5 Questions After ... STP 400
Now that the STP
400 at Kansas Speedway is over, it is time to figure out a few
things. Yes, there are five burning
questions that I have and I am sure that you can guess what the first one is
going to be, right?
Here we go…
(Drum Roll) When will Rick Hendrick get
his 200th win?
… Okay, so it seemed as if there was a
BIG chance that the Hendrick race team was going to “get ‘er done” this weekend
and it just didn’t happen. Unfortunately, they came up just two positions short
of the checkered flag with Johnson trailing race winner Hamlin and Truex Jr. This
will now make three weeks in a row that “win 200” has been so close yet eluded them. Next stop is Richmond where both Earnhardt
Jr. and Johnson have three wins, Gordon has two and Kahne has just one. Can they finally get it done … guess we will
see.
Will the three hometown boys ever win at
home or are they just cursed on their own turf? … Bowyer, Edwards and McMurray have
NEVER won at their home track – are they cursed? Hopefully not but fate has not
been on their side. Bowyer had engine trouble and didn’t finish the race;
Edwards finished ninth but never seemed to get up front; and McMurray finished
14th but really didn’t pose a threat to actually win. At some point
this should change, right? Who knows? We will just have to keep waiting and
watching.
Is there an engine/fuel goblin in Kansas
or did the weather just cause massive drama? … There were several drivers who had major issues due to
the weather conditions. It was predicted
to be around 72 degrees on Sunday; however, Mother Nature decided otherwise. The
engine/fuel goblin grabbed ahold of polesitter AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer
(DNF), Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte (DNF) and Mark Martin (DNF). Should the race have really been moved to
April vs. June? Probably not but the track has to undergo their repaving
project which started the next day after the Cup race. We will see how the October races turn out …
stay tuned.
Repaving work – will this make the racing
even more exciting? … So,
I realized the work needed to be done due to this HUGE chunk of track that I
got to see over the weekend, but will it really make a difference in the
excitement level of the racing in Kansas? Three words … I don’t know. Enough said.
Starting from the pole in Kansas – is that
really a great thing? …
Statistically speaking, there have only been two drivers who’ve won from the
pole position in Kansas (Nemechek/2004 & Johnson/2008). In both the Cup & Truck series this
weekend, neither one of the pole sitters captured the checkered flag. We know what happened to AJ Allmendinger
(Cup); Tim George Jr. finished 17th (Trucks), so you do the
math.
Bonus Questions:
Will the Gibbs organization beat Hendrick to win 200? … How many drivers will
be friends once they leave Richmond? … Who will be leading in points standings?
Opinions
expressed are those solely of the author
5 Questions After ... STP 400
Reviewed by Unique Hiram
on
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Rating:
