher the closer you get until the end."
Busch's first two races of the Chase haven't been that good. He was 25th in the New Hampshire race, the first race of the Chase. He lost a cylinder and had carburetor problems which resulted in his being the worst finishing Chase driver in the race. He followed that with a 29th place finish at Dover, where he hit the wall late in the race and got knocked out of the top five.
Busch will start 12th in Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway, the third race in the Chase, and will need a strong showing to get back in championship contention.
"There are still plenty of races to go," Busch said. "Eight races as a matter of fact. And we feel like this weekend is a great opportunity to get the Miller Lite Dodge to run good on a mile-and-a-half track. The same type of cars that we had earlier at Michigan and Pocono where we have a couple wins this year, so I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to hit the track and be out there with the downforce car and to just feel the downforce again and have a good weekend.”

No one's had a worse week in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series than Carl Edwards. He won the race at Dover International Speedway only to have his car not pass post-race inspection. He went from being in third place in the Chase standings, three points out of first, to sixth place and 28 points out of first.
NASCAR penalized Edwards 25 points for not passing inspection after the Dover race. Roush Fenway Racing is appealing the penalty, but history indicates that the chances of successfully appealing are slim.
It could have been worse for Edwards. At least he is still within striking distance of Jeff Gordon, the leader of the Chase. But if he loses the championship by less than 25 points, he'll know exactly where he left those points.
Edwards sounds like he is trying to move forward after the disaster at Dover.
"I’m really excited to race at Kansas this week," said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "It’s my hometown track so it will be neat having so many family and friends there. I think we have a really good Office Depot car for this weekend. Kansas is a really fun track to drive and I think we’ll be able to have a good run there."
Despite getting docked in points, Edwards still won the race at Dover. It has given his team a little confidence going into the last eight races of the year.
"We are coming off a great win at Dover and with that momentum in the Chase the entire Office Depot team is really pumped and looking forward to going racing at the kind of track where we’ve been successful in the past,” Edwards said.

Kansas Speedway has always been a race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. That means it's a track where Matt Kenseth has yet to post a win.
Kenseth has made the Chase all four years of its existence, but has never won a race in the Chase. His best finish at Kansas came in 2005, when he was fifth.
But the car his team is bringing to Kansas has a bit of a winning record. It won races at California Speedway and Michigan International Speedway in 2006. In its last race, it was fourth at Michigan in August. He will need a strong finish at Kansas to climb into championship contention. Kenseth is 10th in the Chase standings, 116 points out of first.
“We’ll be at Kansas this weekend with another shot at an intermediate track with the ‘old’ car," said Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "This kind of track has been good for us in the past and Kansas is a lot like Chicago, and we’ve been very competitive there the past two years. We’re taking the same car that’s run at Chicago the last two times there and it’s been a car we’ve ran at a lot of intermediate tracks, so hopefully it will be just as competitive this weekend and we’ll be able to bounce back with a strong finish.”

For all intent and purposes, last year's race at Kansas Speedway was where Tony Stewart started his 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.
Stewart was locked out of the Chase last year after winning it the year before. Instead of folding and coasting through the last 10 races of the year, Stewart went on a bit of a winning tear. He won three of the last 10 races, starting with the one at Kansas Speedway.
Another win this time and Stewart will find himself leading the Chase standings. He is second in the Chase standings, two points behind Jeff Gordon.
The car Stewart's team is bringing to Kansas has been pretty impressive in its three previous starts. It won the race at Chicagoland, won the race at Indinapolis and was 10th at Michigan.
Kansas and Chicagoland share a number of similarities.
“They’re about as close as you can get to being the same," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "You aren’t going to find any two tracks that are more identical than Kansas and Chicago. The only difference between the two tracks -- the backstretch at Chicago is a little bit rounded while Kansas is straight.”
Stewart said he hopes winning at Chicagoland will give his team an edge in the Kansas race.
"The two tracks are so alike. You’d like to think that if you had success at one track that you’d have success at the other," Stewart said. "But at the same time, there are no guarantees in this sport. As fast as technology changes, what worked a month ago might not work now. We won’t know anything until we hit the track.”

Empty seats or not, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will make two stops at California Speedway in 2008.
NASCAR announced that the Sprint Cup Series, what will be the name of the top-tier stock car racing series in NASCAR next year, will race at California Speedway on Feb. 22-24 and Aug. 29-31.
The Feb. 24 race will be the second of the season, immediately following the Daytona 500. The Aug. 31 race will be the traditional Labor Day race and 25th of the season. The first 26 races make up the regular season of the Sprint Cup Series. The final 10 races are the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The two California Speedway races will also be the first for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at the track. The new car has been racing at smaller tracks and road courses all year and will race at every track in 2008.
“When NASCAR returns in 2008, the series will have a new name and a new car, but those changes are just the tip of the iceberg for fans coming to California Speedway,” said speedway president Gillian Zucker. “We’ll be making more and more improvements to the facility to provide our loyal fans with the best motorsports experience anywhere.”
The track is making a number of renovations. Escalators will be installed at three locations at the track. Expanded misting areas will provide more relief from the heat, particularly for the Labor Day races. New high-definition LCD monitors are also being installed throughout the track.
The new escalators are expected to be completed before the Labor Day races next year. They will provide access from the ground level to the concourse areas adjacent to gates in sections 11-21, 50-60 and 71-81.
The expanded misting areas are also expected to be completed by the Labor Day races. The track plans to install twice as many misters as are currently in place.
Another feature that fans will be sure to notice will be a completely overhauled scoreboard. The track’s current scoreboard will be fitted with new panels featuring the latest Daktronics LED technology. This enhancement is expected to be completed by February.
Over 500 televisions throughout the facility will be replaced with high-definition LCD monitors. Additional improvements will be announced throughout the coming year.

