Behind the Wall: September 2014

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

2014 Kansas Speedway Entry List

NASCAR Driver Entry List for Kansas

By Richard Tix

First three Chase races down, next three Chase races are up. We start at Kansas this time around and end at Talladega. Entry list from Jayski.com

Monday, September 29, 2014

Hollywood Casino 400

By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern**

Friday October 3, 2014

Noon-12:50 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series practice- FOX Sports 1
1-2:20 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice- FOX Sports 1
4-5:20 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice- ESPN2
5:45 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- ESPN2

Saturday October 4, 2014

11-11:50 am- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice- FOX Sports 1
12:15 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FOX Sports 2
2-2:50 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice- FOX Sports 2
3:30 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps)- ESPN2

Sunday October 5, 2014

2 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 (267 laps)- ESPN

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 29

By Richard Tix

After Dover NASCAR officially is down to 12 drivers remaining in the Chase for a Sprint Cup Title. Aric Almirola, AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, and Greg Biffle all dropped out of the running at the Moster Mile.

Some drivers impressed in the first three races (BK, JoLo, Harvick, and Gordon) while others had there struggles (Kahne, Hamlin, and Edwards) but they all get to move on and start fresh. So who will come out strong in the next three Chase races? Will someone lock in there spot at Kansas or will an underdog steal a win? We will dive into that in this weeks preview on Wednesday, until the check out this weeks Power Rankings.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 29 (Week 28)

Brad Keselowski (LW-1)- If he starts to struggle this round then the first three races will be forgoten quickly, but right now he is on fire. He won the first race, fought through adversity for a 7th, and then came up just short yesterday (2nd).
Joey Logano (LW-2)- The first round was all about Team Penske, but that round is over and doesn't mean a thing for the next three races, Everyone starts over so there is no rest in the #22 camp.
Jeff Gordon (LW-6)- Gordon had a rough finish to Loudon (blowing a right front late), but he bounced back in a huge way at Dover with a win. It's too bad he can't use that in knowing he will be in the next round, because it all starts over again this week,
Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- 223 laps led on the day for Harvick. He get's into the next round and was fast, thats what should be important to him right now.
Jimmie Johnson (LW-4)- A full Dover race with JJ not leading a single lap? JJ still finished 3rd on the day, but Harvick got the nod over JJ because of how much he ran in front.
Kyle Busch (LW-7)- Quietly he has turned his rough regular season into an impressive post season (7th, 8th, and 10th). He started top 5 in all three Chase races so far, which has helped, but he is also turning on some consistency.
Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Speaking of consistency, Matt Kenseth got into the Chase off consistency. He got through the first round by finishing strong on Sunday (5th). Maybe he finally gets win #1 in 2014?
Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Jr was one of the lowest Chase contenders to move on Sunday (Only Kahne finished lower and moved on). Dale finished 17th on a day to forget, lucky for him they start all over this weekend. His best and only top 10 finish was 9th at Loudon, he may need a bit more this round.
Ryan Newman (LW-11)- Newman advances by running well, but not great. Pretty much the definition of his 2014 season. But, for the first round that is all you need. It's still possible that he can do it again this round, but he may need to finish top 15 in every race and pull off a couple top 10's.
Carl Edwards (LW-13)- Carl is going to need more to move on to the final 8. 20th, 17th, and 11th just wont get it done.
Denny Hamlin (LW-16)- The bottom guys get to hit refresh, which DH really wanted to do after Loudon (37th). Well DH hit his own refresh button on his way to a 12th place finish at Dover which moved him onto the next round.
Kasey Kahne (LW-10)- Kahne almost fell out of the last Chase spot after finishing 20th at Dover. It was a slow first three races where Kasey only picked up one top 15 and two top 20's, but as it is with everyone, he gets a fresh start.
Kyle Larson (LW-NR)- How great would it have been if Kyle Larson had made the Chase? He would be top 3 in these rankings after finishes of 3rd, 2nd, and 6th. Unfortunately, he can only get to 13th in the standings for now (or highest non Chase driver).
Martin Truex Jr (LW-NR)- A rough falling out from MWR to Furniture Row that was mostly unfair for Truex, he has done well so far in the three Chase races (14th, 12th, and 7th).
Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- If he had made the Chase it would have been a tough start at Chicagoland (39th). Since, he has finishes of 14th and 9th.

