Amanda’s articles

by Amanda Vincent

The 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup is officially underway, or at least it will be Sunday with the running of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, the actual Chase cast was set and the field of 12 drivers in this year’s Chase was shuffled to their current positions in the championship points standings.

If one were to look back at the beginning of the 2009 season and ponder the predictions they made for this year’s Chase back in February (really doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, does it?), there would probably be at least a few errors in the predictions.

The two biggest surprises are perhaps not who is in, but rather, who’s out. Matt Kenseth has been in the Chase every year since its inception. Well, every year prior to 2009, that is. With Kenseth being a constant in the Chase, up to this point, don’t most people just assume he’s going to make it.

Another surprise, as far as drivers go — Kyle Busch. After winning eight races a year ago, second only to Carl Edwards’ nine wins, Busch followed up the performance this year with four trips to victory lane, so far. Sure, his 2009 stats don’t mirror those of a year ago, but, as of now, he’s tied with Mark Martin (who did make it in) for most wins on the year to this point. Despite being one of the win leaders, he failed to make this year’s Chase.

Slight surprises within the Chase field are Juan Montoya and Mark Martin, and maybe you could throw Brian Vickers into that category.

Until this season, Montoya has never really been a factor overall through a NASCAR season. Really, he kind of quietly made his way into the Chase this year. With the exception of a possible near win at Indianapolis, he hasn’t really made a lot of noise. His No. 42 team has just quietly going about its business of posting consistent top-12 finishes.

Sure, it’s probably no surprise that Martin is in the Chase. The surprise is perhaps where he’s going to start it — in first. Perhaps the best driver to never win a championship, Martin went to victory lane four times this year, more times than anyone, aside from Busch who also has four wins. Not bad for a 50-year-old driver in his first full season since coming out of semi-retirement.

The more I think about it, Vickers in the Chase is a surprise — maybe even more of a surprise than Montoya getting in or Martin’s four wins. This will not only be the first Chase for the Sprint Cup for Vickers, but also for his Red Bull Racing team. Prior to this season, the Red Bull team had never visited a NASCAR victory lane and Vickers only had one Cup win to his credit — he changed that last month at Michigan.

Another shocker — the absence of Richard Childress Racing in the 2009 Chase. RCR put all three of its cars in the Chase a year ago (the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick, the No. 07 of Clint Bowyer, and the No. 31 of Jeff Burton). Prior to 2009 RCR had been represented by at least one driver in the Chase every year. Even with the addition of the No. 33 team, making RCR a four-car operation, Childress failed to make the Chase. Clint Bowyer came the closest of the RCR stable in making this year’s Chase, but he sits mired in 15th-position heading into Sunday’s race in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, it’s kind of up in the air as to whether or not it’s a surprise that both Stewart-Haas Racing drivers, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, made the Chase. Granted, Stewart-Haas Racing is a new organization, but, on the flip side, it’s almost like and extension of Hendrick Motorsports. Add to that the fact that Stewart is a two-time Cup champion and Newman had a very successful stint at Penske Racing. Prior to the current season, nobody seemed to really know or be able to predict what would come from this team during its inaugural campaign.

Here are the 12 drivers in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup and their current points standings:

1. Mark Martin, 5040
2. Tony Stewart, 5030
3. Jimmie Johnson, 5030
4. Denny Hamlin, 5020
5. Kasey Kahne, 5020
6. Jeff Gordon, 5010
7. Kurt Busch, 5010
8. Brian Vickers, 5010
9. Carl Edwards, 5000
10. Ryan Newman, 5000
11. Juan Montoya, 5000
12. Greg Biffle, 5000

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not this website.

To read more from this author, visit: Louisville NASCAR Examiner