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1. Brad Keselowski: Is He the Championship Favorite?
If you read my qualifying post discussing the qualifying session for this weekend's race at New Hampshire, you know Brad Keselowski is rolling as of late. Two weeks ago at Richmond in the regular season finale, he lead all but seventeen laps in the event as he won his fourth race of the season and became the number one overall seed heading into the Chase. In the first Chase race at Chicagoland last week, Keselowski battled the rookie, Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick on a late race restart to take his fifth win of the season and grab himself a spot in the next round of the 2014 Chase. To top it all off, he came into New Hampshire this weekend and blistered the field as he grabbed his fifth pole of the season. To add even more weight to that pole, he has won the last two races where he started on the pole. With all that in mind about the Team Penske driver, I have just one question. Is he the championship favorite in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series? He most certainly is the favorite. The main reason is just his abilities at the next few tracks. New Hampshire, Dover, Charlotte, Talladega, and others have been really good tracks for Keselowski. He has the opportunity every single time we visit there to win and win with authority. Plus, he has a great team behind him. This entire year, Team Penske has provided the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion with some of the fastest cars I have ever seen. He has dominated events this year and has looked great doing it. His wave of momentum will continue as we roll through the Chase and he is the favorite in my mind to stand on the podium as champion in 2014.
2. Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson: Are They the Two Best Non-Chase Drivers?
Chip Ganassi Racing has two drivers, Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson, in its fold, but neither one are in the Chase for the championship this season. Well, somebody should tell them that. McMurray and Larson have ran great races all year long including Larson's second place finish at Auto Club earlier this year and his third place finish a week ago at Chicagoland. McMurray has also had great runs this entire year including a fourth place run at Richmond to end the regular season. Both were highly competitive last week at Chicagoland and they are extremely competitive this weekend at New Hampshire. In fact, both McMurray and Larson were two of the three non-Chase drivers to make the final round of qualifying this weekend. McMurray will roll off second while Larson rolls off from tenth place after a mistake in qualifying. With all that in mind, here is my question for this topic. Are they the two best Non-Chase drivers this season? They definitely are the two best drivers not in the Chase. The main reason is just how great they have been recently. In every race this year, the major contenders have been the drivers who are currently in the Chase along with McMurray and Larson. They have been on top of their game in all aspects of the word. In fact, Larson was in the Chase late in the regular season, but a couple bad events took him out of Chase contention. That is especially noteworthy for Larson considering he is a rookie this year in NASCAR's highest series. All in all, Chip Ganassi Racing has been a great team this entire year and expect them to contend for wins in the Chase even though Larson and McMurray aren't in the Chase.
3. Aric Almirola: Can He Recover After a Bad Finish at Chicagoland?
Aric Almirola came into Chicagoland a week ago as one of the underdogs in the Chase. His upset victory at Daytona in July propelled him into the Chase for the first time in his young career. He came into Chicagoland last week with something to prove. And prove something he did. He was running in sixth place late in the event when his engine expired. He finished deep in the field and the loss of points put him last in the Chase running order with twenty three points to make up before Dover. It was an unfortunate problem for Almirola. He was on the verge of a Chase defining moment, but his engine quit on him. Still, he has two races to make up the points before the first round of Chase eliminations. That brings me to my question for this topic. Can Almirola recover after a bad finish at Chicagoland? He definitely can. When Almirola won at Daytona, I didn't see him going anywhere in the Chase. I now have changed my position. The main reason is his runs recently. At Richmond in the regular season finale, he took a tenth place finish as he looked to build up momentum. At Chicagoland last week, he was running sixth when his motor expired on him. With a little more work and some hard driving, Almirola can easily grab a top five today at New Hampshire along with having a good finish next week at Dover. Don't count out Aric Almirola from making the second round of the Chase as he looks to prove himself this year.
4. Thirteen Different Winners in Thirteen Races at New Hampshire: Who Has the Best Chance to Make It Fourteen?
It isn't often where a track doesn't have dominant winners from year to year, but New Hampshire is one of those tracks. New Hampshire does not have a repeat winner since 2008 and that is thirteen full races. Plus, consider the drivers who haven't won during that streak. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, and others in the Chase have not won at New Hampshire during the thirteen race streak. That means the streak could continue today. It could especially continue today considering the amount of strategy at New Hampshire and the fact that difficult weather conditions could allow different drivers to win. With that, here is my question for this topic. Which driver who hasn't won during the streak at New Hampshire has the best chance to make it fourteen? Jeff Gordon has the best chance to make it fourteen today. Gordon rolls off thirteenth on the grid and he isn't exactly the best driver at New Hampshire, but look at how well he has done this year. He has won three races and he has looked strong at all tracks we have been to. He has a ton of momentum like Brad Keselowski after a second place finish last week behind the Team Penske driver. Gordon will certainly be a threat today and he could continue the streak to fourteen different winners today.
5. My Pick to Win
I have mentioned it a lot today, but New Hampshire is one of the most unpredictable tracks in NASCAR. Weather conditions, restarts, strategy, car conditions, and so many other things greatly affect every single race here. Strategy has been factor in at least three of the last four events at New Hampshire. Today, we could be racing to halfway due to the rain in the area and strategy will be even more affected by this. All that information culminates into saying this: today's race at New Hampshire will be very unpredictable and we will be left on the edge of our seats during every single lap. I have a good many picks for today's race. My picks include Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick. Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Brian Vickers are underdog picks to win today's race as well. I am looking forward to today's race at New Hampshire and I'm sure it will greatly affect the rest of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. I won't be writing about it today, but I will be watching intently as the storylines unfold. Well, that is all for me and until we meet again.
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