NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next Race: GEICO 500

The Place: Talladega Superspeedway

The Date: Sunday, May 3

The Time: 1 p.m. (ET)

TV: FOX, 12:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 500.08 miles (188 laps)

 

Busch-Gibson Combo Morphing Into Championship Contenders

Many predicted this. Dating all the way back to his championship season of 2004, Richmond winner Kurt Busch had excelled with a crew chief who could be defined as ‘old school’ – one who made decisions with a healthy mix of modern engineering smarts and plain old gut.

Busch won his title with a professor in old school ideals – Jimmy Fennig – calling the shots. Now, 11 years later, Tony Gibson — himself a ‘racer’s crew chief’ – takes his perch atop Busch’s pit box. And the resulting success is astounding.

Since Gibson joined the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team with three races remaining in the 2014 season, Busch has rattled off some of the best numbers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Here are a few, and their relation to the competition Note: Due to his suspension to open the 2015 season, Busch’s stats span nine races, compared to 12 for other drivers…

• His average finish with Gibson is 8.7, which ranks second only to Kevin Harvick’s 5.2
• Busch’s driver rating with Gibson is 111.8, second to Harvick’s 130.6.
• His average running position is 7.0, second to Harvick’s 4.5
• Despite three fewer races, he ranks fourth in fastest laps run (217) and second in laps led (536)

Gordon Building Top-Ten Streak

After a tumultuous start to his farewell season, Jeff Gordon has strung together a streak of six consecutive top-ten finishes. The run has vaulted him from a season low points position of 36th after race No. 2 at Atlanta to his current position of tenth.

He has a long way to go to reach his personal best for consecutive top-tens, however. That mark, set over the course of the 1998-99 seasons, was 21. Gordon closed out his championship winning 1998 season with 20 consecutive top-tens – 19 of which were top-fives.

It’s fair to expect a seventh consecutive top-ten this weekend at Talladega. He’s the all-time winner at restrictor plate races, and leads all active drivers with 19 top-tens at the series’ largest track. 

Moving On Up: Kahne And Johnson Turn Rough Starts Into Strong Finishes

Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson produced uncharacteristic qualifying efforts at Richmond over the weekend, earning starting spots of 40th and 36th, respectively. In Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400, the Hendrick Motorsports drivers outplayed their dealt hands. Kahne moved up a race-high 34 spots to finish sixth, while Johnson ascended 33 positions to register a third-place showing. Turning weak starts into strong finishes is becoming a pattern for Johnson this season. He won at Atlanta after starting the race 37th and finished second at Bristol following a qualifying effort of 28th.

McMurray Closing In On First Chase Appearance

Going into the season, much of the spotlight focused on Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson. Instead Jamie McMurray’s spotlight is shining bright through the first nine races. McMurray placed fourth at Richmond for his fourth top-ten finish of the season and looked like the only driver who could challenge Kurt Busch for the victory with his abundance of long-run speed.

McMurray is known for winning big races (Daytona 500, 2010; Brickyard 400, 2010; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 2014), but has never earned a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth in his 12 previous full-time Sprint Cup seasons. The No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet driver seems poised to make his first appearance in NASCAR’s playoffs this year with high finishes of second (Phoenix), fourth (Richmond) and sixth (Texas). A win at Talladega – the site of his last victory (Oct. 20, 2013) – would virtually qualify him for the Chase under the new ‘win and you’re in’ format.

McMurray ranks ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings.

Keeping Up With Keselowski: A Tough Task At Talladega

Brad Keselowski is no stranger to drama – in or out of the car.

Some of the best theater he’s provided is with Talladega as his stage.

Most recently, the No. 2 Team Penske Ford driver delivered arguably the most riveting performance of 2014 at Talladega last fall. Heading into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender Round cutoff race at the behemoth track, Keselowski could only advance to the Eliminator 8 Round with a win. He had every reason for frustration following on-track fisticuffs with Matt Kenseth and heavy criticism the week before, but the razor-focused Keselowski took the lead on a green-white checkered restart and held off several challengers for a breath-taking victory.

It wasn’t his first rodeo either.

Keselowski won at Talladega in spring of his 2012 Sprint Cup championship season. In another dramatic finish, ‘Bad Brad’ pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history when he led only the last lap to park his Phoenix Racing Chevrolet in Victory Lane for his first career win (4/26/09).

Keselowski ranks fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings on the basis of one win, three top-fives and six top-tens.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished first at Talladega in four consecutive races, a time period lasting from Oct. 21, 2001 to April 6, 2003. He took a two-race sojourn from Victory Lane with runner-ups in both events until he won his fifth and latest Talladega race on Oct. 3, 2004.

Ever since, as the great Ricky Bobby would say, Earnhardt’s…

“…been last.”

Earnhardt has come close to winning Talladega over the last decade with runner-up finishes in spring of 2009 and fall of 2013. His statistics there are also still élite. The 12-time most popular driver claims the series-best average running position (14.5), the second-best driver rating (90.7) and the third-most quality passes (4,478). And, he’s led laps in 27 of his 30 Talladega starts.

For all of our fantasy readers, those numbers mean that the No. 88 Chevrolet driver is a solid pick this weekend.