This week NASCAR drops from 16 Chase drivers to 12. Well at NASCAR Behind the Wall we have opened up the bottom of the standings to guys outside the top 16 (since we are now at 12). The top 12 will still all be current Chase drivers. We also dropped to the top 15, after next weeks race we will drop to 14, and so on until we get back to 12 drivers. At that point NASCAR will be ready to drop to 8 drivers and we will continue to do the top 12 the rest of the season. Why? Well, when going all the way down to the top 16 we start getting very inconsistent finishers so its all a judgement call on who is actually "hot" at the moment. Drivers have to earn it in these power rankings.

Garry (Keselowski) and I (Harvick) were both wrong, but Thomas got it right.

William Frang (who writes for a different blog on Fantasy Football) also got it right this week.

Hannah also got it right this week! Thank's for the reminder since I missed it the first time around!

Well, that's the end to the first round of the new 2014 Chase format. NASCAR heads to Kansas this week to kick off round two with 12 drivers all back to even. It should be a fun round that concludes at Talladega in three weeks. Thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

NASCAR's New 2015 Rules Package

Reduced HP and No Testing Headlining

By Richard Tix

On Tuesday NASCAR released its plans for changes in 2015. Per the usual in the NASCAR community, change hit hard and caused a social media frenzy with all kinds of opinions. I am going to reserve most of my judgement until I see the actual product with my own eyes. However, I do want to touch on some of the changes and provide fans with a place to get to all the links and stories quickly.

Testing:

"After allowing teams four tests at sanctioned tracks and unlimited private testing this year, NASCAR will ban teams from testing at any tracks following the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The preseason testing sessions at Daytona International Speedway have been eliminated." - USA Today

This seems like a plea by NASCAR to cut cost's, yet it seems like they are forgetting that it will still cost small teams a ton to get into areo facilities and have the staff now to keep pace with the big teams. This is just my assumption, though.

"Any organization violating NASCAR's revised policy on testing would be subject to the highest tier of penalties, including a minimum $150,000 fine, the loss of 150 points and six-race suspensions for key personnel (crew chief, car chief, and team manager)." -SB Nation

So, heaver fines will be the biggest deterrent to not following this rule, which ties in the new penalty system from this past year. Team's may not be able to privately test but there will be more Goodyear testing that team's will partake in:

"Teams are still permitted to participate in NASCAR- and Goodyear-approved tests."

"If we can have NASCAR, Goodyear and the race teams all together, it'll be a home run. The second part is anytime you can minimize costs, that's big. We think we've done both." -USA Today

Horse Power Reduction:

"NASCAR is also reducing engine horsepower through a tapered spacer from 850 to 725, and cutting the rear spoiler from 8 inches high to 6 inches. Changes will take about 300 pounds of downforce off of the car."- FOX News

The real key here could be will it have the same affect it did on the Nationwide Series? Nationwide adopted the tapered spacer this past season and some fans have had a negative response to the change. It might be possible for the tapered spacer to not have as big of an effect on the Cup cars with all the other aero changes that are being made. In my mind this is the biggest concern. Maybe all the changes put together will work well, as I said I am reserving full judgement until I see it on the track.

"We believe what will contribute to better racing is the ability to get off the gas in the corners," O'Donnell said. "If you're able to slow down the straightaway speeds a bit, but really affect the speeds in the corners, where drivers have to make decisions on how much they want to get off the throttle, it allows for more passing in the turns, and it allows for tire manufacturer to really march toward a grippier tire. That will contribute to even better racing.

"Drivers said as the racing exists today, when they go in the corners, it's very rare to make a mistake. The car handles almost too well. This gives us an opportunity to force some mistakes and to pick different lanes. We think it'll add more dynamics in each corner, particularly on intermediate tracks."- USA Today

The thing I do think NASCAR did very well with (and wont reserve judgement) is the fact that they took a lot of driver input into consideration. This time around, if the changes fail it was a full effort by everyone involved (drivers, teams, officials, engineers, etc). Hopefully it doesn't completely fail (COT) and NASCAR gets even better racing.