The car Jimmie Johnson's team is bringing to Kansas Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race has a long, successful history. Just this year, it has raced four times, won at Atlanta and has yet to finish out of the top five. It was second at the Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway and third at Michigan International Speedway in August.
Johnson has driven the car since 2005 and it has never finished a race outside the top 10. It won the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year.
Johnson could use another good run out of the car.
Johnson got caught up in the late race melee at Dover International Speedway and sputtered to a 14th place finish on Sunday. Still he escaped rather unharmed in the Chase standings. He is in fourth place in the Chase standings and only four points out of first.
“Obviously, with the crazy weekend we had (at Dover) and being four points out of the lead after what we went through, is exciting for us," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I think Kansas is one of our better tracks. We ran really, really well there last year. Unfortunately, we had a tire problem, which seems to have happened to us here lately. We had a tire problem that kept us from having the finish that we wanted. But we led a lot. I think we led the most laps, so we’re excited. I’m excited and looking forward to getting to Kansas.”

Kyle Busch was one of the few NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers in the Chase who escaped Dover International Speedway with a decent finish. Busch finished fifth in the race and ended up fourth in the Chase standings.
He was helped out a little by Carl Edwards, who was penalized after the Dover race because his car did not pass post-race inspection.
Edwards, winner of the Dover race, should have been in third place in the Chase standings, but part of his penalty was losing 25 points in the standings. He fell to sixth place, which consequently moved Busch up to fourth.
It's a good start to the week when you can move up a spot in the standings without even racing.
The next race on the Cup schedule is Kansas Speedway. Busch's team is bringing the car it raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway to Kansas. The car hasn't fared that well this season. It was ninth at Vegas and 30th at Lowe's.
Busch said Kansas has more similarities to Chicagoland Speedway than Vegas or Lowe's, making the choice in car even a little more curious.
"Kansas and Chicago are practically identical," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I've never seen two race tracks that were made so similarly. The only differences are that Kansas is a little bit flatter, narrower and it says 'Kansas Speedway' on the soft walls."
Apparently Alan Gustafson, Busch's crew chief, has a strategy for his driver in the Chase.
"I did a little research and two out of the past three Nextel Cup champions have had an average finish in the Chase of eighth," Gustafson said. "So far, we've had an average finish of 4.5 and I think being 10 points out of first at this point is a great start. It seemed like everyone had issues at Dover. Thankfully, we persevered and finished well. Every lap of every race counts."

Only four of the drivers in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup finished in the top 10 at Dover International Speedway. Carl Edwards won the race, but will most likely be penalized because his car did not pass post-race inspections. He will probably be fined and lose at least 25 points in the Cup standings.
Kyle Busch looks like he had the best race among the Chase drivers. He finished fifth and escaped the late-race wreck that collected a number of drivers in the Chase.
"It definitely was an adventure out there today," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Our car was pretty good. Our Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet was all right the beginning of the race and towards the middle part of the race, we were near the front and got up as high as fourth I think. We started fading a little bit, battling the way the handling was on the car. It wasn't all that great, but we were working on it. We got through that big wreck luckily somehow, some way, with just a little cosmetic damage there to the left rear and the wing plate torn off. But all in all, it was a good day for us and a well deserved finish but maybe even a few spots better than what we deserved."
Only six cars finished the race on the lead lap. The other Chase drivers who finished in the top 10 were Jeff Burton, in seventh, and Tony Stewart, in ninth.
"Oh gosh, I was on suicide watch for the first 200 laps, but we finally hit on something that the car liked and got ourselves in a position that we were already a lap down, but we kept getting boxed in in the pit box," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That's just one of those pit roads where there are very short boxes. We'd get in and then we'd lose position -- not necessarily positions on the scoreboard, but positions on the track and then we'd have to fight our way through."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an interesting day at Dover. At one point, he was a lap down to the race leaders in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway.
He escaped a chain-reaction wreck near the end of the race and posted a third-place finish. He is still looking for his first win of the season, but it was a strong showing for Earnhardt Jr. and his team.
"We had a lot of luck go our way and we also worked really hard to get to where we got," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "I am real proud of my team, they gave me a great opportunity today to run great and we ran up front early in the race and were able to stay there most of the day. We had some down parts in the race and got a lap down but were able to get that back. I am just real proud of my team, Budweiser and everybody for supporting me this year and the rest of the season. This is a good run for us, this really helps us going in to the next couple of races."
Earnhardt Jr. narrowly missed qualifying for the Chase. He was the 13th place driver in the Cup standings when the Chase started two weeks ago at New Hampshire. The top 12 drivers earned spots in the Chase.
The next eight races will be his last eight with Dale Earnhardt Inc. Earnhardt Jr. is leaving DEI for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. After the race at Dover, he reflected on his relationships with his teammates and crew.
"It is a celebration of great effort and friendship," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We have a great friendship with each other. We all really do enjoy working with each other. I think, if there is one travesty to me moving to another team next year and everything that has happened is that I won't get to work with some of these guys next year and that is pretty tough. We all get along. We will meet each other down the road somewhere and work together again or do something. But, I am just real proud of them because they haven't quit on me and I haven't quit of them and that is the effort we have to keep the rest of the year because we all deserve it."

