September 5, 2007
By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

Well, I do have to say the threat of a boring California race really did not appear until the latter part of the event, when it was clear Jimmie Johnson was not going to be beat.

Even though many fans stayed home in the California heat, the ones that attended were treated to a race that was as intense as the heat. Dale Jr. drove his tail off doing all the things he needed to do except win. Normally, a top 5 run would be worth celebrating, but the 8 team seemed a bit drained after running so well -- but gaining virtually nothing in the standings. His 100-point fine from NASCAR earlier in the season is looming large now. But no more so that the four mechanical DNF's he has suffered throughout this year. And most of the DNF's came when he was running in the top 10. You can easily assume those races cost him nearly 90 points each race, which would have him sitting well within the Chase now.

The only chance Dale Jr. now has is for Kevin Harvick to have a complete blow up at Richmond and the 8 team finishing with another top 5. While unlikely, it could happen.

Drivers such as Mears, Biffle and Newman have missed the Chase, they are looking to build for next year. Earnhardt does not really have that opportunity since he will be leaving to join Hendrick. And with Kyle Busch in the Chase, there is no chance of an early driver swap at the end of the year.

While folks were tossing out the “resurgence” word for Kasey Kahne after Bristol, Bobby Labonte and Team Petty look to be more of on the verge of resurgence than Kahne. An 11th place finish at California has Labonte in 17th place has him in a decent position to challenge for a top 15 run for the year which would be awesome for Petty Enterprises.

Ricky Rudd has to be thinking his announced retirement at the end of the year is a wise thing after a hard crash Sunday night that separated his shoulder. Even with the SAFER barrier, he hit the wall on the driver’s side a ton.

Earlier in the race, Michael Waltrip’s car blew a front tie with enough force to blow out his oil lines creating a huge fire. While his car sat burning in the infield, the safety crew seemed to be taking it’s time putting the fire out even though fire on the inside of the cockpit was obvious. A tall dude, Waltrip struggled to get out of the car and was eventually assisted with his exit by the safety crew.

And Kyle Busch confirmed what has been the worst kept secret in the garage area with his mentioning of switching makes to Toyota. This stunning manufacturer swap certainly places Toyota firmly in the race for a championship in Cup racing in the coming years. With Stewart, Hamlin and Busch in the stable, Toyota has positioned itself very well for its first win next year. And if Toyota teams start sharing information that Gibbs will obviously provide, that will help Team Red Bull, Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.

Fast approaching in the rear view mirror is the race at Richmond this Saturday night. While the Chase is pretty much set, you can be darned sure all the teams are going for the win to gain those valuable Chase bonus points for winning a race. Johnson looks to be seeded number one, but the top five drivers in the standings are all gunning for everything they can get. Plus, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman are looking to make a Penske statement this year by improving on their top 10 runs this spring at Richmond.

And we all know that Lowe’s has been Jimmie Johnson’s personal playpen as of late.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any other racing topic.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Turn Left Racing. The blog at www.turnleftracing.com is down now due to spammers. We will have that back up as soon as we can.

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