owners points

’5-Hour Energy 500′ at Pocono: Gordon Wins, Ky Busch Penalized, Carl Craters

by on June 13, 2011

in nascar, sports

One of the longest feeling NASCAR Sprint Cup races of the season came and went last weekend, with the 5-Hour Energy 500 from Pocono Raceway.  (I sure would love to see the track owners set up a slightly shorter race some year!  But with the Pocono even came a new telecast partner in TNT and an incredibly wonderful online collaboration with Race Buddy.  I can’t say enough about Race Buddy.  It’s not for everyone, but for those of you who like your TV coverage accented with your laptop open, you cannot beat Race Buddy for what it provides.  Check it out some time!  See what you think!

Regardless of how you were watching the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, you probably saw that Jeff Gordon got his 2nd 2011 win, and this was his 84th win, which ties him for third all-time in wins in NASCAR.

During the race, Kyle Busch was finding himself harassed by Kevin Harvick as Harvick kept forcing Busch off-line and down the track a few times.  “They” were warned by NASCAR.  I have to say, it’s interesting how NASCAR keep warning both parties on some events and incidents when it’s clearly not a two-person participation event!  Though I suspect that Harvick made some more fans after this one.

Carl Edwards suffered an engine failure that relegated him to his worse finish of the season, at 37th.  You knew something was bad when during the race you watched Carl backing up pit road to get back behind the wall.

NASCAR Bits and Pieces divider (NASCAR news and opinions)

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NASCAR At Darlington Raceway This Weekend, Top Performers, Top-35 & More

by on May 5, 2011

in nascar, sports

This weekend, NASCAR is returning to Darlington Raceway, best known for the nickname, The Lady in Black.  It’s a tough track and every driver needs to bring their ‘A’ game… even compared to other weekends.

If you’re wondering what the NASCAR Cup schedule is like at  Darlington, here’s a rough guide to what’s happening when: (All times Eastern)

Friday (5/6)

11:30 AM First Practice on Speed
2:00 PM Practice on Speed
5:00 PM Qualifying on Speed

Saturday (5/7)

7:30 PM Southern 500 live on Fox

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Who are we looking at to possibly outperform the rest of the gang?  Good question.

We haven’t seen a repeat winner at the track since 2006 though over the last 12 races, the statistics say Jeff Gordon loves this place, and then followed up by Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.  Maybe we’ll see Gordon redeem himself after donating his car’s paint to the wall at Richmond.

Among the bunch noted in the above section, Hamlin won in ’10, Martin in ’09, Gordon in ’07.  It feels like a grab bag.  I could only venture forth a real guess after I’ve seen some practice and qualifying data and see who unloads off the truck.

Though, if I had to pick now, I’d pull Greg Biffle‘s name because he’s lead the most laps, per modern-day loop data, and this track may cater to his abilities.

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NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. Can Still Finish 2010 Decently In The Points If…

by on October 20, 2010

in nascar, sports

Dale Earnhardt Jr

Looking at all the points charts in NASCAR, I thought I’d do one I haven’t seen.  No, not owners points… that’s almost a non-battle for 35th.  No, not rookie points.  I’m talking a Dale Earnhardt Jr. points chart.

After putting together a points standings chart, it looks like there is potential for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to NOT finish outside the top-15.  True, he has a lot to overcome, but it’s still mathematically possible!  (It’s a desperate angle when one pulls in the term mathematical, but it is still a chance!)

Pos | Pos Change | Driver |  Points | Points +/- Dale Jr.

13 1 Jamie McMurray 3786 331
14 -1 Ryan Newman 3711 256
15 – Mark Martin 3632 177
16 – Juan Montoya 3590 135
17 – David Reutimann 3520 65
18 2 Joey Logano 3499 44
19 -1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3455 0
20 1 A.J. Allmendinger 3419 -36
21 -2 Kasey Kahne 3398 -57
22 – Martin Truex Jr. 3383 -72
23 – Paul Menard 3207 -248
24 – David Ragan 3054 -401
25 – Brad Keselowski 2987 -468

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Owners Points Top-35 Headed Into Texas

by on April 15, 2010

in nascar, sports

I was taking a gander at the Owners Points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series and realized that with Jimmie Johnson being the points leader in the driver standings, that this situation puts Jeff Gordon on top of the Owner Points.  Huh, the little things, I tell ya!

But looking at that 35th spot and the different cars around it, it’s actually a bit snug from 36th and up.

Car owners Robby Gordon and Doug Yates need to put their foot on the gas pedal and make things happen or they’ll be finding themselves needing to qualify into races!

