Harvick’s bubble seems pretty secure, and Scelzi agrees to another season.
By Drew Hierwarter
When the checkered flag drops on the “Chevy Rock & Roll 400″ Saturday night in Richmond, Virginia, the 12 car field for NASCAR’s “Chase for the Championship” will be set. Eight drivers, led by Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon have already secured their spots. But all eyes will be on Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Harvick is in twelfth, Earnhardt is thirteenth with only 128 points separating the two. Earnhardt could mathematically overtake Harvick but realistically it seems unlikely. If Dale, Jr leads the most laps and wins the race, Harvick needs to only finish 33rd or worse to retain his points position. If Jr’s performance is anything less than perfect on Saturday night, Harvick can finish dead last and still make the Chase. And given the way both of those teams have run over the last few weeks, Harvick’s position seems pretty secure. Catch all of the action beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern time on ABC. The Busch Grand National Series will also race at Richmond this weekend. They race tonight (Friday) at 7:30 Eastern on ESPN2. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has the weekend off. Their next race is September 15 at Loudon, New Hampshire.
After a hectic and pressure packed U.S. Nationals, the NHRA also takes this weekend off. There is still some news to report though. Former Funny Car and Top Fuel champion, Gary Scelzi, had earlier stated that he would not race full time in 2008. Claiming that the travel schedule required to race at the top level was taking too much time away from his family and his business. Few if any of the NHRA teams have the luxury of a private fleet of airplanes like those in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series have and most are forced to fly commercial. And that can sometimes add a day or two per event to the time away from home. In a recent interview, Scelzi joked that if he had his own jet he would not be cutting back. Well, it seems that now he has. Scelzi has accepted an offer from NHRA team owner Ken Black to fly him on his private jet to and from at least 10 events in 2008 so that Scelzi can spend more time working at Scelzi Enterprises and still pursue his NHRA Drag Racing career. Black is based in Las Vegas, and Scelsi in Fresno, California so it’s just a short hop to pick him up each week. This has now enabled Gary to commit to compete in all 24 national events in 2008 with Don Schumacher Racing, driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car. And Schumacher, along with Scelzi’s legion of fans, couldn’t be happier.
This weekend should prove to be another interesting one on the many short tracks around our great nation. The World of Outlaws winged sprint cars will be in action in Chico, California, and local racers all over the country will be experiencing the highs and lows that racing can bring. Be sure to find a track in your area and go see what all the excitement is about!
All photos by Drew Hierwarter