Denny Hamlin, and his Joe Gibbs
Racing team have stepped up with finishes of 4th at New Hampshire, 9th at Dover and
a disappointing 18th at Kansas has put the rookie second in the points. Hamlin
has not been in this position before and he does not know the pressure of the Chase and his lack of knowledge could help him
and hurt him at the same time going deep in the Chase. One positive for Hamlin, two time Cup Champion Tony Stewart. That is
where Hamlin has to lean and learn to be at the top of the points and be called Champion after Homestead.
Being a rookie, he is expected
to fail. But this team has been hot all year and if they keep it up they could steal away the Cup.
Who’s not stepping up?
Kasey Kahne has struggled so
far in the Chase, with finishes of 16th at New Hampshire, 38th at Dover
and 33rd at Kansas Kahne has been on a major downward slide. These are not finishes of what is supposed to be a
Championship caliber team. Barring an amazing come back from Kahne, they can start practicing for 2007.
Kyle Busch is on the edge of
being out of the hunt for the cup early in the Chase. A 38th at New Hampshire,
40th at Dover put Busch in a tale spin but a 7th at Kansas
could mean things are looking up.
At best things are looking
shaky for Busch. Kansas might be the only thing that keeps the No. 5 team in
the Chase. They are going to have to step it up and win some races in hopes at winning the Championship; a little bad luck
from drivers ahead of Busch would not hurt either.
Jimmie Johnson and the No.
48 team seem to dominate before the Chase. But just as in the past it seems this team loses momentum when the Chase starts.
If and/or when they get back in the groove it might be too little, too late.
Quietly hiding…
Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth,
Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., are just quietly hiding. They have not been overly impressive but they
have not been horrible.
It seems they are just waiting
in the wings for either the last five races to turn it on, or waiting for Talladega
to step up and make their charge.
With seven races left and probably
the two most dangerous places in the Chase coming up, Talladega and Martinsville
it could be interesting second half to the Chase.
When the Cup boys head to Texas
in November, we should have a pretty good idea at who has stepped up and who will have to wait until next year.
Questions, Comments;
Email Joe
The
views and opinions in this article are that of the writer and not necessarily that of SCR
2006 StockCar Review.
