iNSIDE SCOOP: Game Changer

Whatever this weekend’s Sylvania 300 holds in store, it’s going to be a game-changer for someone.

Will it be Clint Bowyer, who is running neck-and-neck with the Senate in terms of popularity among NASCAR faithful? Or Jeff Gordon, who is in by fiat and hasn’t hit much of a lick of late? Could it be Five-Time, who entered the Chase on a down (for him) note and seeks to reverse the curse, or might it be Kyle Busch, who for once seems to be loose as a goose and just living large?

That’s the thing with the Chase; you never know what you get until you actually turn them loose on the track.

Let’s not forget Carl Edwards, who had a down year last year and seems to do very well in odd-numbered seasons (2011, for instance), or Kevin Harvick, who seems to be one of those guys for whom the light switch, when it’s flipped, burns brighter than most.

How about Chicagoland winner Matt Kenseth, who is on a roll so far and shows no sign of letting up?  Ryan Newman is good at NHMS, and can get on a roll himself. Kurt Busch has had such a dream season already that it’s hard to figure where he’ll wind up. Of course, expending all the energy he did to just make it in might mean he’s going to just go ahead and win the darn thing as well.

About the only guys that seem to be searching still are Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, who dug (or had them dug for them) holes in Chi-Town and have turned to the shovel already. Biffle just didn’t have the car, Junior didn’t have the engine, Kahne didn’t have a grille and Logano didn’t have two cylinders.

Of course, Logano and Kahne have won here before, so it’s logical that they might get well in a hurry. No matter what, they’ve had their mulligans and are now lying two on the par-10 that is the Chase.

One cat who has a lot on his mind is Martin Truex Jr., usually known as the Clam Prince of New Jersey but forever tarred with the moniker the 14th Chaser (by me, alas). Team owner Michael Waltrip stated Friday that he had asked Truex to give the team some time to sort out what is going on with the 56 for next year when NAPA leaves.

Does he stay or does he go? With apologies to The Proclaimers, I think he goes. And, I think he might take NAPA with him. That’s a guess at this point, but one with a chance of succeeding. NAPA has intimated that it’s not MTJ they’re not happy with; the management at MWR seems to have that nailed down.

Man, I bet MWR wishes they had Richmond back, to the tune of $16 million per season for three years. You don’t just go find another sponsor at that price, not today, and you can’t crack open enough piggy banks to come anywhere close to making it up.

NAPA is a primo sponsor, plugged into car folk and racers alike. They talk the talk, and now that they’re walking the walk from MWR, they’ll either take CPNJ with them to someplace like RCR or SHR, or they’ll keep on walking. Starting over with a familiar face behind the wheel might just be enough to eradicate the icky feeling management no doubt is tasting right now, and with a team like those mentioned, it might be a good deal all around.

If I had to wager, and I won’t, I would say NAPA will stay in. What form that recommitment takes is still a bit hazy, but I don’t think they’ll up and walk away.

Further, I would put money on Clint Bowyer, Newman or Gordon to be in Victory Lane on Sunday.