THE CHASE IS ON.
NASCAR’s highly anticipated, and very likely dramatic, Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship officially begins this Sunday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the running of the Sylvania 300. The Chase will feature 12 drivers,ten races, 3,227 laps and 4,095,980 miles before a 2008 champion is crowned in a special series that is worth literally millions of dollars.
Everyone from the media to the fans and even Las Vegas odds makers has an opinion regarding who NASCAR’s next champion is going to be. “Vegas Insider Dot Com” recently went on record as saying that the Chase is going to be a dead heat between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards and set them each at 3 to 1 odds. The big surprise here is the fact that “Vegas Insider” seems to think that Dale Earnhardt Jr has a better shot at claiming his first championship over two, and possibly three, time champion Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt’s odds have been set at 5 to l ahead of Johnson’s 7 to 1. Other Chase odds include Tony Stewart-8 to 1, Jeff Gordon-10 to 1, Roush Fenway Racing team mates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are set at 12 to 1 odds while Denny Hamlin is rated at 15 to 1. The odds do not seem to be in favor of a driver from Richard Childress Racing becoming the next NASCAR champion. Odds for Kevin Harvick are rated at 18 to 1 while his team mates, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, comes in at 22 to 1.
Always remember that NASCAR does not officially condone betting your mortgage money on a stock car race but one has to think that they are, unofficially, enjoying the attention that the Las Vegas odds makers are bringing to the Chase.
THE CHASE IS NOT THE ONLY RACE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE THIS WEEKEND
The Sylvania 300 is going to be loaded with added drama outside of the 12 drivers competing in the Chase. First off teams are going to be looking at the final ten races of the season as an opportunity to improve on their potential positions in the final points standings. Improvement in the standings means an increase in points money at the end of the year as well as a sponsor pleasing situation.
NASCAR’s top 35 in the owner’s points standings will take an increasingly important role during the final ten races. The guaranteed starting berths, that comes with the top 35, will also set the tone for the first five races in 2009 and that means a guaranteed start in next year’s Daytona 500. Going into Sunday’s race A J Allmendinger, #84 Red Bull Racing Toyota, and Michael McDowell, #00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, are in the top 35 bubble positions. Allmendinger is 34th in the standings, but only has a 21 point cushion, while McDowell is ranked 35th and only 11th points away from falling out of the top 35. Two drivers, Robby Gordon at -11 and Sam Hornish Jr -17, are on the outside looking in and these will be two drivers to watch during the Sylvania 300’
SYLVANIA 300 RACE NOTES
The race has 45 entries vying for 43 starting berths. If qualifying gets rained out, and with the weather we’ve seen from the eastern seaboard lately that’s possible, then drivers Tony Raines and Carl Long will not make the race.
The defending race winner, from September 2007, is Clint Bowyer. The previous race winner, from July of this year, is Kurt Busch.
Ryan Newman holds the track qualifying record at 133.357 MPH.
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