Denny Hamlin got into the back of Kyle Petty's car midway through the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. Both cars needed repairs after the collision. Hamlin drove his car into the garage area first. Petty followed a little bit later.
That's when the fun really began. Petty took down Hamlin's window net in his car and started yelling at him. At the end of his scolding, Petty slapped the visor down on Hamlin's helmet.
Hamlin did not appreciate the contact.
"Don't smack me on the helmet," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "You smack me on the helmet and I'm going to punch you in the face, bottom line. So I'd like for him to call me sometime this week, before next week."
Hamlin is one of the Chase drivers, the top 12 racing for the Nextel Cup championship. The race at Dover was the second race of the 10-race Chase.
Petty is fighting to stay in the top 35 in owners points for his No. 45 Petty Enterprise Dodge in the Cup Series. The top 35 cars earn automatic starting spots in Nextel Cup Series races.
Hamlin said Petty's reaction stemmed from the top 35 standings.
"Yeah, I think a lot of it was his frustration over this whole top 35 thing, but we're racing for bigger and better things," Hamlins said. "Hopefully, one day, if they get it turned around, I can exchange the favor. But right now, we're the guys racing for the championship, so you know, heed a little bit."
Even though he said he understands Petty's frustration, Hamlin took exception to the way Petty handled it.
"You don't come to my car; you don't come to my pit," Hamlin said. "You meet me somewhere else and we'll settle it. I have the utmost respect for Kyle, but don't lay your hands on my head.
"I did not say one word to him. I asked him to come over and talk to me. He chose to slap my helmet. I have a short fuse. Don't do that."

Clint Bowyer couldn't have picked a better time to win his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. He won last Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, and vaulted from 12th place in the standings to fourth.
But Bowyer said he should have notched his first win a while ago.
"I blew quite a few shots at winning, I felt like," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "The week before Richmond, I drove from 20th to passing for the lead in that very same race car that won last week. I screwed up and blew our shot at having a chance to win. You've got to learn, you've got to make mistakes to be able to learn, unfortunately. I'm a pretty slow learner so it took a little longer than most."
By winning the New Hampshire race, Bowyer went from being 60 points out of first to only 15 behind Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who share the Cup standings lead.
"I definitely feel like the win was at a perfect time," Bowyer said. "It couldn't have been any better as far as that. To start the Chase off with our first victory of the season and the first win of the Chase and get a good points base established, that's important. We got started off on the right foot and hopefully we can keep it."

The unknowns will be center stage at Dover International Speedway for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. Martin Truex Jr., the lone representative from Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Chase, the lesser known driver on his own team, will garner his share of attention once the race starts.
He won the race at Dover in June. It was his first career Cup win and his only win of the season thus far. It punctuated his place among the Chase field.
Returning to Dover has a different feel, Truex said, mainly because he has yet to win a Cup race at any other track.
"Yeah, it's definitely a different feel and this is the only time I've been able to be in that position in the Cup Series so it feels good and it's cool but at the same time I think everybody here will be better than they were last time and we'll have to be to win it again," said Truex, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "So we're just doing our normal deal, working hard and trying to get the car the best we can get and so far here in qualifying trim we're a lot better than we were last time in qualifying trim so hopefully that will be great for the weekend."
Truex might have a different feeling when it comes to racing at Dover. But it hasn't affected his confidence. He said he tries to approach each race the same way and work on his second career Cup victory.
"It was a great feeling to finally get a win," Truex said. "We knew that was one thing we could cross off our list of accomplishments and goals and one of our goals was to be in the Chase so that didn't change -- winning or not winning, that didn't change our strategy or anything. We felt like we could be in the Chase before the year started and that never changed no matter what the situation."

Ron Hornaday Jr. blew a tire with 12 laps to go in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and went from what looked like a top-five finish to 22nd place.
He also went from leading the Truck Series standings to second place and trailing Mike Skinner by three points. There are six races to go in the Truck Series season.
When Hornaday blew his right front tire, he also hit the wall causing severe damage to his truck. He was running in fourth place at the time. But after his crew made repairs and he returned to the race, he was a lap down and struggling to finish.
"We had a great truck here tonight and were looking at a top-five run in our Camping World Silverado," said Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. "I don't know if we ran over something or what happened, but we cut down a right front tire. Several teams had problems with them tonight and we'll just get ready for Talladega."

The car Tony Stewart's team is bringing to Dover International Speedway didn't have such a great debut. It came in the June race at Dover. Stewart started 30th, climbed into the top 10, but was taken out in a crash with Kurt Busch late in the race and finished 40th.
Stewart's team rebuilt the car and brought it back for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. It had a much better race there, finishing fourth.
Stewart will be looking for another strong run, and a much better finish than fourth, at Dover this weekend. He was able to trim a little into Jimmie Johnson's lead in the Chase standings after the race at New Hampshire Interantional Speedway. He is third in the Chase standings and trails leaders Johnson and Jeff Gordon by 10 points.
Last year, Stewart was not in the Chase, but won three of the Chase races. Stewart said he took a different approach to racing last year when he wasn't in the Chase. He hopes other drivers will take a similar approach in this year's Chase.
“When you were up there racing with those guys, it made you timid and it made you think, ‘Well, should I just let them go, or should I just go ahead and race my race?’ " said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "In the first two years of the Chase, I know the consideration I got from guys and how much I appreciated it. Instead of just saying you want to race your own race, you say maybe you should give this guy an extra break here and there. It made it frustrating to race because you weren’t racing your own race that way. You were racing a race in a race, so to speak."
Stewart doesn't expect the drivers who are not in the Chase to race any easier. He would however, expect them to have a little more respect for the 12 drivers in the Chase.
“You still want to win races, but at the same time, you still have to be mindful that there are 12 guys racing for a series championship,' Stewart said. "You try to race hard, but at the same time, you have to be respectful and give them the room they deserve.”

Kyle Busch readily admits Dover International Speedway, otherwise known as the Monster Mile, scares him. At least it did. His first Cup race at Dover in 2005, Busch overcame his fear and finished second.
He has three top-five finishes in five career Cup races at Dover. But his last race there was far from successful.
He hit the wall early in the race and was two laps down to the race leaders throughout. Still, he finished an admirable 17th in a damaged car.
"We've been fast at Dover and had great runs, but we've never been able to figure it out in the end," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Finding the right balance has been difficult and we were either the best car or close to it, but we've gotten beaten at the end. How to be there at the end is the main thing we need to figure out."
Busch enters Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Dover fourth in the Chase standings. He's much better off than last year in the Chase. He entered the Dover race, the second race of the Chase, dead last in 10th place.
But Dover presents problems for Busch and his team.
"We had some problems that were self-inflicted, so I think that we have fixed them," Busch said. "It's always been a good place for me so we hope to get back to our good-running ways."
Busch's team is bringing the same car it raced at Phoenix International Raceway to Dover. That car was seventh in the Phoenix race. Busch said he expects Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman to be tough to beat at Dover. Truex won the June race at Dover.
"Last time at Dover, Martin Truex Jr, was the class of the field and I think he will be again," Busch said. "You always have to look out for Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman at Dover as well. They all seem to have that place figured out."

Jeff Gordon's numbers at Dover International Speedway are pretty impressive. Four wins, 13 top-fives, 18 top-10s in 29 career Cup starts at the track.
But ask Gordon and he'll say his most recent race at Dover was one of his worst.
He finished ninth at Dover in June. It was one of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow races and it was delayed a day by rain. Given his team's performance in previous Car of Tomorrow races, Gordon expected better than ninth place that day.
“We’ve performed well in the COT races, but that was probably our worst showing in the Impala,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “Dover is a high-speed, banked concrete track, and it’s very challenging to get the correct combination in the setup. But we’re learning more and more about the COT with every race we run, so we’re hoping to be more competitive this time around.”
Gordon is tied for the lead in the Cup standings with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. Each has 5,210 points. Gordon had a 300-point lead in the Cup standings before the Chase started, but it was erased last week at New Hampshire International Speedway. Instead of leading the standings, Gordon was knocked to second place, 20 points behind Johnson. At least now Gordon has a share of the lead. But he said he isn't worried about how the other drivers perform. He is more concerned about his own team's performance.
"With 12 drivers racing hard for the title, you can’t focus on what the other Chase drivers are doing," Gordon said. "We’ll just focus on our own program and try to get the best finish – and most amount of points – that we possible can on a given day. That’s why I think it’s more difficult to win the championship under this format, but also why I think it’s probably more rewarding.”

Carl Edwards is calling his race at New Hampshire International Speedway his bad race. He was forced into his team's back-up car and didn't get much a chance to practice in it.
But he finished 12th in the race at New Hampshire and came away eighth in the Chase standings.
"We have one Chase race under our belt and we finished 12th in a back-up car with no practice," said Edwards, driver of the No. 12 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "I think championships are defined by your bad days and if that’s a bad day for us, I think we have a chance at the championship.”
The car his team is bringing to Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race, is the same one he raced at Darlington Raceway in May. He started that race fourth and finished fifth.
Edwards finished third in the Dover race in June. It was his second career top-five finish at Dover in six Cup races.
"We had a really good run at Dover back in June and since then we’ve made a lot of advances in our Car of Tomorrow program," Edwards said. "I think this weekend will be great for the Office Depot team, if we can get the No. 99 handling well. In the spring we didn’t handle as well as we should have so I wasn’t able to catch the leaders."

Matt Kenseth has had some really good races at Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. He won the June race at Dover last year. He also has two NASCAR Busch Series wins at Dover.
He also finished 35th in the Dover race in 2005 and all but took himself out of Chase contention. He was 32nd in the Dover race in 2004, and that pretty much ruined his chances of winning the Chase that year.
“It seems every time we go to Dover it's feast or famine," said Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "We had really good cars both times there last year and nearly swept. This year, we weren’t as good as we had been, but I’m hoping a lot of that was because we were a little behind on the COT (Car of Tomorrow) setup. I know the last two weeks at Richmond and Loudon, we ran completely different setups than we did the first time we went to those tracks, and as a result we were a good bit more competitive. I’m hoping for the same this weekend and I really don’t see why that can’t be the case."
Kenseth is coming off a seventh-place finish at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first race of the Chase. He is seventh in the Cup standings.
“Loudon (New Hampshire) was a good start to the Chase," Kenseth said. "Sure, we would’ve liked to have finished better, but considering where we started, and just how hard track position was to come by, we did pretty good. Dover is a good place for us. There have been times we’ve had problems there but it usually isn’t with the car. Hopefully, we’re able to compete a little bit better this weekend and make up some ground.”
His team is bringing the car it raced at Bristol Motor Speedway in August to Dover. Kenseth drove that car to a 39th-place finish. He crashed on lap 452. The car has also raced at Darlington Raceway in May and the Dover race in June. Kenseth finished fifth in the Dover race.
“Dover is probably my favorite track for a lot of different reasons," Kenseth said. "My first Cup race was there, plus we’ve won a couple times there in the Busch Series, then we got our first Cup win there last year, so we’ve had a lot of good times at Dover. The track is so fast and challenging. It’s unique because of the way you drive up out of the turns. The turns set a bit lower than the straight-a-ways and you can feel it when you’re driving out there.

Kurt Busch didn't have the start he wanted to the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup. He was the worst finishing driver in the Chase in the race at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Busch finished 25th and dropped from fifth place to 12th in the Chase standings. Apparently his car suffered a carburetor malfunction and it led to his poor finish.
“We had a strong car there in the beginning and then had a motor problem," said Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing. "A later diagnosis left us with a problem with our carburetor. It left us without the power that we needed. It’s kind of a bummer, but we worked hard to get in this Chase and we’ll still work hard."
Busch is 102 points behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who are tied at the top of the Chase standings.
“This one is a big lump, but it didn’t hurt us so we’ll see what happens,” Busch said.
If there is a bright note to the New Hampshire race for Busch, it is that his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman finished ninth. He was the only Dodge driver in the top 10 and had a strong car throughout the race.
“Track position was the name of the game," said Newman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing. "We had a fast car we just got behind and were a little too tight there the last two runs and that really hurt us. It was a good run for the Mobil 1 Dodge for us to get a top-10 out of it. We just look forward to carrying out the rest of the season."

Jeff Gordon regained a share of the lead in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings after the race at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first race in the Chase.
Gordon is tied with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with 5,210 points. Johnson entered the first race of the Chase with a 20-point lead over Gordon. But Johnson finished sixrth in the opening race of the 10-race playoff. Gordon was second.
"Really today was a race for second spot," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "But still to leave here with a sixth-place finish we are real happy about that. Last year we left here 39th or something like that, so we are off to a much better start than the last time."
Gordon said he was happy to finish second in the New Hampshire race and get off to a good start in the Chase.
"To me, you have to capitalize on the tracks you run good at," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "This is a good track for us and I was just glad to do that and stay out of trouble. Wherever the points fall right now, it is what you do over 10 races, not what you do in one race. We did what we needed to do today; hopefully we can carry that next week to Dover and try to pull off another top-five."
Clint Bowyer, who won the race at New Hampshire, made the biggest leap in the standings, from 12th to fourth. He entered the Chase as the only driver without a win.
"Well, even without the win, I definitely believe we earned a spot in this Chase and we belonged here," Bowyer said. "We did the things it took to be in the Chase. Once you get in the Chase, you've got to go for broke. Last week, I come up broke. But finally, we did what we were supposed to do and didn't make any mistakes. I didn't make any in the car."
Kurt Busch had the biggest drop, from fifth to 12th.
Here is a look at the Chase standings after Race 1.

1. Jimmie Johnson (5,210 points)

2. Jeff Gordon (5,210 points, -0)

3. Tony Stewart (5,200 points, -10)

4. Clint Bowyer (5,195 points, -15) +8

5. Kyle Busch (5,175 points, -35) +4

6. Martin Truex, Jr. (5,170 points, -40) +1

7. Matt Kenseth (5,156 points, -54) +1

8. Carl Edwards (5,147 points, -63) -4

9. Denny Hamlin (5,128 points, -82) -3

10. Kevin Harvick (5,122 points, -88) +1

11. Jeff Burton (5,119 points, -91) -1

12. Kurt Busch (5,108 points, -102) -7

Clint Bowyer pulled off a surprising win in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway. It was the first of his Cup career and his first of the season.
Bowyer entered the New Hampshire race, the first in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, as the only driver in the Chase field without a win.
Drivers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart said everyone in the NASCAR garage was happy to see Bowyer finally win his first race.
"To see a guy, especially when you are up in New York and nobody gave Clint Bowyer a shot at the championship," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I think today was a real statement for him. I am sure he has a little grin going as well. I think it just proves that anybody in the top-12 can win this championship. If you are going to win your first one, man, this is the way and time to do it. That was pretty cool. He was dominant; he was so stong today."
Stewart said Bowyer was the class of the field in the race.
It is fun to have watched guys in the last nine years get their first wins; it is normally a real dominant performance," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That is what really makes these first wins special. You look at somebody like Clint who has had good cars and really has made a big step from last year, his rookie year, he has been in a couple positions to actually get a win this year, or at least a top-five and a shot at winning, then something has always happened. But a day like today, there was nothing going to happen to him. He was just rock-solid and strong all day. It is fun when you have got a car that drives like that, it makes that first win very memorable."

It wasn't the storybook ending Mike David was looking for, but he drove a car with a failing transmission to a NASCAR Grand National Division West Series championship Saturday night.
Eric Holmes won his first West Series race of the year at Altamont Motorsports Park near Tracy and David finished third in the series season finale.
"I broke the transmission and only had high gear," David said. "It was shaking and popping and making noises it's not supposed to. I just held on to her."
Holmes, making only his fourth West Series start of the season, won the race and earned a berth in the Toyota All-Star Showdown in October. The 2006 West Series champion was splitting time racing in the NASCAR Busch East Series and West Series this season.
"I knew I could do this stuff," Holmes said. "So, I came back to prove it. We'll go to the Showdown and I'll show them what I've got there."

