- After this race, the Chase is halfway over. Any driver within 100 points of the leader after the race has an outside chance to win it all.
- Currently, there are only three drivers within 100 points of leader Jimmie Johnson: Mark Martin (-12), Juan Pablo Montoya (-58), and Tony Stewart (-84). The next closest driver is Jeff Gordon, 105 points behind Johnson.
- It's extremely important for Montoya and Stewart to start racking up wins and cutting into Johnson's lead. That is the only way either driver will cut into Johnson's lead.
- The #48 team is as close to perfect as possible. They are the 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers of NASCAR. The only other team that has come close is Montoya's team.
- Look for Montoya to get his first couple of wins on an oval and cut into Johnson's lead going into Homestead.
- Everyone wants to win this race. Look for the usual suspects to run strong: Johnson, Montoya, Stewart, Martin, Gordon, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin. My dark horse to run well: Jeff Burton. He won this race last year, the last RCR driver to win a race, and he typically runs well at Lowe's.
- Thinking of you: Big Bill France and the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class. Congratulations to Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and Junior Johnson on being the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class. All excellent choices.
- Too bad the Carolina Panthers are playing at Tampa Bay on Sunday--it would be an AWESOME weekend for a fan of NASCAR and the Panthers had the Panthers been at home.
Predicted Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson. As the driver of the Lowe's Chevrolet, this is his house. Johnson wins and leads the most laps and extends his lead, and there is a flip flop in the second and third positions. JPM moves into second with a stout second place finish and Mark Martin finishes just outside the top 10.
5 comments:
Hey jon,
On the bright side for the Panther fans, they are playing my Bucs. Should be good for a Carolina win.
Ah, I've got to joke about them, it keeps me from getting too depressed.
Take care my friend.
the St George Dragons won 11 straight titles in rugby league (1956 to 1966)....makes the Steelers look like wooden spooners in my book :P
Here I am scratching my head trying to figure out how the Bengals won 4 games and are in first place.
Unfortunately I have to agree with you on the Jimmie and Chad show picks.
However, Stewart might just surprise us all.
Nice post as always.
I'm going to pick Mark to win this race. For some reason, most of his victories seem to come in night races.
Johnson will close everything out with a victory at Martinsville in a few weeks... lol.
Hey aero, it's too bad that the Bucs have fallen so far. Should still be a competitive game.
Tez, LOL. The Steelers are such slackers!
Photogr, me too. I thought of taking JPM to win but Lowe's is JJ's house.
Gonger, thanks. Martin is a solid choice. And you're right, he has been stellar in the night races. Good observation. I just think he's going to struggle a bit, while JPM will be stout. I'm predicting that by Homestead, it's going to be between JJ and JPM. They're going to be the only ones still alive to win.
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