Rantin' & Racin': Who's The Favorite To Win The Sprint Cup Championship?
DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) - I just don't know anymore. Every week, after watching and studying what just happened in that Sunday's race, I seem to be contemplating a new favorite for the Sprint Cup Championship. Jimmie Johnson, or Matt Kenseth, no wait Kasey Kahne, maybe Stewart's found his groove...
Welcome to the quickly moving roller coaster ride that is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
This season has been all about comers and goers. Jimmie Johnson can almost always be counted on to be near the front, but lately just weird, "un Jimmie Johnson" like luck has not been on his side. Matt Kenseth looked dominate at various styles of tracks earlier this season, and now he's gone quiet. Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Roush's drivers- you never know what you're going to get with them. Who stands out now? Flavor of the week Kasey Kahne. Who knows, next week Kurt Busch could pick up the win, and all of a sudden we'll be asking, "wait he's been hot as of late, what if he keeps it up?"
You have to love sports; you just can't predict what's going to happen. Predicting this year's champion? With NASCAR in New York this upcoming weekend, I can officially say "Forget 'bout it." NASCAR should change their promotional motto to "NASCAR, where you don't know a darn thing."
THE RANT:
- I asked, they listened. We have some anger and feuding back in NASCAR this weekend. Denny Hamlin wants a piece of TV analysts Kyle Petty for comments Hamlin found offensive, calling Petty "a moron" on twitter due to comments he made on TV about Hamlin's health. The FedEx Driver delivered this POW: "He's an analyst, but not a very informative one because he doesn't know anything,'' Travis Kvapil meanwhile is upset with Danica Patrick, whose wreck took him out of the race. Those two wrecked just two weeks ago. Kvapil had this gem: "I'm done just getting run over and wrecked and racing her clean, I don't know. It's pretty frustrating." Uh-oh folks.
- Jeff Gordon is now 42 years old. Wow. I feel like I was just round house kicked in the left temple by father time. I remember being 10 years old, sitting in the grandstand at Daytona wearing my Jeff Gordon shirt, and rooting for "the kid" driver. He doesn't seem as aggressive or dare I say "intimidating" as he use to be in the 90s, but he's still of course first-class. Once seemingly hated by all, he's now a borderline fan favorite. Happy Birthday to a legend.
- This upcoming stretch of races through the "regular season" finale in Richmond on September 7th is maybe the best of the season. We get a great variety of tracks (a road course, short tracks, speedy ovals) and some anxious drivers who are trying to stay in the playoff picture. Expect drama, hot tempers, and the theme of the week – the unexpected.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs a sponsor. Yes you read that right. Dale Jr., the most popular driver on the tour, needs a primary sponsor for 12 races that remain on the schedule. How is this even possible? It's crazy to think this scenario is possible, but it is. How weird will it look to see Dale Jr. in a blank car un-sponsored car? The clock's ticking on Rick Hendrick to find a sponsor, otherwise, we might see Jr. Nation filling the grandstands wearing just plain white t shirts. Weird huh?
- Last week I talked about NASCAR needing to change something just to freshen the sport up. There have been some suggestions from the garage to vary the venues that make up the 10 race chase. There's even been talk of maybe having a "lottery" draw to see which 10 tracks would make up the playoffs. How could you not love that idea? What an injection of excitement that would be. It would have to be done a year in advance at least, for traveling and scheduling purposes, but it is at the very least – doable.
Races till the Chase: 5
Next Race: Cheez-It 355 Watkins Glen
Green-white checkered: For a driver, road courses are the ultimate test. Car control, speed, decision making, and precision are come into play. Look at the greats from the past and present, and they've been good on these tracks.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)
Latest News:
Top Trending:
