iNSIDE SCOOP: RIR Pivotal…For Many Reasons

This weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway is a pivotal point in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. 

Not just because there’s points on the table, but because it offers a chance for some teams to right the ship so to speak.

I speak mainly of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who rank 15th and 21st, respectively, in the points after six races.

Gordon has shown great pace at times this season, but on race day, it never seems to come together. Half-distance, he’s an all-star; when the checkered waves, he’s getting what he can get. There’s a breakthrough around the corner, but how far around the corner it is, nobody knows.

Stewart, on the other hand, hasn’t been on top of his game much this year. His best run was unfolding at California until the final restart, and we all know what happened from there. He has not qualified well most of the year, and it has translated to the races.

That’s seven total championships sitting there in danger of missing the Chase. I know, I know…there are 20 races before that happens.

OK, I agree; but what if the 20 races are the same way as the first six were? That’s a lot of star power down the drain and racing for wins in the final 10 races. Stewart hasn’t come close to winning races—he has a single top-10 so far—and he’s outside the top 20 in points, which seals off the wild-card as well.

Gordon and Stewart are of an age, and they are very similar in terms of background. They are not similar in the way they do things. 

On the one hand, Gordon is the lone HMS car out of the Chase. On the other, Stewart is the second-ranked SHR car in the standings behind Ryan Newman, who is a lame-duck driver at this point. He has no contract past this season.

In the meantime, there are folks in the top 12 right now who might just have a good start go south on them. Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray come to mind immediately, though both have hit the ground running thus far.

It is way early, yes, and there is plenty of stuff to come, but it bears watching.

Good News Dept.:

Ratings for Kansas were up 5% over last year, which is always good to hear, and it’s not because of anything other than it was a stirring race. For a track that was repaved last year and was still a bit one-groove, that’s a pretty good sign that the racing is about where NASCAR thinks it ought to be.

Interesting News Dept.:

Penske Racing’s appeal of the Texas penalties is set for May 1 at 9 a.m., and if the three-person panel upholds them, the matter will go to John Middlebrook for final dispensation. There’s a pool of 48 possible judges, including John Capels, who also heard the infractions against Hendrick Motorsports.

This is a crap-shoot, because there’s a lot of different perspectives involved. Penske says the teams were working in a gray area; NASCAR said the work violated the “spirit of the rules.” Stay tuned.