Chris Graythen/Getty Images
After one of the most thrilling run-ups in the six-year history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, it’s now showtime as the actual 10-race playoff begins this Sunday in New Hampshire.
It’s not a secret that interest in the Chase has waned over the last three years. TV ratings have slipped somewhat, as has at-track attendance at some of the participating tracks. But in light of the he’s in, he’s out scenario that played out constantly from the time the green flag dropped at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night until the checkered flag flew 400 miles later, I think we may wind up seeing a resurgence in interest in the Chase this year.
Let’s face it, NASCAR has taken hits from a lot of sides over the last three years, including criticism about dropping TV ratings and at-track attendance, a substantial drop in media coverage in the last few years (which prompted the sport to give open access to a plethora of “citizen journalists”) and dislike of the new-style car for starters.
But I can see a significant rebound on the near horizon – provided the excitement level in the upcoming Chase picks up where it left off at Richmond. And I think it can. Call it a gut feeling, and even with two of the sport’s biggest stars not in the Chase (Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.), there’s still an aura in this year’s edition that I haven’t seen or felt since the event’s second year in 2005.
Frankly, if things go the way NASCAR hopes, the 2009 Chase could be just as exciting and compelling as the original Chase in 2004. That inaugural edition couldn’t have gone any better, with the championship not being decided until the final lap of the final race, not to mention some drama thrown in earlier in the deciding race when eventual Cup champ Kurt Busch lost a wheel and nearly crashed into pit road.
I like what I see in this year’s Chase, I really do. And the storylines, where do I start? Mark Martin going for that elusive first Cup championship and starting as the Chase’s top seed? Tony Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman have had standout seasons in the first season of Stewart-Haas Racing. Jimmie Johnson attempts to go where no man has ever gone in NASCAR, in the hunt for his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship.
That’s for starters. You want more?
How about Kurt Busch having flown under the radar all season long, and now potentially standing on the precipice of a significant jump forward during the Chase? Then there’s Jeff Gordon, essentially making his eighth try for his fifth Cup championship and the first since 2001. How about Juan Pablo Montoya, making his first Chase in just his third full-time season in stock car racing? One other point about Montoya: while he’s somewhat of a longshot, the Chase has leveled the playing field to the point where he could realistically become the first driver in history to win championships in CART, NASCAR and to have won the prestigious Indianapolis 500.
There’s also Kasey Kahne, who has missed making the Chase four times. He finally has his second chance at going for the championship and appears ready to give it all he’s got to do just that. There’s also Richmond winner Denny Hamlin, one of the most talented young drivers on the circuit. Hamlin has a knock about being a hot and cold driver – in other words, when he has momentum, he’s nearly unstoppable. He has that momentum now, and is also the sole representative in the Chase for Joe Gibbs Racing. There’s a lot riding on his shoulders, but Hamlin should be up for the task – particularly if he gets off to a good start in the first two races at New Hampshire and Dover, Del.
Let’s not forget about Carl Edwards, broken foot and all. He won a series-leading nine races last season, but has yet to reach a Sprint Cup victory lane in 2009. He made an off-hand comment after the Richmond race that he has the potential to go out and win all 10 races of the Chase – now, there’s just that little detail of going out and actually doing it.
There’s also Edwards’ Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Greg Biffle, who won the first two races of the Chase last season but would eventually finish third in the final Chase standings behind Johnson and Edwards. With Matt Kenseth missing the Chase for the first time in its existence (leaving Johnson the only driver to make the field in each year of the event’s six-year history), there’s significant pressure on Biffle and Edwards to keep the RFR flag held high.
Last but not least, there’s Brian Vickers, a rookie in the Chase field but a very experienced, talented and savvy young driver. With veteran crew chief Robin Pemberton, Vickers could be the biggest darkhorse of all. He’s made the Chase, not the rest is up to him.
I’ll tell you, I’ve had a kind of funky, dismal feeling about the last few Chases, but not this time. I’m pumped, I’m excited and I think we could very well see the best Chase play out before us since the inaugural edition of 2004 – if not better, in the long run. Gentlemen, start your engines and let’s get this party started!
I’ve been trying to track down our chase picks from about a month back, but have had no luck. I do you I said JPM would be out and KB would be in, but I believe I had the rest of the filed correct.
This is shaping up to be a very good chase, if there really can be a “good” chase.
-Taglia
.jpg)
| 
|