The year is 2013. On September 13th (Friday the 13th, btw) NASCAR made an unprecedented decision to put Gordon into the Chase as a 13th entry following a week of juggling and penalties concerning Michael Waltrip Racing drivers at Richmond.

Gordon logged his first win of the season in Martinsville at the GOODY’S Headache Relief Shot 500 which has injected new hope into the #24 with three races remaining. He has driven from the 13th points slot to 3rd. However, these next three races may stretch the luck of his drive. He is 27 points off the lead. The mathematics of racing keeps him within the margin but Lady Luck needs to keep smiling on the #24 and turn sour on Hendrick team mate Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing. The #48 and the #20 are tied for the first position following Martinsville. (more…)

Jimmie Johnson keeps pushing but just can’t seem to cross into the front of the points. He won at Dover and almost had it in Charlotte but still holds a firm grip on second place. There is still enough room in the schedule to gain the points needed to move up but he does have to race better than the current leader, Matt Kenseth.

Talladega is next, followed by Martinsville. These two races offer big chances to move up, not just for Johnson but also for some that are back double digits. Kevin Harvick is 29 points off the front, while Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch are 36 and 37 points back. Talladega could shake the box quite a bit as the constant threat of a big crash taking out contenders lingers on every lap. The short track at Martinsville has been a winning track for Johnson and Gordon but the last bunch of meetings there have seen others pop into Victory Lane. (more…)

Three races down and on the heels of the fourth. So far it has been a run for Matt Kenseth with Jimmie Johnson squeezing in closer at Dover. Kenseth won the first two away from Richmond.

Dover was an interesting run as Johnson and nine other CHASE drivers filled the Top 10 at the checkers. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. started from the pole but could not overcome an early pit road mistake and was chasing the lead from that point on to finish 2nd. Jeff Gordon, the “Lucky 13th” following the MWR shake-up at Richmond, finished 4th. Kyle Busch finished 5th but remains in the number 3 slot for total points.

Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick/Lowes #48 moved up to the #2 points slot, now sandwiched between Joe Gibbs Racing Kenseth and Kyle Busch.

Kansas is next up and Kevin Harvick will start from the front. Harvick and Gordon are both 39 points off the lead in 4th and 5th place in The CHASE.

Seven races remain, including Kansas. It is these next few, likely through the tough, little track at Martinsville at the end of the month, that can determine if the Top 3 remain as the main battle. However, luck and nerves can still shake it up. One or two bad races for some mixed with really good runs for others could see more drivers in the points squeeze moving forward. It would make for a good show for the fans if those points gaps tightened!

The race, and The CHASE, is ON! We’re looking forward to seeing it up close as they return to our neck of the woods at Martinsville. Until then, like you, we’ll be keeping an eye on who moves up, and back, over these next weeks.

Go Racing – We’ll see you there!

Martinsville. It can be a turn to turn slug-fest or a lap by lap run down trading positions. The classic scenario mixes the two for moves through the field and pushing the way to the front.

This weekend we got a bit of the classic Martinsville. Twenty-two lead changes, plenty of clashing bumpers with some spins and wall-hangers to an “anyone could take it” 20 lap final.

This was the Chase from Martinsville as the track celebrated 65 years of racing with Hall Of Famers, a showing of historic memorabilia at a local museum, a points grab on the line and a return to his car by one of the top stars of NASCAR.

If that wasn’t enough to make a full day throw in a constant threat of hurricane Sandy off the eastern coast and another front pumping through from the west. As the race ran through scheduled 500 laps it was raining 80 miles west and 100 miles east. Martinsville sat between the weather for racing but 15 minutes after the checkered flag the temperatures began to plummet and the wind was kicking it.

Martinsville fans are used to dealing with a little weird weather but this may have pushed it up a notch. (more…)

They waited until the white flag. It was as if someone said “last chance to smack it all silly!”

There were some close calls earlier in the race at Talladega. A touch, a spin, a slide up the track or down to the infield but somehow most checked or got by…

Until the last lap.

The racing had gotten hot. Gordon had made a run up. Earnhardt, Jr. had a run. Johnson was there at some point. Kahne started on pole and ran with it. Kenseth was there at the end but it looked like Stewart could make a run and go.

It was Tony Stewart, he had gone up the track a bit and was coming back towards the inside on the white flag lap. It was a green-white-checkered run following a touch-up with Jamie McMurray being tagged by Harvick.

Stewart, on a dive back to the inside, did not catch the speed that Michael Waltrip had worked up. The left rear of the #14 tagged the right front of the #55… (more…)

Rain… It is as necesary as air…

However, on race day for NASCAR Sprint Cup, it is as unwelcome as a Bud hat in a Miller campsite…

The entire season blew the storm of the Chase into Richmond with wildcards and points on the line. That storm was put off as another storm blew in and kept the race in the garage for almost two hours. NASCAR and RIR staff kept things tight as the rain moved out. After all, the plan was to run under the lights. The weather was watched and the decision was held. Jet dryers and utility vehicles did a number on the track to dry it out but even then they ran the first few laps under caution.

Finally they went green on a green track with any rubber from qualifying and the Nationwide race the day before  thrown to the inner wall. The crowd braved the rain to watch Jeff Gordon blow by pole sitter Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Dale, Jr. to regain the lead shortly after. (more…)