It looks like even Mother Nature is on Ron Hornaday Jr.'s side these days.
Bad weather cancelled qualifying and Hornaday, the leader in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings, started from the pole at New Hampshire International Speedway.
By the end of the night, Hornaday had won his fourth race of the year, the 33rd of his Truck Series career and increased his lead in the Truck Series standings to 29 points over Mike Skinner.
Hornaday's truck finished second three times before winning its first race at New Hampshire. It came at a good time, too. Skinner was third in the New Hampshire race, but couldn't make up any ground.
"Same truck we have finished in the top-three with three times and we finally won with it," said Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. "This is our lucky charm little truck right here. Wow, 33 wins, that is unbelievable, that is cool."
Hornaday's 33 wins are the most in Truck Series history. He has 17 top-10 finishes in 18 races this year as well. Hornaday said he had some troubles with his brakes in the New Hampshire race, but his team made an adjustment and it made his truck "unbelievable."
"There are a lot of guys out there that would give anything to drive a truck like this," Hornaday said. "I put it in positions it shouldn't have been in and it came out of every one of them. I could just put the power down in this Chevrolet and go. I have to thank Richard Childress Racing engines for awesome horsepower. It is a pleasure to drive this stuff."

Jeff Gordon built a 300-point lead over his nearest competitor in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings before the Chase started. But it's all gone. He's the second-place driver in the Chase and trailing his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson by 20 points.
Gordon said NASCAR should look into rewarding the first-place driver in the standings after the first 26 races of the regular season.
"If I didn't know what the rules were going into the season, I'd say we got the shaft," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "But that's not the case. Ever since they've had the Chase, they've said what it is. This year they made the change to the 10 bonus points. It made the regular season more exciting. It made everybody push harder to get those wins. It did what it was supposed to do. But I do think they're going to have to revisit now, going back. If you're going to have incentives for guys to win races, you have to have some kind of incentive for a guy to go out there and be the points leader at that point. I wouldn't be surprised if they revisit that a little bit."

Clint Bowyer might be last in the Chase standings but he will start first in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway.
He won the pole for the New Hampshire race and knows he has some ground to make up. Starting out front will give him a good chance to move up in the standings after the first race of the Chase.
But he would rather be out front after the last race of the year, not for the first race of the Chase.
"All that matters at the end of the year when you're standing in line at the pay window, that's all that matters," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 for Richard Childress Racing. "It's no different back in the day was back then you had to wait until five or six in the morning before they could figure it out at the local dirt track to get paid."
Bowyer is the only driver in the Chase without a win. The top 12 drivers in the Chase were seeded by wins, making Bowyer the 12th-place driver in the standings.
"Already, we unloaded and we were really fast in practice," Bowyer said. "I was looking at the sheets and we were really good. I'm really excited about our chances to win our first race right here. That would be so cool to get our first win in the first race of the Chase and get that confidence and that momentum going. That's exactly what this team needs. We saw it with Martin Truex Jr. As soon as he got that win, he rattled off three top-three finishes right in a row and put himself in this Chase. I really think that would catapult this team to the next level."

Matt Kenseth is one of the few NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers who has made the Chase all four years of its existence. His best finish in the Chase standings has been second. He was the runner-up to Jimmie Johnson last year.
And in all four years of the Chase, Kenseth has yet to win a race.
“It’s pretty cool to be part of it again,” said Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion and driver of the No. 17 Ford Roush Fenway Racing. “The goal every year is to try and win the championship, but to do that, you first have to make the Chase. It feels good to get in again. We’ve had a pretty steady year. I wish we could’ve won a few more races, but we’ve had a pretty good year up to this point. I’m happy to be in it, and looking to do something with the opportunity."
Kenseth is tied for sixth place in the Chase standings as the Cup Series heads to New Hampshire International Speedway. Kenseth has always started the Chase strong. He has three top 10 finishes at New Hampshire and was 10th in last year's race. He finished second at New Hampshire in 2004 and third in 2005.
“Every year you always have a little different feeling heading into the Chase," Kenseth said. "Last year, I was very, very confident heading into the Chase and we didn’t run good at all. So, this year, I’m a little less confident than that, but I’m kind of somewhere in the middle of the road. I don’t feel like we’re running as good as the top-four guys. I feel like the rest of the eight, in my opinion, are kind of lumped together and I feel like we can run with most of those guys week in and week out."

Kurt Busch is the lone driver from Dodge in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup. He's also been one of the better drivers in Cup the past couple of months.
He won races at MIchigan International Speedway and Pocono Raceway to climb into the top 12. His wins moved him from 11th place to tied for fourth in the Cup standings.
Now Busch, who won the first Chase in 2004, know how important it is to start the Chase strong.
“To get off to a good start is key. I just feel that you’re not, I guess digging out of a hole so to speak,” said Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing. “So it’s great to start off on a good foot and I’m excited about New Hampshire and some of the success I’ve had in the past and just getting the Chase under way. It’s been a hard-fought battle just to get into it, and we feel refreshed and ready to go. It’s almost like we pressed the reset button, and now we have got another 10 weeks where we have to charge hard.”

