Frontstretch.com: The best seat at the track... the best view on the net! Friday, November 20th 2009

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Race #9 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday November 17, 2009

As the sun sets on the 2009 Sprint Cup season, many unknowns float around the garage, such as the destinations of free agent drivers, the future of unsponsored teams, and the next step for the dozens that already have been laid off from race teams and soon will be. One question that seems answered already is the who will claim the championship, as Jimmie Johnson only has to finish 25th or better at next week’s race in Homestead to claim his unprecedented fourth-straight crown. While the No. 48 team’s performance has had few kinks in it through the year, the competitiveness of several other teams has fallen from good to questionable through the season’s closing weeks, while some other teams and drivers seem to be turning the corner. Here are this week’s HOT, WARM, and COLD drivers.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Race #8 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday November 10, 2009

The Texas Tea Party we all witnessed Sunday ended up tasting like fuel, as Kurt Busch claimed his second season victory in the Dickies 500. While the race had its dull moments (er…stretches), the finish surprisingly was more exciting than last week’s 500-mile parade in Talladega, with Kyle Busch running out of fuel with two laps left to hand the victory to brother Kurt. Adding to the excitement was Jimmie Johnson’s Lap 3 crash and subsequent 38th place finish tightening the points (and likely making a Phoenix title clinch out of the question.)

The wreck also takes Johnson out of the HOT category for the first time in a long while. Read on to see if your favorite driver made the HOT, WARM, or COLD lists this week…

Who's Hot/Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Race #7

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday November 3, 2009

Honestly, I’m more torn than the rest of you about the events during Sunday’s Amp Energy 500. Of course, my view on the issue may be skewed by the fact that I was sitting low in the grandstands, near the entrance to pit road, and could only see a half of a lap or so in person. With the radio broadcast booming over the loudspeakers and the freight train of horsepower bellowing through my chest and inverting my eardrums, I was slightly more tolerant of the periods of single-file racing. In my opinion, the dialed down racing allows anticipation to build, before the pack breaks loose and unpredictability reigns.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Race #6 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday October 27, 2009

The usual suspects played “follow the leader” at Martinsville in what proved to be a fairly competitive race. Jimmie Johnson, winner of five of the last six races at the track, led a large portion of the middle of the event, eventually losing the point to Denny Hamlin. But Hamlin, who had a score to settle with Johnson after getting bumped out of the way for the race win back in March, was able to hold Johnson off on several restarts in the waning laps to capture his second win at his second hometown track. After two lousy weeks, Hamlin needed a victory, and methodically worked through the pack to get it.

The only problem this poses for fans of a tight points race is that Johnson finished ahead of his closest championship competitors.

Who's Hot / Who's Not In Sprint Cup: Chase Race #5 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday October 20, 2009

Going into Saturday’s “The Word Bank is in the Title Sponsorship Name Too Much” 500, the Chase points were the tightest in the format’s six-season history. But leaving Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the seemingly bulletproof No. 48 team of Jimmie Johnson now has the biggest lead of any driver through five Chase races. Talladega was supposed to be the biggest difference maker, but “The Beast of the Southeast” in Charlotte helped drive apart some of the leaders at the top of the standings. Just like what usually happens at LMS (and at its sister track in Atlanta), some oft-struggling teams found a chance to bask in the evening spotlight by running in the top 10 or 15, leaving the Chasers to beg for scraps at the back of the field. Honestly, there aren’t many truly HOT teams this week (considering the Hendrick Motorsports dominance especially abounding in these playoffs), but the WARM and COLD teams are easier to categorize.

Five Points to Ponder: Pepsi 500 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Monday October 12, 2009

While most of Sunday’s race was a certified yawning contest, the late laps drama and some of the developing stories going into the Pepsi 500 left plenty for the masses to debate this week – and that is without any Chase discussion. While Mike Lovecchio takes a much-needed day off, five big thoughts creep into mind as the Sprint Cup Series leaves the Left Coast.

1. Gilliland picked as Busch’s replacement before the race

Sure, it all made sense. David Gilliland is scheduled to drive several races in a fourth JGR No. 02 Toyota, so he was a natural replacement for the ill Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Sunday. Gilliland would simply throw on his driver suit and helmet, wait patiently in the team’s pit until the first caution, and then assume the helm of easily the best hot rod of his NASCAR career.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Race #3 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday October 6, 2009

There have been far more defining races at Kansas Speedway, as far as points are concerned, than Sunday’s Price Chopper 400 — where everyone left with virtually the status quo. However, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, one and two in the Chase both going into and leaving the race, let the standings behind them compress, as while despite starting the day on Row 1 they finished 7th and 9th. Because of clever strategy and a fast pit stop, Tony Stewart grabbed the lead during the last caution sequence and held off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon to win the event. But Chasers took nine of the top 10 finishing spots, leaving little room for other drivers to show much muscle and making the early “Jimmie Johnson wins the 2009 title at Dover” declarations look silly (especially since Mark Martin has led the points the whole Chase). By the way, drivers leading the standings after Race 3 have won three of the five Chases to date. But I digress…

Anyways, here are this week’s HOT, WARM, and COLD drivers of the week – as always, keep in mind that these are not in any kind of order nor are they the full list of every driver in each category.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Race #2 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday September 29, 2009

Surprise, surprise…Jimmie Johnson is the early favorite to win the Sprint Cup Series title. The three-time defending Chase champ dominated the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway en route to fourth win of the year and season sweep at the Monster Mile. Johnson led 271 of the 400 laps and never had a real challenge once he assumed the point. The other clear Chase favorites, Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya, finished 2nd and 4th respectively, while Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin left enough on the table to raise doubts about their title hopes.

Outside the top 12, Kyle Busch also deflated the confidence of many in his easily being able to hold the title of “Best of the Rest”. Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 DeWalt Ford, likewise, was the fastest it had been since the last trip to concrete mile. Here is a look at this week’s HOT, WARM, and COLD drivers of the week.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Sylvania 300 Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday September 22, 2009

Was that New Hampshire we witnessed on Sunday? Was that the same track that, at times, has lent itself to single-file boredom? Especially in the closing laps, Sunday’s Sylvania 300 was a barnburner with Chasers Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, and Juan Pablo Montoya sparring against each other for the lead. And while Martin went to Victory Lane, seven other Chasers filled out the rest of the top 10 while all but Kasey Kahne finished in the top 20. Meanwhile, a couple of other drivers also had surprising runs and Kyle Busch had a quiet but solid day, establishing himself as the likely Chase spoiler of those drivers on the outside looking in. So, as the Cup Series leaves the Granite State for the final time this year, let’s take a look at this week’s HOT, WARM, and NOT drivers.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Chase Elimination Edition

Doug Turnbull · Tuesday September 15, 2009

Maybe Kyle Busch smashing that Sam Bass-crafted guitar earlier this year was bad luck after all. Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway proved to play a different tune than Busch’s preference, though the racing Gods left enough light at the end of the tunnel for the No. 18 team to almost taste the Chase rainbow. But Brian Vickers and upstart Team Red Bull had other ideas, with Busch’s newly formed foe getting just enough leeway to qualify for its first ever playoff. Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth had just enough of a gap between himself, Busch, and Vickers to run midpack and still make the Chase, but instead fought a mighty ill-handling No. 17 en route to missing his first 10-race playoff since the Chase began in 2004.

As that drama line played out, Denny Hamlin put on another driving school lasting until the closing bell, claiming a Sprint Cup victory for the first time at his home track.

The Frontstretch: dturnbull by -- Friday November 20, 2009

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