September 2011

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Johnson In Unchartered Territory
Jimmie Johnson, he of seemingly never-ending Chase success, is currently 10th in points. That’s his lowest Chase position ever. His previous low was ninth, three different times.

An 18th-place finish at New Hampshire put him 29 points behind the points leader, Tony Stewart. Johnson need only look at his own past history to know that this lead is not insurmountable. In 2006, he was 136 points behind then leader Jeff Burton after two Chase races – and came back to win his first championship.

Continue reading “Is Johnson Faltering, or Ready to Pounce?”

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Harvick Owns Lucky No. 2
Though Kevin Harvick lost the points lead at New Hampshire, he might like this position a little better once hearing these numbers.

During the Chase era (2004-Present), the points leader after the second Chase race has never gone on to win the championship. In four of the seven previous Chases, though, the driver in second after two Chase races did go on to win the championship – including Jimmie Johnson in each of the last three seasons.

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Keselowski Climb Continues
In only nine races, Brad Keselowski has moved from 23rd in points to his current position of third. A few reasons for his startling launch up the points standings…
– Of course, the reset helped. After Richmond, all Chase drivers had their points total reset to 2,000 points, with the top 10 drivers tacking on three bonus points for each win during the regular season.
– Still, over the last nine races, his stats look like this: two wins, six top fives and eight top 10s.
– Keselowski’s worst finish was a still-solid 12th at Richmond.

Continue reading “Brad Keselowski Blazing Hot, 3rd in points just 11 back”

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After two practice sessions for the inaugural Better Half Dash at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jacquelyn Butler, the girlfriend of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan, topped the charts at the conclusion the second session, held Wednesday.

“It feels good to be the quickest right now, because I’m a very competitive person,” said Butler. “David always drags me with him to Summer Shootout and I think it definitely helps having watched a lot of Legend and Bandolero racing.”

(Photo: Charlotte Motor Speedway)

Butler has been preparing for this event with the help of Ragan and even has some previous racing experience.

Continue reading “David Ragan’s Girlfriend Jacquelyn Butler Paces Better Half Dash Practice”

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Stewart Doubles Up To Open Chase
Stewart wears the early crown among those drivers aiming to end Jimmie Johnson’s reign of five consecutive titles.

After going winless the entire 26-race regular season, Stewart has won the first two races of the Chase. Only one other driver has ever opened the Chase with two consecutive wins – Greg Biffle in 2008. Biffle finished third in the points that season.

If Stewart wins again at Dover, it’ll be the first time he has ever won three-consecutive races in his career. It’ll also be the first time a driver has won three consecutive races in the Chase since Jimmie Johnson won four straight in 2007.

Continue reading “Could Tony Stewart make it three in a row?”