"It was like going back 15 years in time knowing you could actually pass in the corners instead of worrying about drafting in the straightaway," Matt Kenseth said. "You could get one guy on the bottom and one guy on the top, the air wasn't so turbulent that you couldn't get outside of people so the track got really wide. It was like the track aged 10 years and it was awesome. Everybody got out with a smile on their face." -SB Nation

I think the real issue NASCAR was having was the huge complaint of the "dirty air." So NASCAR took to all the complaints from fans and drivers (even when fans say NASCAR never listens) and tried to make the Gen 6 car better. It seems drivers (at least Kenseth) was impressed with the car overall in traffic.

O'Donnell said the goal is more green-flag passes for the lead and "we believe that will happen with drivers potentially making errors in the corner, and that's not just for the lead, but the entire field." -FOX News

Overall I my initial reaction is that NASCAR is trying to improve the quality of racing. Will this do it? Wait and see. But its nice to see them trying to tackle the largest issue (dirty air) while getting input from its best source, the drivers.

More Changes:

"Other changes announced Tuesday are that NASCAR will also now use rain tires in the Sprint Cup Series at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. The rain tires are already used in the lower Nationwide and Truck Series races on road courses, to positive fan feedback." -FOX News

New rain tires will be brought out at the road courses in 2015. I think it will only add to the excitement that we have had in the past few years at these tracks. I just hope Ambrose will be brought back as a ringer for someone!

"The option for a cockpit-controlled panhard bar to allow drivers to alter handling with a suspension adjustment that currently is made by crew members with a wrench during pit stops." -USA Today

This could also help drivers with the "dirty air" problem, since they will be able to change during a run.

"A new video analytics system for officiating the pits (judging whether cars enter the box correctly and lug nuts properly are tightened on tires), which is being tested during the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 2015 system will rely on enhanced cameras and software that will be analyzed by eight officials in a high-tech trailer. A half-dozen officials still will roam the pits for communication with teams." -USA Today

Will a half-dozen officials be enough to police all of these new changes going on in NASCAR? Seems like NASCAR is heading the way of technology and forgetting the human element NASCAR teams might need on hand.

"As for qualifying, the formats will be shortened at all types of tracks, mostly to cut the length of time in the first segment. Teams currently are sitting on pit road trying to time when to run a hot lap, and NASCAR will try to eliminate the waiting.

The first segment on short tracks and intermediate tracks will be 15 minutes, followed by a break, then 10 minutes, a break, and a final 5-minute session. At superspeedways, the field will be divided into two groups for the first 5-minute session, followed by two more 5-minute sessions.

Road course qualifying will consist of one 25-minute session, followed by a 10-minute session.

The Daytona 500 front row qualifying will be done in groups, but the length of the breaks is still being tweaked as NASCAR needs to fill a 3-hour television window" -FOX News

NASCAR just seems to be streamlining the new qualifying format they brought into Cup this season.

As I mentioned above, I will reserve most judgment until we see the actual product. I have liked the steps NASCAR has taken as a whole (a few things here and there I think could be tweaked). I think the fact that they're trying to at least dive into the "dirty air" vs "clean air" dilemma is a step in the right direction. Will it work? That will be seen in 2015. Its still 2014 so lets enjoy the 2014 Sprint Cup Chase.

2015 NASCAR Rule Links:

New rules for NASCAR in 2015- FOX
NASCAR's New Rules- USA Today
Testing ban, horsepower reduction among 2015 NASCAR rule changes- SB Nation
NASCAR bans all private testing, reduces horsepower for 2015- Sporting News
Exclusive: RTA president addresses NASCAR rule changes- FOX Sports
NASCAR 2015 Package: Two Steps Forward, One Back?- Beyond the Flag

Week 29 Preview: Dover

AAA 400

Week 29

By Richard Tix

Dover is the last Chase race that will see all 16 Chase drivers have a chance to get into the next round. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are locked into the next round with wins in the first two races, but everyone else's future is up in the air. It should be a fun race just for the drama alone. Unfortunately, if it is like NASCAR's stop at Dover last year the Chase drama maybe the only exciting part (unless the track blows up again).

Last time around (like so many times lately) Jimmie Johnson dominated the race and made for a pretty uneventful race. Check out Dover's Monster Tamer for a better look at JJ's dominance at Dover.

The Good, Middle, and Bad

(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)

The Good

Jimmie Johnson- 18 times in 25 career races JJ has finished top 10. He has 9 career wins at Dover including the last two. Do you really need more of a reason to have JJ in the "good" category? Fine, he has led a lap in his last 14 starts here and won 6 times in the last 11 races...
Matt Kesneth- Everyone, including Kenseth, is playing for second when it comes to trailing JJ. Kenseth does have 20 top 10's, 14 top 5's, and 2 wins in 31 career starts at Dover. He finished 3rd earlier this season.
Clint Bowyer- Clint finishes top 10 a lot at Dover (10 times in 17 tries), but he only has two top 10's. Can he finally get over the hump and steal a win during the Chase?

The Middle

Joey Logano- JoLo has five straight top 10's at Dover which might put him up in the good category. However, in those five races he has only one top five and didn't lead a single lap. So, look for Joey to run towards the front, but not be the most dominate car on the day.

The Bad

Kurt Busch- Know which driver at SHR has five straight finishes outside the top 10? If you guessed Kurt Busch you would be correct. In fact, only two of those have been top 20 finishes.
Kasey Kahne- Add Kasey to a list of drivers not getting a top ten at Dover in a long stretch (4 races). Unlike Kurt, Kahne has 3 top 20's in those four races.
Jamie McMurray- 12 straight races without a top 10 for McMurray (dates back to 2008). He does have 5 top 15's in that time, but it still is not a good streak to have under your belt.

Track Stats

Richard Petty won the first 3 of 4 races at Dover, including the first two in 1969 and 1970.
The race has been won from the Pole 13 times.
Kyle Petty won after starting 37th in 1995, the furthest back a Dover race has been won.
Toyota hasn't won a Dover race since 2010 (Kyle Busch), or 8 races. Dodge has won twice since then.
The most cautions was 16 in 1993, Rusty Wallace eventually won the race.
Current drivers with more then 1 Dover win (Jimmie Johnson-9, Jeff Gordon-4, Ryan Newman-3, Tony Stewart-3, Kyle Busch-2, Matt Kenseth-2, and Greg Biffle 2).
Current drivers with one Dover win (Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte (part time), Martin Truex Jr, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Burton(part time)).

Other Dover Articles:

TV/Race Schedule
Driver Entry List
Power Rankings
Dover Fantasy Preview (Timer Sports)
Dover's Monster Tamer (Throw Back to earlier this season)

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

2014 Dover International Speedway Entry List

NASCAR Driver Entry List for Dover

By Richard Tix

Chase Race number three in the 2014 season. Last race of the first round before four drivers get cut from the field. List from Jayski.com

Monday, September 22, 2014

2014 Dover Race Schedule

AAA 400

By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern**

Friday Septempber 26, 2014

10-10:50 am- NASCAR Nationwide Series practice- FOX Sports 1
11 am-12:20 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice- FOX Sports 1
2-3:20 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice- ESPN2
3:40 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- ESPN2

Saturday September 27, 2014

11-11:50 am- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice- FOX Sports 1
12:15 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- FOX Sports 2
2-2:50 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice- FOX Sports 2
3:30 pm-NASCAR Nationwide Series race (200 laps)- ESPN2

Sunday September 28, 2014

2 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 (400 laps)- ESPN

Pit Road Week 28: New Hampshire

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 28

By Richard Tix

Two Chase races in and its been officially announced that Team Penske was ready for it. Both drivers (Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano) have won and advanced to the next round. Now, this is probably the least important round to win in because 12 guys move on anyways, but it does send a signal to other teams that Penske is still in fact fast.

