The Chase has finally arrived, and it all starts this Sunday in Loudon, NH. I’ve never been a huge fan of this place, in fact; IMHO it’s a complete bore to watch on TV. Trust me; Auto Club Speedway is no better, but Loudon is just as bad. That said, hopefully the Chase will create a little bit of excitement on an otherwise boring 1.058 mile oval.The 12 Chase drivers have been reset, the rest of the competition has been left in the dust, and we’re ready to go full speed ahead for a 10-race sprint to Homestead. Will we see a surprise winner? Will one of the 12 Chasers steal the show? What else can we expect to see this Sunday? They call it The Magic Mile, and we’ve seen some magic here before. Could it happen again? Here’s what I’m thinking will happen…
In the 4 previous years of the Chase for the Cup, this race has been won by a Chase driver, Kurt Busch in 2004, Ryan Newman in 2005, Kevin Harvick in 2006, and Clint Bowyer in 2007. I expect the same thing to happen again. At least one of the Chase drivers will have a problem and use up their “mulligan” in this race. Those in the top 12 who don’t run into a problem will rise to the top, the cream of the crop per se.
You’re probably sick of hearing this by now, but those 5 Winless Chasers are still going to be looking for their first victory of the season. There are former New Hampshire winners among them, so don’t count them out. However, there are 3 drivers at the top of the standings who will look to set sail on the other 9 drivers in the Chase. As I’m sure you know by now, Busch, Edwards, and Johnson have combined to win an astounding 18 of the 26 races run so far in 2008! Obviously nobody knows what circumstances may occur during the race, but if these 3 stay out of trouble, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see them all finish in the top 5. That said, there’s always the possibility of one of the 5 Winless Chasers pulling off a victory. Last year, it was Clint Bowyer finally winning his first race, which launched him into the hunt for a championship, NASCAR’s Cinderella story of 2007 if you will. It could happen again this Sunday, but to be perfectly honest I wouldn’t call a great stretch of races by any of those 5 guys a “Cinderella story.” They’re all top-notch drivers and 3 of them are former series champions.
How about the drivers with 1 win so far in 2008? Well, there are 4 of them in the Chase, and all are former Loudon winners with the exception of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Yes, Clint Bowyer is one of those 4 drivers, along with the newly (albeit terribly) roasted Jeff Burton. Burton is a 4-time winner in New Hampshire, winning the July race 3 years in a row and leading all 300 laps of this race in 2000 when NASCAR decided “let’s put restrictor plates on the cars” as a temporary fix. Now they have a kill switch on the steering wheel and the cars can at least pass each other.
It would be a tremendous feat to see someone lead from wire to wire here again, but that won’t happen. What will happen is someone dominating this race. Whether they go to victory lane at the end of the day is another story.
My Pick: Jeff Burton – I know he hasn’t won here in 8 years, but he’s the winningest driver at this track with 4 victories, and he’s driving for the owner who has won this race the last 2 years. In 2006 it was Harvick, last year it was Bowyer, this year I say Burton gets one for the thumb at The Magic Mile.
Dark Horse: Tony Stewart – Smoke has won here before, and is looking to return to victory lane after lashing out at his crew at Richmond. I’d keep an eye out on the Home Depot machine this Sunday. Stewart will be driving like a man possessed to get back to victory lane.
The (lack of) action at New Hampshire starts Sunday at 1:00 PM ET on ABC. Until next time, I’m your NASCAR VP, and this has been your official Sylvania 300 race preview…NOW LET’S GO RACING!
BK over and out
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