P No. Car Owner Pts +/-
30 #77 Roger Penske 625 97
31 #71 Kevin Buckler 586 58
32 #78 Richard Childress 580 52
33 #38 Doug Yates 546 18
34 #37 Doug Yates 538 10
35 #7 Robby Gordon 528 0
36 #34 Bob Jenkins 521 -7
37 #26 Bill Jenkins 426 -102
38 #36 Tommy Baldwin 420 -108
39 #13 Bob Germain 361 -167
40 #190 Raymond Key 304 -224

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Owner Standings Top-35 Focus after Bristol, Mar 21 2010

by on March 23, 2010

in nascar, sports

Now that the first 5 races have come and gone, the actual Owners Points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Division will take affect, as far as who is guaranteed a spot in the next race.  For those who don’t know, the top-35 in Owner’s Points are guaranteed starters while the rest outside of the top 35 have to battle their way into the race-field for Sunday’s fun. (See my NASCAR’s Owner’s Points Explained)

Right now, as you can see, Kevin Conway owns that coveted 35th spot.  Robby Gordon’s blood pressure must be a tad higher than normal and David Stremme knows he will need to be on top of his game and the wheel to get into next week’s race at Martinsville.

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NB&P’s Take on The Top-35 Rule in NASCAR

by on February 9, 2010

in nascar, sports

I’ve been hearing about the top-35 rule issues for quite a few weeks.

It seems that having the status of being in the top-35 in Owners points, gives you a commodity that you can barter with that brings value to a team.  From a business structure of a sport, that makes sense.  If it was your wallet that had those points that you could “sell,” I bet it would make sense to you also.

But from the emotional side of things, it sure doesn’t seem right.  When a team does well enough to be in the top-35 of Owners Points, they earned those points and no one else.  It feels odd to see a team that hasn’t fought for those spots to have the luxury of being in the top 35.  Especially if there might be a more deserving team sitting in 36th from last year that might have moved up and benefited from a team in the top-35 dropping out.  Which is a sad event, to say so in the least.

As I’ve been told in the past, there’s the relationships and results that are one thing, but BUSINESS is BUSINESS, and that rules the roost every time. Don’t ever forget that gang!

That, is NB&P’s take on the matter.

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NASCAR Owners Points Explained – More or Less

by on February 9, 2010

in nascar, sports

NASCAR Logo - National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

NASCAR Logo - National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

So how do teams competing in NASCAR accrue Owners Points?

First, Owner Points equal to that of the driver points for that finishing position are awarded to owners at the finish of each race.

But of the cars that don’t make the field for the race, they still get owners points.

All teams (cars) that pass inspection and get on the track to make a qualifying run gets points.

The points are handed out, starting with the fastest car that failed to qualify, down to the slowest car that attempted to qualify.

It’s these points a type of priority for actually obtaining qualifying spots, if necessary.  Not to mention, this might explain the basis for some of those Start and Parks we see every race.

And of course, owners points are pretty important, because the top-35 in the owners points standings are guaranteed a spot in the next race.  Or in the case of the beginning of the year, the top-35 cars in the owners points from the last race of the previous season are guaranteed spots in the first 5 races of the next year.

Now ya know!

NASCAR Bits & Pieces NB&P Mini Logo - cleaner

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Top 35 Owner Points Battle Going Into Homestead [NBaP]

by on November 19, 2009

in nascar, sports

On Sunday, there will more than likely be a bit of a race going on that doesn’t depend on where Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin finishes.

In fact this race, thought admittedly not a real tension builder, is between three cars.

The No. 7 car Owned and driven by Robby Gordon.  The No 34, Owned by Teresa Earnhardt & driven by
John Andretti and the No. 82 car, owned by Dietrich Mateschitz and driven by Scott Speed.

There’s a 191 point spread between these three cars and two of them will be in the top 35 by race end on Sunday.

Speed as a 114 points to make up on Andretti while Gordon is 77 points ahead of Andretti’s car.

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Roush's No 6 Nationwide Car – Going To Richmond

by on May 1, 2009

Erik Darnell is making his Nationwide season debut in the No. 6 Northern Tools+Equipment Ford for the Lipton TEA 250 at Richmond.  No pressure there, huh?

With David Ragan winning his first NASCAR national series race at Talladega, that moved him up to third in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.  His win helped the Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 slide into the sixth spot in the exciting owner standings.

The series car owner championship is the Roush’s  main goal and a lot of trust goes into the shared ride deal with Ragan and Darnell sharing time behind the wheel.

Right now Darnell is a candidate for the 2009 Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year award.  He’s be making his second start in the series.  The 26-year-old driver is a two-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition.

nascar nationwide series owners points 050109

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