The First Reid: Despite long odds, Allmendinger ready to make Chase noise
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Are AJ Allmendinger and JTG/Daugherty Racing ready for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup?
Ready or not, they are qualified for NASCAR’s 10-race playoff after Sunday’s victory at Watkins Glen International, and the Chase is just four races away.
On Friday, before the win was reality, Allmendinger was conservative in his assessment of the team’s chances to contend for a championship and acknowledged that he would face an uphill battle in the Chase against teams with broader resources.
Now that the Chase is a reality, however, team owners Brad Daugherty and Tad and Jodi Geschickter are prepared to make a fight of it.
“When we go back to the mile and a halfs (intermediate speedways) and start competing, it’s going to be a little bit more difficult because of the simulation software for all these race teams, but with the ride heights and AJ’s ability, if we can qualify the car well, we’re going to race OK,” Daugherty said.
“I’m confident in (crew chief) Brian (Burns). I’m confident in my pit crew. I think that we have more in us. We go to racetracks like Atlanta, we go to places like Martinsville, Bristol—he (Allmendinger) is good at those race tracks. I think we’ve got a chance. If the dominos fall correctly, we’ve got a chance. So we’ve got to put all of our eggs in one basket. We don’t want to just be there as a backmarker. We want to make some noise.”
NASCAR NUMBERS
By Reid Spencer
12:The number of different winners in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season. AJ Allmendinger’s victory at Watkins Glen eliminated one Chase position available on points, leaving a maximum of four up for grabs, if the next four races produce repeat winners. Those drivers who haven’t won yet have reason to be nervous.
10:The number of top-10 finishes recorded this year by rookie Kyle Larson, who ran fourth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. Larson is 10th in the series standings and right in the middle of the fight for a Chase spot.
10:The number of top-five finishes this season for Dale Earnhardt Jr., the only driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series who has reached double figures in that statistical category. Though Earnhardt finished 11th on Sunday, he took over the series lead from teammate Jeff Gordon, after Gordon had electrical problems with his pole-winning No. 24 Chevrolet.
33:Jimmie Johnson’s average finish in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Johnson’s rash of trouble continued Sunday at Watkins Glen, where the six-time champion got the worst of a three-wide predicament with Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth, as the cars negotiated Turn 1. Johnson spun and finished 28th.
2:The number of drivers who have won back-to-back races in the last 16 years at Michigan International Speedway. Ryan Newman accomplished the feat in 2003-2004, and Greg Biffle did it twice, in 2004-2005 and 2012-2013. Neither driver has won yet this year.
NASCAR Notes
There are a number of marquee drivers still looking for a first win of 2014: Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, among others. This weekend, much of the focus could land on Biffle. Biffle owns four Michigan wins, the most among active drivers. His team, Roush Fenway Racing, has 13 Michigan victories. … It took six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson more than a decade to capture his first Michigan win. Now, we’re talking about a sweep. If Johnson wins again this Sunday at Michigan, it would be his 13th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sweep. The all-time record for career sweeps: 23, by Richard Petty. … Each year NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity initiative and its competition arm, Rev Racing, seek to obtain the highest quality of applicants representing the next crop of drivers seeking a spot in the program’s 2015 class. This selection process begins with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine held in October at Langley speedway. This year’s application process is currently open until August 15, 2014. For more information on eligibility and application process please visit NASCARDiversity.com
Tune-In: NASCAR On Television, August 11-17
Monday, August 11
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
Tuesday, August 12
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
Wednesday, August 13
4:30 p.m., Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
8 p.m., 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Eldora (re-air), FOX Sports 2
9 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa (re-air), FOX Sports 2
Thursday, August 14
10 a.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Race at Road America (re-air), FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m., Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship (re-air), FOX Sports 2
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
Friday, August 15
11 a.m., The 10: NASCAR’s Most Outrageous Moments (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., The 10: NASCAR’s Closest Calls (re-air), FOX Sports 1
Noon, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice, FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice, FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Live, FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice, FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice (re-air), FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FOX Sports 1
3 a.m. (Sat.), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4:30 a.m. (Sat.), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice (re-air), FOX Sports 1
Saturday, August 16
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice, ESPN2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, ESPN2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, ESPN2
Noon, NCWTS SetUp, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Michigan, FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m., NNS Countdown, ESPN
2:45 p.m., NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Mid-Ohio, ESPN
3 a.m. (Sun.), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Michigan (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 a.m. (Sun.), NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa (re-air), FOX Sports 1
Sunday, August 17
9 a.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Watkins Glen, FOX Sports 1
10 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX Sports 1
Noon, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Race at Road America, FOX Sports 1
Noon, NSCS Countdown, ESPN
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race at Michigan, ESPN
5 p.m., Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Race at Road America (re-air), FOX Sports 2
7 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1
1 a.m. (Mon.), NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race at Michigan, ESPN2
National Series Schedule
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
The Next Race:Pure Michigan 400
The Place:Michigan International Speedway
The Date/Time:Sunday, Aug. 17, 1 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN
Radio: MRN Radio,Sirius XM Channel 90
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
The Next Race:Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200
The Place:Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
The Date/Time:Saturday, Aug. 16, 2:45 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Channel 90
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
The Next Race:Careers For Veterans 200 Presented by The Cooper Standard Foundation and Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation
The Place:Michigan International Speedway
Date/Time:Saturday, Aug. 16, 12:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Channel 90
NASCAR National Series Standings
This year, wins matter more than in any season in the 65-year history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Essentially, a win locks a driver into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Currently there are 12 different winners. The remainder of the 16-driver Chase Grid will be filled by those drivers highest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points. See below for how the current Chase Grid would look if NASCAR’s playoffs began today:
Chase Grid Outlook
Pos Driver Wins
1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3
2 Brad Keselowski 3
3 Jimmie Johnson 3
4 Jeff Gordon 2
5 Joey Logano 2
6 Carl Edwards 2
7 Kevin Harvick 2
8 Kyle Busch 1
9 Denny Hamlin 1
10 Aric Almirola 1
11 Kurt Busch 1
12 AJ Allmendinger 1
13 Matt Kenseth 0
14 Ryan Newman 0
15 Kyle Larson # 0
16 Clint Bowyer 0
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Pos Driver Points
1 Chase Elliott # 752
2 Regan Smith 740
3 Elliott Sadler 739
4 Ty Dillon # 739
5 Brian Scott 707
6 Trevor Bayne 704
7 Brendan Gaughan 601
8 Chris Buescher # 601
9 Ryan Reed # 570
10 James Buescher 567
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Pos Driver Points
1 Ryan Blaney 408
2 Johnny Sauter 401
3 Matt Crafton 396
4 Ron Hornaday Jr. 388
5 Darrell Wallace Jr. 377
6 German Quiroga 365
7 Ben Kennedy # 364
8 Timothy Peters 359
9 Joey Coulter 353
10 Jeb Burton 324
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