That's after a full regular season of seeing these two cars run up front and take poles week in and week out. Going into the final race of the first segment Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola all sit outside the top 12 after AJ Allmendinger had a 13th place run.

The final 10 spots are still wide open this coming Sunday when NASCAR heads to Dover so things should continue to heat up between some drivers. It's been a pretty eventful 2014 Chase so far, but one thing is disappointing to me, and that's that Kyle Larson didn't make the Chase. So far he has Chase race finishes of 3rd and 2nd which would pretty much lock him into the final 12. It is interesting to see if he will continue this and bring it with him into 2015. If he does he could start to be a true contender already.

2014 Sylvania 300 full results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 28 (Week 27)

Brad Keselowski (LW-1)- He finished 7th after an up and down day (mostly up). He showed he could fight back from deep in the field and led a bunch of laps (78) on the day. All of this after taking the Pole.
Joey Logano (LW-4)- JoLo wins at his home track, pretty cool to get it in the Chase. He is part of the Penske Duo that has been fast to start the Chase (and most of the year).
Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- If not for BK's run and JoLo's win Harvick would be #1 this week. He has two straight top 5's to start the Chase and has led 183 laps so far (Chicagoland and NHMS).
Jimmie Johnson (LW-5)- JJ was a bit off at Chicago (12th) but had a nice run at NHMS. Now NASCAR heads to Dover where 6-time has dominated lately.
Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-6)- Jr will be safe with 11th and 9th, heck those kinds of finishes should get him into the final 8 drivers, but he will have to find another gear if he wants to make Miami.
Jeff Gordon (LW-2)- Gordon was running towards the front on Sunday when he had a left front go down which ruined his day. He ended up limping around for a 26th place finish, but still is pretty safe to make the next round. No real harm done.
Kyle Busch (LW-9)- He has disappointing me in 2014 after I picked him to win this years Championship, but his run on Sunday started to redeem himself. He took a beat up car that looked like crap and turned it into an 8th place finish.
Matt Kenseth (LW-7)- Kenseth is only up 2 points on 12th (-40 to -42) going into Dover. Having a beat up car on Sunday did not help (21st).
AJ Allmendinger (LW-14)- So far AJ has been the shocker of the first round. He finished an unimpressive 22nd at Chicago but turned it around for a 13th at NHMS. He is in 10th right now, but that is only a point up on 12th so he will still need a quality run at Dover. (21st earlier this season)
Kasey Kahne (LW-11)- 13th and 23rd place finishes aren't going to get anyone very far in this years Chase (or any Chase format). Kahne needs to get back what he found at Atlanta to turn this Chase around.
Ryan Newman (LW-12)- The Chase has seen Newman be, well, Newman. His 2014 season has been very average (yet, best in the RCR crew). His 2014 Chase has also been average (if not below) with finishes of 15th and 18th on Sunday.
Greg Biffle (LW-15)- Biffle just doesn't have it in 2014, or maybe it's RFR. Either way, something has been missing all season.
Carl Edwards (LW-13)- Not impressive so far in the Chase (20th and 17th) Carl can still move on to the next round. But runs like this will see him getting the boot soon if he doesn't turn it around. He also can afford a bad run at Dover or he might not advance.
Kurt Busch (LW-8)- Kurt was one of many victims to hit the wall on Sunday, but he never really found his way back up front like some (his brother for one). He finished 36th and is now in the bottom 4 drivers going into Dover.
Aric Almirola (LW-16)- His 6th place run was awesome to watch, sadly it still leaves him 10 points from 12th (Kasey Kahne). The nice thing about this first round is one bad race and you still have a chance (however small).
Denny Hamlin (LW-10)-Rough week for DH. He had an issue with his fuel tank/lines that set him back then got into an incident with a teammate. In the end he had too big of a hole and finished 37th.

No one picked Joey Logano this week. I had a lot of Harvick, Keselowski, and Gordon picks but no one picked Joey to win at his home track. Better luck next week.

