Burton Takes Top Spot Top 10

There’s a new sheriff in town, well…at least a new king of the hill as Jeff Burton squeaks by Kevin Harvick in this week’s Top 10 power poll. Fueled by a 6th place finish at the Samsung 500 over the weekend Burton is now NASCAR’s hottest driver on the heels of three consecutive Top 10 finishes including a win at the Food City 500 on March 16th.

2. Kevin Harvick – Harvick is very much in Burton’s rearview mirror but finishing 11th and 12th the last two weeks mixed with Burton’s hot streak has caused #29 to slip from the top spot.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – No one is climbing higher and faster than Junior is right now. I didn’t even have him ranked a month ago but after putting together 4 consecutive top 10 finishes he has earned his ranking. Had it not been for his 12th place finish on Sunday he could have been ranked 2nd this week.

4. Kyle Busch – Finishing 3rd in Texas has Bush back in the rankings but he’ll still need more finishes like this to overcome his 38th place finish on March 30th and move up any higher.

5. Tony Stewart – Stewart moves up two spots this week thanks to his 7th place finish that gave him back-to-back top 10 finishes for the first time since February 17th and 24th.

6. Carl Edwards – On March 9th Edwards finished 42nd at the Kobalt Tools 500. Four weeks later he’s taking the checkered flag at the Texas Motor Speedway and checking in at #6 on our Top 10.

7. Denny Hamlin – In the last two weeks Hamlin has accomplished 1st and 5th place finishes and has four top 10 finishes in the last five weeks.

8. Greg Biffle – Biffle’s struggles (placing 39th and 20th the last two weeks) have caused him to fall from our 2nd place spot two weeks ago to 8th this week.

9. Ryan Newman – Newman finished in the top 10 (4th) at the Samsung 500 for the first time since Daytona but still drops a spot this week.

10. Jimmie Johnson – The last two weeks (2nd and 4th place finishes) have been an more accurate picture of the Jimmie Johnson we expected to see all season long.

My Previous Top 10 (From Two Weeks Ago)

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Greg Biffle
3. Kyle Busch
4. Jeff Burton
5. Kasey Kahne
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Tony Stewart
8. Ryan Newman
9. Kurt Busch
10. Matt Kenseth

Agree or disagree? Talk about it in the forum!

Does NASCAR’s New Safer Driving Equate to Boring Races?

One thing I’ve picked up this NASCAR season is that many long-term fans are giving up and walking away from the sport. Even some of the readers of this site who have commented in the past both here and on the message boards are no longer watching the races. The reason why? The car of tomorrow is not conducive to exciting races.

While I’m all in favor of driver safety it has become apparent to NASCAR fans that safety isn’t the issue. Upgrades to the cockpit of the cars are what has made the differences in safety and not changes to the body. Thanks to the changes Michael McDowell was spared serious harm possibly even death but the questions should still be raised as to if the same safety results could have been accomplished with the “old” body styles. I believe that the answer is yes.

The changes to the body have almost nothing to do with safety and everything to do with the sport caving in to pressure from the car manufacturers so that they can highlight new showroom models. The result has left NASCAR with the inability to have side-by-side racing, and even passing for that matter, because the car becomes loose and unstable.

Because of this the bandwagon fans are jumping off quicker than they jumped on and many pure racing fans are moving to IRL where they can see the aggressive fast paced racing that they are used to.

NASCAR’s Man of the Week

Michael McDowell didn’t win the Samsung 500 Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, he actually didn’t even come close, but just the fact that he was able to run in the race and finished it a testament to his physical and mental toughness along with the safety precautions that the sport has taken to protect their drivers. McDowell was involved in a horrific crash just days before the race and yet walked away ready to drive again.

Harvick Leads Off This Week’s Top 10

Spring break is over and I am back from traveling so that means I’ll get back to posting regularly. With no racing over Easter weekend we could easily just refer back to last week’s Top 10 drivers but unfortunately I was traveling and therefore there is no list to look back on. So, here we go!

1. Kevin Harvick – A 2nd place finish at the Food City 500, at Bristol Motor Speedway, was Harvick’s 4th consecutive top 10 finish.

2. Greg Biffle – Back-to-back 4th place finishes at the Food City 500 and the Kobalt Tools 500 along with a 3rd place finish at the UAW-Dodge 400 has Biffle heading to the top.

3. Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch may be leading the points standings but a 17th place finish at the Food City 500 places him 3rd here.

