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 Cup Articles July 2005
Summer Crunch TimeIt's summer crunch time! Teams have been aware of the countdown to the Chase since the beginning of the season. When it gets down to opening the door to the last races before the Chase for the Championship begins, things begin to heat up considerably, and not because it's summer either! Good luck – bad luck, what ever has been dealt to the teams in the first half of the season is in the books, the teams couldn't do a lot about it then and they certainly can't now. When NBC takes over the broadcasting duties from FOX, the season is half over, that's a given, and also a signal that it's crunch time. For some teams it's either do or die, and for others, it requires a different strategy involving conservation and caution. The teams that have mathematically made the Chase need to be sure that they remain in the running. Teams that are on, or close to the bubble, will be taking risks that they wouldn't normally take. Last year's inaugural Chase format taught some teams that now is the time to get really serious if they want to compete for the brass ring. A couple of those same teams are finding themselves facing the same predicament this season if they don't turn up the heat considerably. After the Pepsi 400 there were 13 teams eligible for the Chase. The driver in 14th place, Kevin Harvick, was the first one over the magic 400 point break off point. Jeff Gordon was the last eligible driver in 13th listed with 396 points.
Top Five in 2005
Time to PonderIt's time to ponder the outcome of the outcome! If that doesn't make a lot of sense to you, don't worry about it, the 2002 season doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to anyone these days. It seems that there is always something that the teams have to play catch-up on, and usually it's the specially designed tires that Goodyear brings to each Cup event. When you look at the top five stats for the season, it's easy to see who has the 2005 tires figured out and who doesn't. Some teams made it to the top five as a fluke due to their particular set-up at that particular event, but they haven't been the least bit consistent. Greg Biffle alluded in a post race interview that his team wasn't all that much better, they just figured the tires out early, and now some of the other teams are catching up, like the Home Depot team as an example. The last few events, Greg Zipadelli's team and the Tony Stewart piloted #20 Home Depot Chevy have been setting the track on fire. Another situation to ponder is the backslide of Jeff Gordon. The Hendrick Motorsports teams have been consistent in the top five, but Gordon has been slipping deeply into a mid-summer slump and at a paltry 15th in driver's championship points, he's going to have to really turn up the heat if he thinks he'll be among those who compete for the 2005 championship. On the other hand, his teammate/driver Jimmie Johnson still manages to hold on to his luck, along with the championship points lead, but a lot of us are wondering when it will run out. Then, you have drivers who can't get a break this season at all, Bobby Labonte finally had a good day at Loudon, but other drivers like Kevin Harvick for instance, seem to be fighting an uphill battle to no avail. We'll soon be keeping up with which driver will take the million dollar 11th place bonus as the season winds down!
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