However, we had this smart remark that I thought at least deserved a shout out. Technically correct.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Pit Road Week 27: Chicagoland

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 27

By Richard Tix

Chase week 1 is in the book and we know the first driver to move on to the next stage. 11 spots are up for grabs as NASCAR heads to New Hampshire after Brad Keselowski won at Chicagoland on Sunday. Two more races until four drivers are officially eliminated. But, since the review is already late lets get right into the Power Rankings.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 27 (Week 26)

Brad Keselowski (LW-3)- BK started the fresh Chase Power Rankings off in 3rd behind four-time (Jeff Gordon) and six-time (Jimmie Johnson). After his week 1 win that means he automatically moves on to next round he moves up to the top spot. That is back to back wins for BK and 5 on the season.
Jeff Gordon (LW-1)- If it wasn't the Chase and the fact that BK has won back to back races then Gordon may still have the #1 spot after leading 26 laps and finishing 2nd. But, BK has got hot at the right time. That isn't taking anything away from Gordon as he has finished 2nd back to back races,
Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- Harvick lead the most laps on Sunday (79) and finished 5th. Not a bad start for his title hopes. If he can finish consistently then he will have a great shot at his first title because he is bound to win at least one more time in 2014.
Joey Logano (LW-6)- BK won and Joey finished fourth, the next highest Ford? Ricky Stenhouse in 17th. Just shows how much faster the Penske Ford;s have been in 2014. JoLo and BK are matching up against Harvick and Hendrick for the title early and often.
Jimmie Johnson (LW-3)- JJ's top 10 streak of four races ended at Chicagoland on Sunday, but he still managed a 12th place finish. His sights are onto NH (or maybe even just Dover where he has dominated so often).
Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- It's been four straight races with Jr not in the top 10, easily his longest stretch in 2014. Right now isn't the time to have that stretch either. The good news? Two of those finishes were 11th and another was 12th.
Matt Kenseth (LW-7)- Kenseth finished 10th on Sunday which is a good start to his 2014 Chase campain. Once the field narrows the pressure will start to win a race, until then he can be content finishing strong with good points days.
Kurt Busch (LW-9)- Kurt's 8th place finish made it 4 top 10's in his last 6 starts. Those four top 10's are half the amount he has total in 2014 (8). Its a nice time to start getting it going.
Kyle Busch (LW-11)- Bounce back weekend for Rowdy at Chicagoland. After taking the Pole during qualifying Kyle finished 7th on Sunday. He led 46 laps, but what is more inportant is that he finally got back on track after a rough stretch entering the Chase (6 races without a top 10).
Denny Hamlin (LW-12)- Hamlin finished 6th after a day where his high running position was 5th. He should be happy with the results and move on to Loudon.
Kasey Kahne (LW-10)- Kahne finished 13th on Sunday. He wasn't really a front runner (average running position of 17th) but he got a quality (non Chase killing) finish.
Ryan Newman (LW-14)- Consistency may just get you through to the round of 12. Newman finished 15th which is about the position I think of him running all year.
Carl Edwards (LW-8)- The big dropper of the week, Carl finished 20th after starting 3rd. It hasn't been a good year for any Ford driver not a part of Team Penske.
AJ Allmendinger (LW-16)- AJ doesnt have the greatest shot at advancing, but a 22nd place finish wont kill him. He will need a great two race run to advance, though.
Greg Biffle (LW-13)- Other then Aric (engine) Biffle finished the lowest of any Chase contender (23rd). Not the start the #16 team needed.
Aric Almirola (LW-15)- Poor Aric. He was actually having a good day before his engine gave out on him late in the race. In this new format and the fact that 12 drivers move on Aric still has a shot, but it just got that much smaller.

As I stated last week, only Chase drivers are eligible for the top 16 for now. Once we get to 12 drivers the top 12 will be made up of the remaining drivers and 13-16 can be made up of anyone not left in the Chase. Once we are at 8 drivers the same thing will happen (top 8 will all be Chase drivers and the rest of the list can be anyone). So, that should explain to you why a guy like Kyle Larson didn't make the top 16 this week.

Only one winner this week. I was up in Northern MN fishing this past week so part of it was my fault for not asking on Twitter. Meanwhile, Dave lets me know every week he is picking BK. So, he has been on these reviews 5 times in 2014.

