Daily NASCAR

by Holly Cain

Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR Testing

Drivers were consistently topping 200 mph Tuesday during NASCAR’s first major test of the new spoiler at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Twice during the afternoon drafting session, NASCAR called the cars back into the garage to switch to a smaller restrictor plate and slow the cars down.

Four-time champ Jeff Gordon — second fastest in the morning session behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson — was encouraged by the performance of his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet and the driveability of the cars.

Good news. But Gordon also shared what he considers even better news.

He and his pregnant wife Ingrid found out during last week’s bye-week that they will be having a baby boy this August to join 2-year old big sis, Ella.

“I can tell you last week I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about this test. … Luckily I had a team that was thinking about it before then,” Gordon conceded with a laugh during a lunch break at Talladega.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the 10th fastest car during Friday’s practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but managed to secure the pole later in the day for today’s Kobalt Tools 500. (Photo: Getty Image)

HAMPTON, Ga. - How much of NASCAR’s slump is directly attributable to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s?

It would be pretty unfair to saddle Earnhardt - who is, after all, doing his best - with blame. It would also be unfair for NASCAR to intervene in his behalf. Should NASCAR be so inclined, it would be hard to do since there are so many eyes watching closely.

As NASCAR frets about attendance and ratings that have peaked and drifted downward in recent years - not to mention profits, stock price and budgets - it has to be more than coincidence that the slump coincides with hard times in Junior Nation.

From 2000 through 2004, Earnhardt won 15 races. In the five seasons since, he’s won three. In the past three, he’s won one.

It was a shock to the Nation’s system that Earnhardt jumped to the Sprint Cup Series’ best team, Hendrick Motorsports, in 2008. Many of Earnhardt’s fans had previously cultivated a certain enmity toward the Team of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Dutifully, they set their differences aside. They accepted their hero’s decision to move his rear to the best seat in NASCAR.

And … nothing much happened, which, understandably, was a major bummer.

Many fans cite a growing, general indifference. Some happen to be wearing Earnhardt Jr. gear as they discuss it. They gripe about the racing not being as good, about the cars all looking alike … in fact, "alike" is a broadly used term of derision. Many NASCAR fans - or, to cite oft-used words, "former NASCAR fans" - think the cars are too much alike, the tracks too much alike and the drivers too much alike.

But what many of them have against, say, Kyle Busch - who isn’t "just alike" with anyone else in history - is that he isn’t Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This isn’t to say that all the other complaints don’t have validity. It’s to say that they might not be as apparent, or seem quite so important, if the preeminent driver in terms of popularity weren’t struggling.

It’s entirely possible that some eyes that might not be watching otherwise - particularly in the comfort of their living rooms - will be watching today, in large part because Dale Earnhardt Jr. is starting on the pole.

Inquiring minds want to see if he can win again, and to borrow from the lexicon of military commanders, the situation on the ground is starting to look promising again.

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Three weeks into the season and our reigning champ has shown once again he’s the man to beat. After a dismal run at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson has now captured two of three races – he’s fifth in the points. In other news, TNT announced this week veteran NASCAR broadcaster Adam Alexander would take the reigns as their play-by-play announcer for 2010. Alexander replaces Bill Weber, who was released in the middle of TNT’s TV run last season. This is the NASCAR week that was February 28 to March 6, 2010.

Business Owner Finds Deals and Thrills in NASCAR

Hunter back on the beat

Bruton Smith outlines how he’d fix the sports

Bodine finds biggest win at a different kind of track

Being in the top 12 this early is no guarantee of making the Chase

Will NASCAR learn from US Fidelis collapse

Vintage Insiders

Fan Camping Areas: Enter If You Dare

The Most Powerful Men In NASCAR

**Remember if you have a NASCAR blog or website and would like a recent article you wrote featured in this section email me and you could be part of next week’s NASCAR Week That Was. Please only send stuff you have written.**

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Jimmie Johnson currently has the fifth-best career winning percentage, but remember, those stats fade in the less-successful years toward the end of driver’s career. (Photo: Getty Images)

HAMPTON, Ga. - Predictably, incomplete statistics were trotted out this week to extol the virtues of Jimmie Johnson, who gets enough credit already without having to concoct misleading statistics.

