Mike Neff: *You’re 46 years old, brother! How much longer are you going to do this?*
Jeff Agnew: I really don’t know. My boss, Eddie Asbury up in Bluefield, he loves to race and we all love to race. If we can keep going out and be fairly competitive, and put on a good show, I really don’t know. We’ll just keep going as long as we can go.
Say what you will about the wisdom of Brian France, but for all of his questionable decisions in the past (like moving the annual Sprint Cup awards banquet from New York City to Las Vegas, like hiring the over-the-top-eccentric comedian Carrot Top to help “roast” Jimmie Johnson before a live audience, like taking a pro-social media stance in an effort to attract more young fans, like striving to make stock car racing look more ecologically-friendly), his idea for The Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship is beginning to look like a good one. It’s taken several years, in my opinion, but recent (at least since 2011) results appear promising.
*Championship Update*
Having gone into Martinsville Speedway as the points leader, Ty Dillon suffered his worst career finish of 28th after a blown right front tire caused significant damage to his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. As a result, James Buescher has taken a pretty substantial 21 marker advantage heading into the type of track Turner Motorsports has accelerated at for much of the year–intermediate. Early season leader Timothy Peters find himself just 25 points behind in what is likely now just a three horse race.
So I’ve been having one of those waxing nostalgic types of weeks. You know, the ones where you sit and take stock of where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’ve going; a look at history is always healthy when you’re trying to plan out your future. It’s the type of moment that hits most stock car folk in the ninth month of a grueling season, the November ending to a 36-race marathon that always seems to have fans, drivers, everyone involved ready to drop heading to the finish line. (A topic for another day.)
As a writer, I do my best to stay objective and look at the broad picture when it comes to these championship runs. But I have to admit, I was disappointed when I saw Denny Hamlin come to a dead stop on the frontstretch because of a mechanical failure at Martinsville. It wasn’t because I wanted him to win the championship or even the race for that matter. Rather, I was hoping for a three-man joust for the title at Homestead to one-up the riveting battle between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards last season.
The crew chief situation at Richard Childress Racing is in revolving door mode again, as it was announced this week that Drew Blickensderfer would be …
Happy Halloween! How many drivers do you think are “scared” after last weekend’s crazy race at Martinsville? I can tell you Jimmie Johnson is nothing but confident with three races left, though the margin between he and Brad Keselowski should at least make him slightly nervous. The sixth-place result from the No. 2 team, a career best from their driver leaves the two-time Chaser within striking distance.
So after a terrific season of racing for the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2012, with a mostly optimistic outlook for 2013 and even bigger possibilities for 2014, the powers that be at INDYCAR finally decided to do something about the persistent rumors concerning the security of CEO Randy Bernard’s job. The decision was the only thing marring a series that finally seemed to gain forward momentum and was slowly but surely winning back some lost fans. Did they finally step up Sunday and offer Bernard their unwavering support, showing strength in unity and their faith in his leadership, while making it clear to restless car owners and delusional family members that Bernard was their man, his plan was their plan, and anyone not on board could find the door? Nope. Instead, they got out their cannon, because they are far beyond just a simple gun, and blew the proverbial foot off of what is supposed to be the premier open-wheel racing series in America.
*Jimmie Johnson’s win at Martinsville propels him into the points lead with three races to go in the season — will the change from defensive mode to offensive for opponent Brad Keselowski change the outlook from here on out?*
Phil: Well, I think they’ll both be on the offensive this weekend in Texas.
Summer: I’ve been saying for a few months now that Jimmie Johnson will win the championship and I’m sticking by that.
After an off week while the Cup and Truck Series traveled to Martinsville, the Nationwide Series returns to action this weekend at Texas.
And the race for the series title couldn’t be much closer than this one.
With three races to go in 2012, three drivers sit within reasonable contention for the end-of-year trophy, with the top two separated by a mere half-dozen points. Elliott Sadler, in the final year of his tenure with Richard Childress Racing, holds the lead by a slim six-point margin over defending champion, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Rookie Austin Dillon sits third, 26 points back.