As always, thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall. Since this week is late, if you havent yet, check out the Week 28 Preview: New Hampshire that is already up (every Wednesday). Also, check out the New Hampshire Driver Entry List.

2014 New Hampshire Motor Speedway Entry List (Race Two)

NASCAR Driver Entry List for Loudon

By Richard Tix

Race number 2 in the Sprint Cup Chase. Entry list from Jayski.com.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Week 28 Preview: New Hampshire

Osram Sylvania 300

Week 28

By Richard Tix

This weekend I am making my annual trip up north (Minnesota) for a guys fishing trip. I wont have everything up this week as I have limited reception but I wanted to make sure I at least get the Chase Race Week 2 Preview out for everyone who comes here every week. Check out the Good, Middle, and Bad Preview. Here are the results from the Camping World RV Sales 301 earlier this season.

Check out the Camping World RV Sales 301 Preview

The Good, Middle, and Bad
(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)

The Good

Denny Hamlin- DH is up to 17 career starts, 11 top 10's, 7 top 5's, and 2 wins. Its just Chase race #2 but NH could be a turning point for Hamlin in this three race set.
Jimmie Johnson- JJ may have went out earlier this year on the first stop at NH (11 total laps, Crash), but that can not take away from his history here. In 25 races he has 17 career top 10's, 9 top 5's, and 3 wins (last one in 2010).
Brad Keselowski- BK won his first lobster earlier this year after leading 138 of 305 laps in the Camping RV Sales 301. Before that he had 5 top 10's, 3 top 5's (the other two were 6th), and 2 poles.
Extra Credit- Jeff Gordon

The Middle

Kevin Harvick- Harvick only has 4 top 10's in his last 10 starts at NH, but in 2010 he did have back to back 5th's. He isn't bad here, but he doesn't seem to string a bunch of quality finishes back to back here.

The Bad

Aric Almirola- Not good news for Aric's Chase hopes, he only has 1 top 10 in 8 career starts at NH. In fact he only has 2 top 20 finishes in that same span. Most of the time he finishes right around 20-25, which he will need more to move on.
AJ Allmendinger- Another Chase hopefully, AJ has 1 top 10 in 11 career starts. Unlike Aric, he has 4 top 20's and 3 finishes 12th or better (all since 2010). So, there is some hope for AJ (however little).
Paul Menard- Menard is on a career streak of 15 races at NH without a top 10. That is in fact, all of his starts at NH (15). On the plus side, in his last 7 he hasn't finished outside the top 25 and has 5 top 20's (I guess if you call that a plus side?).

Track Stats

Rusty Wallace won the first race at Loudon in 1993. He started 33rd
Most cautions was the second race at Loudon, 1994, 17 for 78 laps. Ricky Rudd won the race.
A Cup race at Loudon has been won from the Pole position five times (Newman-2011, Clint Bowyer-2007, Kevin Harvick-2006, Newman-2002, and Jeff Gordon-1998).
In 1999 Jeff Burton won after starting 38th (farthest back a winner has started).
Ryan Newman has won the Pole at Loudon an astounding 7 times in his 25 starts.
5 current full time drivers have 3 total wins at Loudon (Gordon, Newman, Johnson, Stewart, and Ku Busch). Jeff Burton (part time) has 4 career Loudon wins.

Have a good weekend everyone! Thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall. Power Rankings will get up before the weekend (just later than normal)!

2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Highlights

By Richard

The New Era of NASCAR has started. Good or bad, hate it or love it, NASCAR changed there whole points system at the beginning of the season and the Sprint Cup Chase is now upon us. The biggest change of the news points (other then the win and get in) might arguably be the new elimination rounds. Every 3 races new drivers will be eliminated from the Chase and will no longer be able to compete to win the Championship.

Well, what better way to start the New Era then by starting a new post that NASCAR Behind the Wall will update throughout the Chase? Each week and every few days I will update this post with new articles, photos, links, and social media finds during the Chase. Anything you need for the next 10 races will be found here. So, check back regularly as new material will be coming!

NASCAR Behind the Wall Articles: