The first Chase race is just two days away and the drivers were playing favorites this week for who they think could win the title.
The odds on favorite should be Jimmie Johnson as he is the five time defending Sprint Cup champion but coming into the Chase this season-clearly he is not.
Brad Keselowski said Friday “We all look at different things as drivers label a favorite and right now it’s hard to not label Jeff (Gordon) as the favorite. He has done a lot over the last few weeks, won races and been in position to win many more. So that’s very impressive his cars have a lot of speed. and there is a lot of potential out of that camp. They have the highest potential.”
Kevin Harvick in his media availability talked about favorites and he said “I think the series is so competitive right now. There have been a lot of winners this season and it seems like a lot nof the races have come to strategy and I think the 24 has run relatively well over the last five or six weeks.”
Johnson seems to be overlooked by his competitors. Johnson says “I think at this point it’s safe to say it’s not going to last forever. From my experience when you get in the Chase it is its own season”
Kyle Busch has been picked by many as the driver to end Johnson’s streak but Busch doesn’t think there is a favorite this season.
“Certainly not, I don’t think there is a clear cut favorite. There are guys that run well week in week out and then maybe a couple places they might stumble a bit. It’s about trying to minimizing those bad days.
Busch is right the Chase is virtually wide open and anyone can win the title this season. If one driver goes on a hot streak- theoretically he could pull away for the title. It also can go the other way around that if one driver has one bad race his title hopes are in real jeopardy,
Could Clint Bowyer be leaving Richard Childress Racing for Michael Waltrip Racing?
Sirius XM's Dave Moody posted a story yesterday that Bowyer could be heading to Michael Waltrip Racing with 5 Hour Energy as the primary sponsor.
News last week at Richmond broke that the Bowyer and Richard Childress were unable to come to an agreement and that Bowyer was in fact looking elsewhere.
"Clint's got a couple of really good opportunities there facing him. We just, for us, it just didn't seem that we could get everything worked out," Childress told satellite radio prior to last weekend's event in Richmond. "Clint's still a good friend. I feel like we've done a lot together and I hope that if we can't put him in a car next year that he gets in a ride that he's really good and happy with."
Spoiler Alert!
Are looking for a couple non Chase drivers who could make a splash this weekend? David Reutimann won the race at Chicagoland Speedway a year ago and has shown some strength on the mile and half tracks. His season hasn’t gone as this team had planned but what better way to turn it around by making it two wins in a row for the MWR driver.
Also, watch out for Kasey Kahne this weekend. He has had fast cars especially on the mile and half tracks but this team cannot seem to shake the bad luck. Kahne has said that he would like to win a race with Red Bull Racing before he leaves to head to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. RBR future is up in the air and what a better way to cap off a tough season with a win.
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