NASCAR’s biggest names could miss Top-12 cut
Quote selected text Published June 3rd, 2008 in NASCAR News
Even with the field for NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship expanded to 12, some big-name drivers are in danger of not making it.
Such drivers as perennial contender and 2004 champ Matt Kenseth (16th this week) and Kurt Busch (a distant 21st). And two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champ Jeff Gordon are living on the bubble, to make the 12-man September cut, though they improved to sixth and seventh this week after Sunday’s race in Dover, Del.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards finished the championship run 1-2-3 - and then all three failed to make the cut the next season.
With his win Sunday at Dover (his fourth in 13 races this season), Kyle Busch and his Toyota teammates at Joe Gibbs’ operation are hot. Ford’s Jack Roush has things finally going his way, and Richard Childress does appear to have righted his ship, though - Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer are leading that parade.
But elsewhere in the NASCAR garage, things are very up-and-down.
Kasey Kahne, for example, had a dog of a season in 2007, but has been hot for the past three weeks, nudging his way into that coveted 12th and final Chase spot.
Biffle is picking up steam, too, though he’s still looking for his first tour win since last September at Kansas.
NASCAR’s new car seems to have thrown a wrench into everyone’s playbook.
Edwards, despite his three quick wins, calls the season “very strange.
“I think about it every day, every night before I go to bed - ‘What can we do?’ There are times you show up at a track and you’re just fast, everything is great. Seeing it with Jimmie and Jeff, they were so fast last year. Now they’re not as fast. I don’t know whether they’re having trouble …”
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Isn’t it a little early to start w/ these “on the bubble” stories and scenarios? We’re 13 races into the season and by my count there’s still 13 races to go until the Chase field is set! There’s more than enough time for someone like Kenseth or Kurt Busch to go on a run and fly up the charts, and plenty of time for someone like Stewart to stay in a funk and miss the chase. Just let it play out over the next 7 or 8 weeks and then break these articles out with about 5 races to go!
I agree with Jeff
There is a lot of time, laps, and development to go.
I remember Elliott Sadler was 3rd in points at Daytona (Pepsi 400)
and he failed to make the chase… thats with 8 races to go…
Jeff wrote:
TNT has the next 6 races and remember their tagline is “We Know Drama”.
l0l
hahaha well Kenseth will make the chase…whether or not he is a contender is beyond me….
the top 3 Runners for the Title IMHO….is Kyle Busch, Dale Jr and Carl Edwards…that have all been consistent and knokcing off top-5s….JR will win more than 3 races and most of his wins will come in the later half of the year when they count the most…burton and his streaks of top-15s will not win him a championship…gordon and johnson COULD get a lot better and be contenders…but with the way they are running now its a no…but this is also not even halfway yet…anything can happen…but right now its the 18, 88 and 99
it is going to be interesting to see WHO misses/makes the chase…Kahne will miss once again..just have that feeling
I really don’t think Kahne will miss anything,I really ,just have this feeling,with what he has backing him this year, that he will be a great contender! Look out though if he decides to get more aggressive!! for Kyle is really burning his way through the bubble!!!!!