Three for the Chase, Kimmel gets nine.
Monday, October 15th, 2007By: Drew Hierwarter
After Saturday night’s “Bank of America 500” at Lowes Motor Speedway the NASCAR Nextel Cup “Chase for the Championship” is, for all practical purposes, down to three competitors. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer, in that order. While it’s true that all twelve Chase drivers still have a mathematical chance at the championship, the reality is that unless the wheels come completely off the Hendrick duo’s war wagon and Clint Bowyer suffers a total meltdown of his team, everybody else is running for whatever they can salvage at this point. Tony Stewart, currently fourth and 198 points behind leader Jeff Gordon, may still rise to third or even second, but most experts feel that his third championship will not be this year.
This has been Jeff Gordon’s year so far and the team shows no sign of that changing. They have won races by working strategy, by dominating performances, and by sheer luck. Gordon’s win Saturday night at Lowes was a perfect example. Ryan Newman had the strongest car in the late stages of the race and was looking like he would get the win when inexplicably; he spun out all by himself. And just like that, Jeff Gordon is in victory lane again, for the sixth time this year, and the 81st time in his career.
Gordon’s Hendrick teammate, Jimmie Johnson had an uncharacteristically bad night at Lowes. A track that he has all but owned for the last two and half years. An unforced mistake and spin on the back stretch led to several pit stops for repairs and a finish of 14th. That dropped him to 68 points behind Gordon. But this team came from farther behind than that last year to win their first championship, and they certainly can do it again. The guy nobody has been talking about through all of this is RCR’s Clint Bowyer. All season long he has had consistently good finishes and has been quietly moving up in the points. And now he stands poised as the only one with a real chance to spoil the Hendrick party and take the big prize. It certainly will be fun to watch.
Congratulations go out to Frank Kimmel for winning his record setting ninth ACRA/ReMax championship. Kimmel wrapped up the season with a fifth place finish in the “Hantz Group 200” finale at Toledo Speedway on Sunday. The race was won by rookie sensation Michael McDowell in a thrilling two car battle with James Buescher that wasn’t settled until there were only two laps to go. This was McDowell’s final race in the ARCA/ReMax series as he will move on to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for 2008.
In a strange decision during an even stranger Formula 1 season, the FIA has ruled that they will send inspectors to the McLaren garage for the season finale in Brazil next week. These inspectors are supposedly going to be there to ensure that team drivers Fernando Alonzo and Lewis Hamilton, Jr., are receiving equal equipment. It’s been no secret that Alonzo has felt that the team is favoring Hamilton and giving him the better equipment at times. It’s not clear just exactly what these inspectors will be able to do if, for example, the tire pressures on one car or the other are not set properly, but it should be fun to watch it all unfold.