With three races to go in The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, there are four drivers within 84 points of Matt Kenseth's lead. Realistically, the top five drivers are the only ones with a shot at winning it all.
Kenseth, who won the title in 2003, would make a fine repeat champion. He's certainly got the credentials.
Jimmie Johnson has been more consistent than any other driver the past five years. He's finished in the top five every year since entering NASCAR's elite division. But, then, there's that Daytona thing hanging over his head.
Jeff Burton is tied for fourth in the points. He'd make a fine champion and is a great spokesman for the sport, but it wouldn't be all that exciting.
Denny Hamlin has had a great rookie season with two victories. He sits third in the points, and what a coup it would be for a rookie to win it all. What a story it would make, for sure.
That brings us to the fifth and final candidate -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. If somehow Junior is able to get past the guys in front of him and be on top of the standings when that final checkered flag waves at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it'll set of a celebration the likes of which we haven't seen in this sport for a long time. Can you imagine, another Earnhardt winning a NEXTEL Cup Series championship? Junior will be the most celebrated champion since, well, his father in 1994. Jeff Gordon has been a great ambassador for the sport, but even his popularity is no match for Junior's.
If Junior is able to win the championship, which he is certainly capable of doing with two of his best tracks coming up -- Texas and Phoenix -- then the post-season party might last well beyond Speedweeks at Daytona in February. You might not be able to buy a piece of championship memorabilia. Everybody will be wearing red.
Has anyone bothered to even go over the last six races and see just who has been the most consistent performer in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series? I'll tell you one thing, it hasn't been Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick or Burton.
Nay, the most consistent performer over the past six weeks is a driver not even involved in The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. It's none other than Carl Edwards, who many picked to win the whole thing this year.
In the last six races, Edwards has scored a total of 851 points. The closest drivers to him are Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers — two others not involved in The Chase — with 805 points. The closest driver that is involved in The Chase is Kenseth, who has 803 points.
That being said, had Edwards have made The Chase and came into in 10th place in the standings, he would now be leading the standings by three points over Kenseth.
Kinda, whacky, eh?
It's starting to look more and more like Evernham Motorsports has got it together now, with Scott Riggs' fair, but consistent performance over the second half of the season. And then there's Kasey Kahne, who leads the NEXTEL Cup Series in victories this year. He's got a shot at a couple of more as well, so don't be surprised to see him in Gatorade Victory Lane the rest of 2006 (most likely again at Texas).
That being the case, watch out for Kahne in 2007. Now that the program has found something, Kahne's maturity as a driver has kicked in as well, and he can only get better as time goes on. Look for him to be one of the championship favorites next season. This Chase experience is teaching him a lot, and he'll be even better equipped to handle the pressure next year.
A honest mistake? Perhaps. Blatant disregard for anybody but yourself? Could be.
I don't know what was in Brian Vickers' heart when he hit Jimmie Johnson from behind Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, and I'm not his judge and jury, as the Bible tells me. All I can offer is opinion. In an age where money, fame and self are all that's important to most people in the world, Brian Vickers did exactly what a lot of people expected he would do. He hadn't won a race, he was leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season anyway, so, why not go for the gusto? The consequences could be more than Vickers bargained for.
Now, every time he gets introduced at a race, instead of the smattering of applause he might have received, he's going to be greeted with a healthy chorus of boos. You have to remember, not only did he take out Jimmy Johnson, but he also took out everyone's hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr. It's a wonder that fans didn't tear the house down at Talladega. Now I hear that Vickers may have to have extra security this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
I hope it was all worth it, Brian. As well all do, you're the one that has to live with the consequences of your actions.
But again, in such a self-motivated world, it's the norm. Most people would probably applaud you for what you did. What a shame that is.
I know there's a lot of you out there that have gone to races at Talladega Superspeedway. It's one of the more popular tracks out there among the fans. Anyone out there with positive comments about the place? Tell me about some tailgating experiences you might have had there. Looking for some great stories from Talladega.
I need to hear from the fans again....all of you who have ever tailgated at NASCAR races, what is your favorite tailgating music?
Sweet Home Alabama is too easy, but it's most appropriate at Talladega.
Thanks for your time and help.
I appreciate your comments about Kansas Speedway, although I was hoping for a few more positive comments about the track. Let me try this again. Of those of you that have been to Kansas, are there any nice memories you have of your visit there? Was the race a good race and did you have a good time? Did you get any driver autographs or get into the garage area and get pictures of the drivers, meet any of them, etc? Any nice memories of Kansas, or any of the other tracks remaining -- Talladega, Lowe's, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix or Homestead-Miami — would certainly be appreciated. There's got to be some great memories of a race and one of these tracks, or else you wouldn't be race fans, would you?
Again, your comments are appreciated.
Anyone out there have any comments about Kansas Speedway and what it's like to go to a race there? I'll be asking for comments about every track for the rest of the schedule this season. Let's start with Kansas first, but if any of you out there have some thoughts on any of the other tracks — Talladega, Lowe's, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, I would certainly love to hear them.
Thanks so much for your help.
Mark Martin is now telling us that he may run a limited schedule in the NEXTEL Cup Series or even a full-time deal in 2007, just not in the No. 6 Ford at Roush Racing. I don't know about you, but this is getting a bit tiresome. Didn't we hear this retirement talk from, say, Michael Jordan, about 150 times? What about Sugar Ray Leonard, the boxer? He came in and out of retirement a few hundred times as well.
Martin looks as if he'd be an instant championship contender in the truck series, so why not just go full-time with that? He always says that he's not doing this just to win a championship. He's not fooling anybody anymore, that's just what he's doing. He wants to win a Cup Series championship worse than anything else in the world, otherwise he would just quit.
You're crying wolf too many times, Mark. The media just doesn't believe you any more, and neither should the fans. Get out while you still have some dignity left, will ya?
The souvenir program at Michigan International Speedway is not outdated. As we all know, situations in NASCAR change very quickly, and information can get old quickly, so cut ISC Publications a break. The staff is very much aware that Mark McFarland has been replaced as the driver of JR Motorsports' No. 88 NAVY Chevy, and that Todd Parrott has returned to Robert Yates Racing. The fact that Jeremy Mayfield is on the cover is because he won last year's race. It's just that the program is put together in advance of the race. Stuff happens.