Sports!!

12 Drivers
10 races
1 Champion

All I can say is that its gonna be a great Chase this year. Everyone is talking about how its a three man race. Well, ya know what, everyone is with 80 points of the resident punk, Busch. Quick side note..did you see that nice little move by Jr to take him out. Jr claims he didn’t, but I think he did…or he at least positioned his car to where if Busch bumped into him, he’d spin out. Either way, it was pretty cool. What goes around, comes around and the fans at Richmond were ESTATIC! That’s the type of racing NASCAR fans are wanting, and are used to. And if you read all NASCAR articles surrounding the race, I swear, the old man himself, the Intimidator, was right in that car with Jr. Speaking of Jr., I can’t figure him out. Has been holding back, just bc he knew he was in the Chase or has be been bad, or what. I think its more of the holding back honestly. I think we will see him make a good charge in the Chase. The other two Hendrick drivers in, Johnson and Gordon, couldn’t be more opposite. Gordon has been struggling while Johnson has been red hot. If I had to pick anyone, it would probably be Johnson right now. Gordon has a good chance of getting left in the dust pretty quickly. So, in the Chase, we have 6 Chevys (RCR and 3/4 of Hendrick), 3 Fords (all Roush), and 3 Toyotas (all JGR). Talk about a powerhouse of drivers in this field. Anyone could literally win it and that’s what is so great about this format, it allows that. I’m excited and pumped about the Chase this year. I think we will see 2 drivers kinda get eliminated from contention in the first race. It just kinda happens. About halfway through we will see about 5 or 6 guys competing. Stewart and Harvick will be among them more than likely. They are kinda some sleepers coming in. They haven’t won races this year, but have had a lot of great finishes, especially as of late. The last 3 races we will have only two or three guys up there I think….Johnson, Jr, and Stewart. I don’t think Busch will be able to handle the pressure. Jr will win Dega so that will boost him big time. Maybe its a little favoritism there by stating those three battling it out, but not too sure. Edwards will get hit with something unlucky and won’t be a factor. Busch, as I said, just won’t have quite enough. So, as I said before, my pick to win the Chase: Jimmie Johnson. You gotta know how to get hot at the right time, and my friends, he just has.

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Ok, so we’re halfway thru the NASCAR season and its been an exciting season. Toyota has sure made its mark with Joe Gibbs Racing, especially Kyle Busch…back to him in a second. I knew Toyota would be much improved coming into this year and having Gibbs aboard. I just figured it would be Stewart leading the charge. What a season he is having. He has had a lot of solid runs and be in position to win 3 or 4 races, but had a bad run of luck and victory escaped him. He’ll find his groove in the next few weeks and charge through the bottom of the standings. He has, in effect, become the third fiddle at Gibbs. They claim, along with Stewart not like the Toyota too much, that it didn’t contribute to his decision. If you haven’t heard, Stewart is buying at least 50% ownership of Haas/CNC Racing which will make it Stewart/Haas racing. Its something that doesn’t happen too much nowadays since a lot of investment firms are putting money into current organizations. Owner-drivers aren’t known for success but Stewart could change that. This will be an intriguing story to follow throughout the year. Going back to Busch, what a season he is having, eh? The guy is killer and just won his 7th race in 19 races so far. This dude is amazing. You can love him….you can hate him. He won’t care. He just goes out there and wins. I had a friend point out something the other day. Kyle Busch probably had the most to gain with the new car. He had one of the least seat times in the old car, so it didn’t take him as long to adjust to the new car. I am beginning to think that is true. And this Chicago race proved how good he is. He was second on the last restart. He gets right on the bumper of Jimmie Johnson and then drafts him. He pulls out going into the turn and makes it stick to the outside and Jimmie can’t do a thing. It was exciting to watch, as well as amazing. I don’t know how he does it, the man is solid. And with all of this attention on Busch, NASCAR’s darling, Dale Jr., has been overshadowed a little more than people may have thought. Jr. has bee the flagship of Hendrick, but thats about to change as JJ and Gordon are starting to hit their groove. Jr. finally got the victory monkey off his back with a MI win a few weeks ago. That will allow him to stay a little more focused on the Chase now. Jr., JJ, and Gordon are pretty much locks for the Chase. Roush-Fenway has had some good showings. Carl Edwards started off the season well, lost it a little, but is looking to regain his momentum again. Kenseth is Mr. Consistency. He could start dead last, but by the end of the race he is usually contending for at least a Top Ten finish. Biffle has shown some good signs of life, but is in danger of missing the Chase. As for RCR, Harvick hasn’t won since Daytona 2007, but he is racing well and hard, fighting to stay in the chase. Burton is pretty much a lock with his consistency, but Bowyer is in the same boat as Harvick, in danger of missing out on the Chase.

