Jimmie Johnson might have padded his championship hopes on Sunday. Roush Fenway Racing and Kyle Busch might have watched their title hopes go up in smoke, literally.
Following Johnson’s third place finish at Auto Club Speedway, fan took to the social network sites. Suddenly the Chase that was so close coming into ACS was the exact opposite leaving the California track.
This weekend’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is important for the top five chasers in Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. All five are within 120 points of the leader
Chase over? Not so fast NASCAR fans because Talladega and Martinsville speedways are the two wildcards in this whole Chase equation.
In my honest opinion I don’t think that Martinsville is a real wildcard. The key there will be qualifying for all the Chasers. It is a short track so not making mistakes on pit road will be key.
I know, Johnson is good at Martinsville but he is good at all tracks. Hamlin and Gordon have solid records at Martinsville. Harvick will need to capitalize as this is not one of his better tracks.
Stewart is also good at Martinsville and is riding a lot of momentum in recent weeks.
For Hamlin, Harvick, Gordon and Stewart this weekend’s race at Charlotte can help position them for the two races that could very well determine this title.
At Martinsville a restart could cost you the win, just ask Gordon. Contact between another driver and yourself can cost you not only a win but a good finish. Don’t believe me? Ask Matt Kenseth.
The one track in the Chase that will be the true wildcard is Talladega. There are no guarantees that you can come away with a top five finish let alone a win.
In recent races at Talladega the first half of the races have been fairly calm. Drivers are minding their P’s and Q’s and trying to survive.
It’s in the final 25 laps or so that we have seen chaos erupt. We saw cars flip down the back stretch, both times Ryan Newman.
Chaos erupts when a win is on the line. Drivers make mistakes, veterans make mistakes. Misjudge if your clear of a car, one tap and a top 10 finish could turn into a finish outside the top 25.
If you leave Charlotte on Saturday night within 120 points of Johnson, you are not out of this title hunt.
It won’t be easy to dethrone Johnson as we know but there are no guarantees that you walk away in the same position you came in at either Martinsville or Talladega.
Fans don’t tune into football just yet come mile 500 at Talladega there could very well be a new point’s leader.
Leaving Talladega this title could be far from decided.
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