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New Hampshire Observations

Bob Margolis

Thoughts, observations and a few questions following Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway:

  • I guess we all have learned after Sunday's race that with the exception of Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth, no one comfortably can claim to be a Chase lock. Only 70 points separate third from eighth place in the standings. One has to look back at the opening weeks of the 2006 season to see such a tight group at the top.

  • Don't expect Tony Stewart to remain outside the top 10 for very long.

  • Does it bother you that Jeff Burton and Mark Martin haven't won a race, yet both are in the top 10? NASCAR rewards consistency with its current points system.

  • NASCAR and Sprint/Nextel's publicity machine has taken to calling these races leading up to Richmond "The Race to the Chase." Isn't it reminiscent of CNN and other news outlets feeling they have to give a name to any given current crisis? Does everything have to be branded?

Pretty soon, the opening races of the season will be called "The Green Flag to the Chase." And the middle of the season will be known as "Continuing Fight to the Chase." Sounds silly now, but you never know. It could happen.

  • Did you know that this stretch of races historically has been the worst part of the season for Johnson's team? Nevertheless, Johnson, Chad Knaus and Co. have been just consistent enough to remain King of the Mountain.

  • I'm not convinced that Greg Biffle will be a permanent resident in the top 10. The National Guard/Subway team still hasn't shown the consistency from years past – at least not the kind of consistency needed to make a run for the title. Five consecutive top-10s followed by two finishes of 11th or worse before Sunday's run. Prove me wrong, Greg.

  • Sunday's performance by Kyle Busch, Alan Gustafson and Co. was quite impressive, especially in that they didn't run out of fuel before the checkered flag. This group is beginning to find the kind of consistency that wins championships.

And speaking of running out of fuel, it is great that some races (like Sunday's) come down to being fuel runs. It adds a whole new level to the game, with the race suddenly becoming all about pit strategy, driver skill in saving fuel and, of course, a healthy relationship with Lady Luck.

  • Those watching the TNT race broadcast could set their watches by when the network ran commercials. They came every five minutes. It was so predictable after the first half-hour of the race, one could count on a timely commercial for a bathroom break, if necessary.

It shouldn't be that way.

  • I'm hearing there will be major changes to the 2007 race schedules, specifically for Nextel Cup. I also hear that NASCAR is waiting until it announces the new schedule – which might happen sometime in September – to confirm the Busch race in Montreal for next July.

  • Does anybody really believe that there is a Nextel Cup team that would seriously consider putting Danica Patrick in a Cup car? Let me rephrase that. Is there a contending Cup team …

  • Ironically, a genuine race- and championship-winning open wheel driver, Patrick Carpentier, made an appearance in the Loudon media center this weekend to announce his intention to pursue a NASCAR ride, but it seems no one gave him much notice. Maybe it's because there are some who think one foreign-born driver in Nextel Cup is one too many.

  • Expect all the parties involved in the Juan Pablo Montoya/Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates/McLaren/DaimlerChrysler/NASCAR/F1 soap opera to come to a satisfactory agreement (read: financial arrangement) within the next 10 days or so.

  • The Hard Luck of the Race Award goes – once more – to Joe Nemechek and MB2 Motorsports' entire U.S. Army team for reasons we're too busy shaking our head in disbelief at to repeat here.

  • I wonder how much fun Bill Elliott was having on Sunday. He started 43rd, ran at the tail end of the field all afternoon and took the checkered flag in 32nd place. Not so awesome, Bill.

  • The clock struck midnight before Reed Sorenson's Cinderella-like afternoon ended. The young rookie from Georgia (who paced the field for 31 laps) ran all afternoon using the same short track race-winning style with which he captured the ASA's Rookie of the Year title in 2003 at age 17.

Postscript:

With the exception of Daytona – which hosted its second and final race of the year earlier this month – the Cup Series begins to visit race tracks for the second time around starting next weekend at Pocono.

Two things to watch for: The rookies will get much better – especially Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin – and RCR veterans Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick will win races.