411 Raceday Review-Preview for Richmond into Darlington
Posted by Greg Kentz on 05.13.2007
Hendrick, Johnson, and Chevy keep things the same. Junior changes ‘em up…
The Jim Stewart 400 presented by Crown Royal…
Jimmie Johnson returned to victory lane after an extended losing streak of three races. Johnson victory was his series leading 4th, and the 7th in the last 8 races for Hendrick Motorsports. After their least dominant performance of the year Chevy returned to the front in a big way grabbing 7 of the top 9 spots, including the first 4. Johnson's Hendrick teammates Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon continued the company line of strong COT showings, as the 5 came in 2nd and the 24 in 4th. Splitting the Dupont car and the Kellogg's car was Denny Hamlin in the #11 Fed Ex Chevy, who again looked great, but couldn't seal the deal and settled for a very nice third.
Several pairs of teammates rounded out the rest of the top 10. The Penske duo of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman posted their second straight week of dual top ten finishes, coming in 5th and 6th. Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick followed in 7th, with teammate Clint Bowyer in 9th. Unfortunately for RCR, third teammate Jeff Burton's engine failed, and he finished in 43rd. Tony Stewart joined his Gibbs teammate Hamlin in the top ten with an 8th place finish. Rounding out the top ten was Matt Kenseth in 10th, the highest finish for any Ford machine. Just outside the top ten was Dave Blaney in 11th, which was the best effort to date for the #22 team.
If the Chase Started Today…
The world returned to its normal axis as Jamie McMurray fell 100 laps off the pace and fell six spots in the overall standings, and now is outside of the Chase field of twelve. Taking his place in the top twelve is the slightly more popular Dale Earnhardt Jr, who is making a run at the title in what will be his final season at DEI. Here's what the Chase field would look like if the regular season ended today.
1. Jimmie Johnson- 5040 points
2. Jeff Gordon- 5020 points
3. Kyle Busch- 5010 points
3. Kevin Harvick- 5010 points
3. Jeff Burton- 5010 points
3. Matt Kenseth- 5010 points
7. Denny Hamlin- 5000 points
7. Tony Stewart- 5000 points
7. Kurt Busch- 5000 points
7. Clint Bowyer- 5000 points
7. Carl Edwards- 5000 points
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.- 5000 points
Flag waving time…
Every week, I'd like to stop and hand out flags to drivers to rate their performance, obviously green flag means keep on racing you are doing great, yellow is a caution you should probably be careful, Red means stop right now you need an immediate correction, and perhaps somebody could get black flagged from time to time, meaning they need to be taken off the track altogether. The last black flag I could think of would be Michael Waltrip crashing his personal car because he was "sleepy" and then fleeing the scene. Anyway, here we go:
Green Flag: Hendrick Motorsports: 1st, 2nd, and 4th. That's a great day all around, as a bonus Casey Mears managed a top 20 finish as well. Penske Racing: Both drivers in the top ten for the second straight week, this season seems like its going to end much better than last year. Richard Childress Racing: All three cars set to make the chase, and as a bonus they have to be the favorites to win the Dale Jr. sweepstakes.
Yellow Flags: Joe Gibbs Racing: Consistently placing cars in the top five, just not in victory lane. Ginn Racing: Much improved over last season, but only Mark Martin has been consistent.
Red Flags: Evernham Racing: Scott Riggs is outside the top 35, Kasey Kahne has been mired in a season long slump, and Elliott Sadler, the only driver with even a little bit of success this season, is falling out of contention. Michael Waltrip Racing: Its been tough to say the least, David Reutimann has been successful at qualifying, but both Waltrip can't make a race, and Dale Jarrett has been dismal so far this year.
Black Flags: DEI: Allowed the most popular driver in the sport to get away, that's poor management. You can't put a price on what Junior means to a team, well I can't, they apparently did.
Last week's predictions…
A top 15 finish for David Ragan in the #6 Ford.
A top 10 finish for Scott Riggs in the #10 Dodge.
Outside of the top 20 for Juan Montoya in the #42 Dodge.
Outside the top 30 for Carl Edwards in the #99 Ford
Not bad, way off, got that one, and way off. Not the best start, my ‘by the manufacturer' predictions…
Blaney for Toyota, Kenseth for Ford, Busch for Dodge, and Bowyer for Chevy.
3 for 4 there isn't too bad, Bowyer didn't really have a chance, but did manage a top ten.
And now we're off to… Darlington Recent History Suggests…
Greg Biffle has one the last two season's trips to Darlington, and he is among several multiple time winners at the track. Jimmie Johnson swept both races from the 2004 season, and other multiple winners include Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton and Sterling Marlin. Ward Burton and Dale Jarrett each have several wins here, but neither could qualify for the Dodge Avenger 500.
There's The White Flag, Let's Bring It Home…
Team Red Bull got both drivers into this week's contest, so a few of the usual guys are out this weekend. Dale Jarrett joins Michael Waltrip on the sidelines, and Scott Riggs failed to qualify which essentially ends his season, and just about sets the top 35 for the year. Let's jump into the predictions.
The best Dodge will be Bobby Labonte.
The best Chevy will be Jeff Burton in a bounce back performance after last week's 43rd place finish.
The best Toyota will be Dave Blaney again this week.
The best Ford and the race winner will be Carl Edwards in the 99, giving us a backflip, and finally Carl's motorcoach driver Tom Giacchi can shave.
That does it for this week, I'll see you next time.
greg