Kevin Harvick was the hot driver in the Chase last year. He won the race at Richmond International Raceway, the last race of the regular season, and followed up with a win at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first race in the Chase. After that, his Chase fell apart.
"Last year, we got off to a great start," said Harvick, driver of the No 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "We won at Richmond and then we won at Loudon and then had three bad weeks and found ourselves racing for third through fifth when we got to Homestead. So that's what you've got to avoid. You've got to have 10 solid weeks. We're capable of that. It's just a matter of it all going that way. We've just got to perform well enough 10 weeks in a row."
Harvick is the 11th-place driver in the Chase. His two Richard Childress Racing teammates, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer, are in the Chase. Burton is the 10th seed in the Chase and Bowyer is 12th.
"We need to step it up a bit," said Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Ricahrd Childress Racing. "This is a really strong team and I am very proud of everyone and the job they have done to this point. From the way we have been running I think we need to improve a little bit. We are prepared."

The Chase for the Nextel Cup won't be decided after the first race. But Jimmie Johnson knows a good start will go a long way to winning the Cup championship.
Johnson is definitely on a roll. He's won the past two Cup races, at California Speedway and Richmond International Raceway, and would like to continue that streak at New Hampshire International Speedway.
"If you get off to a fast start in the Chase, you start protecting and if you get off to a slow start, you start charging," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I don't think getting the end result is going to get any easier. But I think my mental strength is much greater than what it was last year. I feel a lot more confidant and I'm sure the team does, too, and more relaxed. It's not going to make our job any easier, but we are coming in without as much pressure on ourselves."
Johnson won both Cup races at New Hampshire in 2003. He is also the top seeded driver in the Chase and has a 20-point lead over second-place Jeff Gordon.
The cars his team is bringing to New Hampshire are new ones. They have never raced before.
"I'm not sure how helpful that will be. I'm excited about the cars we're bringing to the race tracks," Johnson said. "The tracks coming up on the schedule are great tracks for me. I know they are strong tracks for a lot of guys that will be fighting for the championship. I really don't have a clear-cut strategy. It's more about getting in my own head and getting in my own world and putting together the best 10 races that I can and that my team can."

Tony Stewart likes his position in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup. He is third in points, 30 points behind Jimmie Johnson, the leader in the standings.
Stewart knows the odds for him to win the Cup championship. They're not great, but he's definitely not a longshot.
“According to the odds, we’ve got a one in 12 shot," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "We’ve just got to work from there. There are so many variables that go on each week that you can’t control. There’s more variables that you can’t control then you can. You’ve just got to hope every lap that everything goes alright. You don’t want to have any bad luck or have anything bad happen.”
Stewart missed out on last year's Chase. He was the 11th-place driver when the Chase field was made up of the top 10 drivers. The difference: Stewart said he avoided devastating bad luck.
"Last year, we blew a couple of motors up early in the season and the two or three weeks before the Chase we just had some bad, bad races," Stewart said. "This year we ran fourth at Bristol. We had a mediocre day at California and still ended up 13th, and then we came to Richmond and ran second. And as much as we wanted to win at Richmond, I think in the big picture, we’re all just happy that we’ve got a chance to run for the championship this year.”
Stewart's team is bringing the car it raced at Martinsville Speedway to New Hampshire International Speedway. The car started seventh and finished seventh in the April race at Martinsville. He's also won two Cup races at Martinsville, the latest coming in 2005. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate won the New Hampshire race in July. But Stewart isn't counting on past success for the New Hampshire race.
“If you miss on something it can be a miserable day," Stewart said. "It seems like you don’t see but three or four guys during the day that really hit it. That’s what makes a day there miserable when you miss. It’s just a matter of keeping a well-balanced car all day. And it seems like you can have bad track position, but if you have a car that drives well, you can drive your way to the front. It’s not a situation you cringe at if you have a good-driving car.”

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway in July 2006. He also crashed and didn't finish the race at New Hampshire last year.
He's had some very good races at New Hampshire and some very bad ones. This being the first race of the Chase, Busch said he wants to finish it and not take himself out of contention after one race.
"The most important thing we learned is that we need to finish every lap," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Right off the bat last year in this race, we wrecked on lap two. It was a horrible way to start off the Chase. After that, there were only two races out of the 10 where we didn't have problems. So if we can keep the issues to a minimum, then we'll probably be all right. We've run well all year long so we just need to keep that going."
Busch will have a new car for this race. It's only track time was during testing at The Milwaukee Mile last month.
"Obviously, we want to win it all for Hendrick Motorsports, Kellogg's and CARQUEST," Busch said. "We need to come out of the box strong and have some strong runs in both the Impala SS and the Monte Carlo on the intermediate tracks. We've been struggling a little in the Car of Tomorrow races so we need to step up our game on some things."

The drivers for Michael Waltrip Racing, Bill Davis Racing and Team Red Bull, all Toyota teams, tested at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama on Monday. Drivers included Michael Waltrip, the owner and driver of his three-car team, and Jacques Villenueve, the newest addition to Bill Davis Racing.
The teams were testing NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at Talladega. For Waltrip, he was trying to guage how different drafting at Talladega will be with the Car of Tomorrow. For Villenueve, it was his first time drafting with stock cars.
“I don’t really see much of a difference in drafting with the COT versus the other car," said Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. "People can argue it all they want, but I don’t see much difference. I’ve had success in the other car and I know how to draft in it. It seems to me that the biggest difference will be more passing because you fall back on a guy and you can really come back on him. With the other car you really had to time it perfect to be able to make those types of moves. With this car it seems like you can play the game of lying off a guy and getting that big run.”
Villenueve said his first experience drafting was "great fun and really enjoyable," but he had some difficulty with side-by-side racing.
"The car is great to drive and you can see that every driver has their own specialty when they are in the draft," Villenueve said. "I was trying to learn what to do and how to react to various drivers in the draft. When we were side-by-side with another car -- that was challenging to learn what to do because of the ways the air reacts on the car.”
In addition, Villenueve said he needs to learn the language of drafting.
“We mainly need to work on the communication when I am in the draft," Villenueve said. "There were a few confusing moments when I was out in the pack because there is a lot of lingo used that I am perhaps not as familiar with. But I really enjoyed getting out there today -- it was a lot of fun.”

NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup starts at New Hampshire International Speedway. It will be a test for the drivers at the top of the standings to maintain their slim leads. It will be a test for the drivers at the bottom of the standings to see if they can rise and challenge for the top spot in the Chase.
Denny Hamlin won the race at New Hampshire in July. It was his only win of the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps and finished fourth.
Martin Truex Jr. turned in one of his stronger performances of the year at New Hampshire, finishing third.
Truex is the seventh seeded driver in the Chase and the lone driver from Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Chase. His teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is 13th in the Cup standings and not one of the top 12 drivers to qualify for the Chase.
"We'll have a lot to look forward to the next 10 weeks so we're real excited, real happy for everybody at Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats and Chevrolet, just everybody that's been part of the deal all year," said Truex, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "My guys have done an awesome job. I'm real proud of them. It's just a shame Junior isn't going to be in it with us. We could really use his help but those guys had a little too much bad luck but hopefully we can hold up the banner for DEI and give them a run for their money."
New Hampshire and Dover International Speedway rank among the favorite tracks for Truex. He won the race at Dover in June.
"Yeah I love the two tracks we're starting out at but there's a lot of other ones in there I like, too, so I think the only place we haven't really ran well at that we're going to in the Chase is Martinsville and we need to figure that place out," Truex said. "If we can do that we'll have a great shot at this."

Richard Childress Racing is the only NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team will all of its drivers in the Chase. They are 10th, 11th and 12th in the Chase standings, but all are in.
Jeff Burton is the 10th-seeded driver in the Chase, and technically in a tie for sixth with six other drivers. Kevin Harvick is one of those six drivers and seeded 11th. Clint Bowyer is the only driver without a win in the Chase and is seeded 12th.
"We're proud that we got all three teams in the Chase. Game on now," said Burton, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "It's time to get going and we certainly need to try to find a way to step it up a little bit if we're going to beat some of these guys but I have a tremendous amount of confidence of what our team can do and we're just going to go and mash the gas and see what happens. Nobody's picking us to win which is fine and we'll be persistent and try to make some good stuff happen."
Burton's team was able to experiment with the set-up of the car, but it didn't perform as well has he would have liked at Richmond. Burton finished 18th, but said the team gathered some valuable information for the Chase.
"We were a little bit different than we normally are," Burton said. "We did some things (Saturday) night that I think will make us better. Sometimes you learn about things not working out but at the end of the day we were lucky enough to be able to experiment a little bit and our experiment gone bad but I'm proud of our effort. To have all three teams in the Chase is a really cool thing. We'll all fight hard and see what we can make happen here in the next 10 weeks."

Martin Truex Jr. is on the verge of making his first Chase. He is also on the verge of being the lone driver from Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 10-race playoff.
All he has to do is start the race at Richmond International Raceway and he's in. But he doesn't consider his team the favorite to win the Chase.
"The favorite has got to be Jimmie Johnson," said Truex, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "Obviously he is the defending champion and those guys just seem like no matter what happens they can find a way to get a good finish. Somehow, someway, they can run like crap all day and all of a sudden, he's in the top-10 with 20 to go. Where'd he come from, nobody knows. But they're really good at doing that and that's going to be hard to beat. We'll see. We've been able to do that lately here too so hopefully we can keep on doing it."

The chances of Dale Earnhardt Jr. making the Chase are very slim. He needed Kurt Busch to meet some sort of disaster in the past few races. Instead, Busch has won races, won poles, led laps and been a little too much for Earnhardt Jr. to catch.
Earnhardt Jr. has no problem with the way Busch has worked his way into the Chase. There's a better chance Earnhardt Jr. can catch Kevin Harvick for 12th place in the Cup standings after the race at Richmond International Raceway. But catching either driver is unlikely.
"I have dealt with a lot harder and more difficult situations but, we were just beat," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "We were out raced. Kurt out ran us, out qualified us, out ran us. We ran great, in the top-five but we couldn't shake him. He was either ahead of us or right behind us. He deserves credit for making it in to the Chase, because he outran us."
Heading into the last 11 races of the year, and his last 11 with Dale Earnhardt Inc. before moving on to Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt Jr. said he wants to make something good happen.
"We will just have to try from here forward, because the best thing we can do is make is a positive," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Take this negative and make it a positive and come out at the end of the year with the same confidence level we came in to this season with."

Denny Hamlin is already in the Chase, most likely will be seeded fifth when it starts at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sept. 16.
But Hamlin has not exactly finished well in the past two races. He got knocked out early in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway and finished 43rd. He got a flat tire and finished 19th at California Speedway.
Hamlin said he is a little worried about turning his momentum around. He has one race left to do it -- at Richmond International Raceway.
"If I hav