NASCAR Jamie McMurray

180 posts

Sprint Cup Chase Tracker – Bristol

ChaseTrackerBristol300x400This week’s Sprint Cup Chase Tracker after Bristol holds some interesting insight into the Race to the Chase with just one more race (Atlanta) before the series travels the Road to Richmond.

Bristol is a Wild Card race en route to qualifying to compete for the Sprint Cup championship trophy and interestingly, there are three previous champions on the outside still chasing a Wild Card ticket. An intriguing note, is that all three are winless this season.

It’s also worthy to note that last year at this time, the average-finish performance was at a higher level with eventual 2012 champion Brad Keselowski consistently running an average-finish in the top-five range. This year, with the new Gen 6 car, most are outside of top-ten performance, with only two drivers (neither is NASCAR’s five-time champion) at or slightly better than top-ten results since Kentucky. Reviewing the most recent five-races, there’s only one driver in the top-five average-finish range, and most will be amazed to discover which driver.

Similar to previous Chase Tracker analysis, this week’s review includes average-finish performance of top competitors from Kentucky through Bristol – Race to the Chase – as well as, the most recent five races from Indianapolis through Bristol. Also taken into consideration is the new point standings after all the action at Bristol. Continue reading

Indianapolis Brickyard 400 Preview

Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29, 2012  Photo - Getty Images
Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29, 2012
Photo – Getty Images

Indianapolis has seen its fair share of history. For NASCAR, it all started 20 years ago when the Sprint Cup Series ran at the Brickyard for the very first time. Back then, this race was one of the most anticipated races NASCAR has ever seen. Fans filled the grandstands to witness history and surely they did. This race no longer has that same prestige, but to drivers, a win here means more than anything. Continue reading

Last Chance for Fan Vote in Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte

downloadOnly three unclaimed spots remain for Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. And 23 drivers will race hard to nab one of them in the Sprint Showdown (7:30 p.m. ET on SPEED), the precursor to the main event scheduled to start at about 9 p.m. ET.

Among that list of 23 are rookies, veterans, winners and former Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders. Three rookies pepper the fields: Danica Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Timmy Hill. Martin Truex Jr. had a career year last year, making the Chase and vying for a championship. He’ll join Jeff Burton and Juan Pablo Montoya as former Chasers who have yet to lock up a spot. Continue reading