Its halfway thru the season, so time to do a little more predicting

Current Points Standings before Chicago
(top 12 advance to Chase)
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr.
3. Jeff Burton
4. Carl Edwards
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Greg Biffle
12. Tony Stewart
13. Kevin Harvick
14. David Regan
15. Brian Vickers
16. Ryan Newman
17. Kurt Busch
18. Martin Truex Jr.
19. Bobby Labonte
20. Travis Kvapil

My Picks to make the Chase
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr.
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Jeff Burton
5. Jeff Gordon
6. Carl Edwards
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Tony Stewart
10. Kasey Kahne
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Greg Biffle

My Championship pick: Dale Jr.

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That’s right, tomorrow, February 17th, 2008, is the first official race of the new NASCAR season. And what a season it will be. There are a lot of storylines this year and its only going to get better. Dale Jr FINALLY has some good equipment surrounding him. Being apart of the powerhouse of Hendrick will do wonders for him. He’s already showing what he can do out there. He won the Shootout and then won the first of the Duel 125s. The man will be so strong this year. And being at Daytona is like being home for him because he is one of the best, if not THE best drivers that knows how to work the draft. Very reminiscent of his daddy. Some even say he’s better than his daddy at working the draft, but I’m not too sure of that one. He does have the dominance though. As much as everyone thinks he can and probably will, I don’t think Jr will win the championship this year. For sure, he’ll win some races…I saw about 5, maybe 6. He’ll be in the Chase…he’ll contend, but finish somewhere around the Top 5 I think. My pick for this year is at the end of this blog.

But don’t forget about the other drivers for Hendrick too. Jeff Gordon came oh so close last year to pulling off his 5th championship and probably would have gotten it if not for his teammate’s spectacular year. Jeff Gordon is as hungry as ever and he doesn’t want to be overshadowed by Jr. Look for him to be just as strong as last year, if not stronger. JJ will be going for his 3rd straight championship, which would make him only the second driver ever to win 3 straight, equaling Cale Yarborough’s feat from a while back. I really respect JJ. He’s an amazing driver, but always seems calm, collected, but confident at the same time. I just hope that with Jr, Gordon, and JJ, Casey Mears isn’t a forgotten person. He got his first win last year, so I think we will hear from him more this year and maybe he can add another win or two.

Gibbs Racing is another big storyline as they made the switch from Chevys to Camrys. A lot of people felt betrayed, but you know, its business, and thats how the business goes. I commend Gibbs for doing it. If they ever wanted to get out of the shadow of Hendrick, this was a good way. They will bring Toyota some solid wins this year I think. All three drivers, Stewart, Hamiln, and Kyle Busch drive the wheels off of any machine they hop into. They’ll be able to do just fine in Toyotas. I see Stewart getting one win easy, so he’ll probably end up with 2 if not more and I think Hamlin and Busch can each win one too. Toyota will be very happy to have Gibbs Racing on board.

I really can’t wait to see the season unfold. There will be the usual powerhouses of Hendrick and Gibbs. I think Childress will preform well and Bowyer might end up being the best driver in that mix, not Harvick. But Harvick needs to step up. He hasn’t done a whole lot since winning the 500 last year and wasn’t doing a whole lot before then either. I think he could have a good year…I think RCR as a whole will be strong, it just needs to last the whole season, unlike last year.

So, with the big storylines out of the way, time for my pick to win it all. First of all, I don’t think it will be Jr as I stated above. Great driver, great equipment (finally), but not quite there yet. Give him a year to get used to being with Hendrick and then maybe he’ll pull it off. Should be in the Top 5. Stewart should be good, even if he is in new equipment. But because of the new equipment, he’ll come close, but not quite there. I kinda seem him as a semi-darkhorse because of being in a Camry. Should be Top 5, maybe top 3. One team I haven’t mentioned yet is Rousch Racing. Kenseth is Mr. Consistency, so he’ll be around all year. Carl Edwards didn’t have a bad season last year either, and if he doesn’t focus on the Nationwide series so much, maybe he can do something. There will be at least two Roush drivers in the Chase, if not three (Greg Biffle). JJ is looking for his 3-peat, but won’t quite get there. It will be too tough to top last year’s performance and thats what he’ll have to do in order to do it. Top 5 easily for him, if not Top 3. RCR drivers Harvick and Bowyer should be in there with Bowyer not quite being the darkhorse he was last year. Strong finish for him last year, so I think him and Harvick will make the Chase this year, but won’t do much beyond that. As for my pick to win it all this year….Jeff Gordon. Why? He’s hungry. His teammate (JJ) has won it the past two years. He wants to get closer to the record set by the Intimidator and the King. I am not a big fan of Gordon, but I think he has what it takes this year. What a great year it will be…can’t wait one more second.

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