Yes, Johnson’s victories in the past two races leave him with a career winning percentage of .167, which, right now, is fifth best in NASCAR history. For the record, the winning percentages are: (1.) Herb Thomas .211, (2.) Tim Flock .209, (3.) David Pearson .183, (4.) Richard Petty .169, (5.) Johnson .167, and (5.) Fred Lorenzen .165.

The trouble with that list is that all the other drivers have completed their careers and Johnson hasn’t. Winning percentage isn’t relevant until a driver’s career is over, simply because almost every driver’s percentage falls off as he gets older.

For instance, NASCAR’s all-time leader in victories, Richard Petty, failed to win any of the final 241 races of his career. The runner-up, David Pearson, ended his career with 55 fruitless starts.

At the end of Jeff Gordon’s greatest streak - three championships and 47 victories in the 1995-99 - his career winning percentage was .220. In fact, at the point where Gordon won his 49th race - Johnson’s current total is 49 - his winning percentage was significantly higher than Johnson’s.

Gordon’s present winning percentage is .140, which is 11th best all-time.

* * *

THE TRICK–Jeff Burton has twice won Nationwide Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway but never finished better than fourth in a Sprint Cup event. He hasn’t finished better than 10th since 2007.

"The biggest challenge is the way the speed falls off so much," said Burton. "It’s like the track has two personalities. You have to be aggressive and drive hard for qualifying and then, when the race starts, you race it like you used to race Darlington. The place gets really slick and real slimy. It’s amazing the amount of grip you don’t have here.

"You have to have a car that makes more grip than your competitors, and making the most out of that is what will put you in the winner’s circle. Even the best handling car here in the last few years has handled awful, so finding a way to do it better than your competition in a low, low grip arena will be the biggest challenge."

* * *

YOU SURE?– An Atlanta radio reporter asked Clint Bowyer about the future of the track’s two annual dates … but not exactly the way wanted.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a question.

"There’s a lot of talk about Atlanta losing one of its race dates," he said. "And those of us down here sure hope so."

Bowyer answered as if the reporter had said what he meant.

* * *

NO NEED TO WORRY … YET — Only five of the 12 Chase drivers of 2009 are presently in the top 12. The missing include Jeff Gordon (13th), Brian Vickers (18th), Kurt Busch (19th), Denny Hamlin (22nd), Kasey Kahne (23rd), Juan Pablo Montoya (26th) and Ryan Newman (32nd).

Newman was 35th after the first three races last year but went on to make the Chase anyway, and Hamlin it’s early for anyone to be overly concerned.

"We’re just missing by a little," said Hamlin, "but we’re working hard, and we’re focused. The results will start coming."

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Yes, yes, yes, there have been only three races and there are 33 more.

The available evidence, however limited, is that very little has changed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson’s already won twice. The surprises of Daytona have predictably faded back to obscurity. Attendance is still down, and, for more than three months, Danica Patrick isn’t going to be around to hype and magnify.

Surprises? What surprises?

Kevin Harvick won the Budweiser Shootout? He did that last year. Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500? He won the previous restrictor-plate race, too. Johnson winning two in a row? Oh, that’s only happened seven times since the Era of Jimmie began in 2002.

Hendrick Motorsports is on top. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is at the bottom of the top. Gibbs and Roush Fenway are in merry, if so far insubstantial, pursuit. Juan Montoya hasn’t won. He and McMurray are squabbling. No one’s seen Teresa Earnhardt. Nothing kills the momentum of Daytona like the apparent apathy of Southern California.

The season has seen one legitimate surprise to date. Richard Childress Racing has improved, throughout and across the board. That’s significant.

Richard shouldn’t ever have tried to run four Chevys in the first place.

It’s time for someone to step up. Gordon tried to close the deal but didn’t have the rubber. Harvick has finished second in the last two races, which would seem more significant if Johnson hadn’t finished first in both.

Tony Stewart! Carl Edwards! Matt Kenseth! Yes, Junior, by gosh! Montoya! Kasey Kahne! Denny Hamlin! Joey Logano! Somebody! Anybody!

Nothing against Johnson and Chad Knaus, but that story’s getting old. I mean, I’ll keep writing it. I’ve got it down. Johnson, Knaus and Rick Hendrick don’t actually say the same things after each victory, but it sure seems that way sometimes.

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