4. Jeff Burton – A win at the Food City 500 puts him at 4th on the Top 10 list but with only one other Top 5 finish this season Burton will have to step up his performance to keep from being bumped down.

5. Kasey Kahne – Since Daytona Kahne has 4 top 10 finishes but none of the are top 5 and an ugly 28th finish at the Kobalt Tools 500 left a mark.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – With three consecutive top 5 finishes Junior is starting to put that 40th place finish at the Auto Club 500 a month ago way behind him.

7. Tony Stewart – The UAW-Dodge 400 and Food City 500 are Stewart’s only non-Top 10 finishes but finishing 43rd and 14th respectively in those two races is enough to knock him down the rankings a little.

8. Ryan Newman – Newman can’t last on just a win in Daytona to start the season. He hasn’t finished a race ahead of where he placed the previous week yet. Hopefully that will change after finishing 33rd in the Food City 500.

9. Kurt Busch – So far a second place finish at Daytona has been the highlight of Kurt Busch’s season. He has failed to finish in the top 10 since.

10. Matt Kenseth – A 10th place finish at the Food City 500 gave Kenseth his second consecutive top 10 finish and marked the third time in four races he’s finished 10th or higher.

Is Carl Edwards a Cheat?

With consecutive wins at the Auto Club 500 and UAW-Dodge 400 Carl Edwards is NASCAR’s hottest driver. He’s won two of the three races, is averaging a 7th place finish and collected $1,129,695 in winnings. His 491 points have him on top of the Sprint Cup standings but a post-race inspection after his win in Las Vegas is raising eyebrows.

The post-race inspection revealed that the oil cap was missing from Edwards’ car, a trend that is actually becoming common in the world of NASCAR. Last month oil caps were found loose or missing on five cars at Daytona in the Nationwide series.

Unlike conventional cars, where the oil is stored in the main engine compartment, Cup cars use a dry-sump system with the extra oil stored in a square steel reservoir tank behind the driver's seat. A missing lid would enable more air to flow into that area of the car, which, at speeds of nearly 200 mph, could provide a slight aerodynamic advantage and more power. While the advantage wouldn’t be substantial it would still be an advantage regardless.

The drivers of the five cars found guilty in the Nationwide series were docked 25 points each and their crew chiefs suspended for six weeks. Should Edwards receive the same penalty it would Kyle Busch in first place in the cup standings because he currently sits only 21 points behind Edwards. Not to mention the possible ramifications of a missing crew chief on future races.

NASCAR’s Cream of the Crop

After just two races we still don’t know a whole lot about who will dominate the field. However, we do have some surprises in our Top 10 this week. Not necessarily with who is in the rankings but with who isn’t. Popular names like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t make this week’s list because they haven’t earned it yet this season.

This Week’s Top 10

1. Kyle Busch – Back-to-back fourth place finishes at Daytona and then the Auto Club 500 make Kyle Busch NASCAR’s most consistent driver through two races.

2. Tony Stewart – Next to Busch’s consecutive fourth place finishes Stewart comes in with back-to-back sixth place finishes through the first two races.

3. Ryan Newman – After winning at Daytona Newman fell to a 10th place finish at the Auto Club 500.

4. Kurt Busch – At Daytona Busch started 43rd and finished 2nd. He followed that with an impressive 13th place finish at the Auto Club 500 after starting 36th.

5. Kasey Kahne – A top five finish has eluded Kahne in the first two races but if he continues to place in the top 10 like he’s already done twice (7th & 9th) he’ll do just fine.

6. Carl Edwards – Winning at the Auto Club 500 was a nice way for Edwards to bounce back from a 19th place finish at Daytona.

7. Kevin Harvick – After starting 16th at Daytona Harvick finished 14th. Then after a 10th place start at the Auto Club Harvick finished 8th. He’s starting 17th this weekend so if the pattern holds he’ll have his worst finish yet at 15th.

8. Brian Vickers – Vickers is knocking on the door of a Top 10 finish after fighting his way from 23rd to 12th at Daytona and 39th to 11th at the Auto Club 500.

9. Greg Biffle – 10th at Daytona and 15th at the Auto Club 500 have Biffle on the radar screen but not yet a threat.

10. Jimmie Johnson – Counting the Gatorade Duel Johnson had won three consecutive poles. Now, if he could just win a race! He came close at the Auto Club by finishing 2nd.

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Newman’s Win At Daytona Means Nothing

I don’t want to rain on Ryan Newman’s Daytona Parade but he is going to have to step it up if he wants to win the Sprint Cup. Yes, I do realize how crazy that sounds! Imagine walking up to Eli Manning and the New York Giants and telling them, “Hey guys, nice game against the Patriots but if you really want to be the best team in the world you’ll have to step it up a notch.”

On NASCAR’s biggest stage Newman was victorious but in the Chase for the Cup is has very little significance. Its tracks like the California Speedway where this weekend’s Auto Club 500 is held that will determine NASCAR’s eventual 2008 champion. Tracks like that will make up the majority of the racing schedule and winning on the oval tracks requires more skill and strategy because speeds tend to be 15-20 MPH slower than the super speedway tracks, like in Daytona.

Kevin Harvick was last year’s Daytona 500 winner and he didn’t win another race the rest of the season. In fact, he only placed a top five finish three other times. So why Newman is the story of the week we want to give him all the kudos due to the Daytona 500 winner but also keep in mind that this race is a very poor marker of how the rest of the season is going to turn out.

Toyota Set to Make A Run in 2008

Last year Michael Waltrip was caught cheating and he along with manufacturer Toyota struggled to get solid footing during their first NASCAR season. Now they are both looking to not only bounce back but also make some serious noise on the track this year but it remains to be seen how they will be welcomed back.

Waltrip jumped back onto the scene by posting the second best speed in pole qualifying Sunday to secure his spot on the front row for the Daytona 500. Now with a secured spot on NASCAR’s biggest stage Waltrip is after redemption.

``There's two types of vindication: There's personal vindication and public vindication,'' Waltrip said. ``This would probably be the public part. Personally, I put it all behind me.''

But how will race fans react to Wallace being in the front row and what if he should win? I’m not sure it would be public vindication as much as it would be speculation. The thing that Waltrip has going for him is that he admitted that there was at least a mistake made (as close to a confession as we’ll hear) and that it cost him dearly in the areas of reputation and most importantly money. Under those circumstances the sports world’s general public is know to be pretty forgiving.

As for the Toyota racing team goes they are literally foreigners treading their own path in a brave new world and this year they will at least force the world to acknowledge them. The addition of the Joe Gibbs racing team, Tony Stewart’s performance at the Budweiser Shootout and Waltrip’s impressive finish in pole qualifying all have Toyota in a better position than they were at any point last season and we’ve yet to run a race for cup points.

Car of Tomorrow Runs Laps at Texas Motor Speedway

We are just under a month away from when the cars start running for real at Daytona but drivers Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya participated in the Goodyear tire test at Texas Motor Speedway becoming the first two drivers to run the new car on the 1 1/2 -mile, high-banked track.

`"It wasn't far off (last year). It was close. I think the race pace is really close,'' said Donnie Wingo, Montoya's crew chief. `"It will get better when everybody gets used to working with it.''

The new Car of Tomorrow is designed to be a safer car and was used in 16 races last season but never in the 1 ½ mile track like the one at Texas. Both Bowyer, who was running more than 200mph coming off the corners, and Montoya were pleased with the way the cars handled.

"There's definitely things that feel different, but I was pleasantly surprised, I really was,'' Bowyer said, "It really handled well and did the things that the old car did, and it felt comfortable. It felt normal,'' he said. "The things as a driver you want to see, the consistency was right there. We were within a couple-hundredths of a second every lap there on the first run.''

NASCAR News and Notes

It’s NASCAR’s off-season so news is slow but there is information out there to be found so here it is.

ESPN’s Terry Blount says Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. are shoe-ins to be the first drivers inducted in the Hall of Fame when it opens in 2010.

David Poole from Life in the Turn Lane takes exception to F1 Drivers dominating Autosport’s list of the world's top-50 drivers for 2007.

Jeff Owens of Fox Sports.com lists 11 drivers who could change the face of the sport by winning races in 2008. I’ll give you a hint; Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon aren’t on it.

Pete Pistone has a good write up about the Car of Tomorrow on RacingOne.com.

Kenny Bruce of SportingNews.com points out that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is under the gun now that he’s with Hendrick Motor Sports.

MotorSportsNews.net writer Heather Meyer takes issue with Penske Racing being allowed to swap points among drivers.

Meanwhile Rick Dupuis writes in the Truro Daily News that he has a problem with another one of the rules of NASCAR.