|
 2 BRAD KESELOWSKI, Ford
Team: Penske Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Brad Keselowski entered Richmond this past Saturday
in fifth place. But after winning that race, he vaulted to the top
of the reseeded Chase for the Sprint Cup standings. Keselowski leads
a four-way tie for second place between former points leader Jeff
Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano, all by
three points.
CHICAGO RECORD: 5 career starts, 1 win, 2 top-5s, 3 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: First in 2012. Finished 7th in this race
last year and was a career-best first in the 2012 Chase kickoff race
there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Keselowski is the man with the early target on his
back, starting the 11th edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup atop
the reseeded standings. Keselowski is looking to start the Chase in
much the same way he did in 2012, when he won at Chicagoland and
went on to win the Sprint Cup championship. "We won the Chicago race
in 2012, and I'd like to do that again," Keselowski said. "We are
riding some good momentum coming out of Richmond, so we look to
carry that forward into the first race of the Chase this weekend.
Chicagoland is somewhat similar to Kentucky, which was a great race
for us earlier this year, and I think that bodes well for our
chances this weekend. This team is fired up, and we look to continue
building on what we've done to get to this point of the season."
LOOKING BACK: After a rough race at Atlanta (finished 39th),
Keselowski rebounded in huge fashion, dominating (leading 383 of 400
laps) and winning the last Chase qualifying race at Richmond this
past Saturday.
ETC.: Keselowski has completed a near-perfect 99.8 percent (1,332)
of the 1,335 total laps contested in five career starts at
Chicagoland. His average start there is 16.0 and average finish is
12.6. He has zero DNFs there.
24 JEFF GORDON, Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: After leading the standings for 12 of the last 13
weeks and 18 of the last 19 weeks, Jeff Gordon fell into a four-way
tie for second place when the points were reseeded for the Chase for
the Sprint Cup. Gordon is tied with Hendrick Motorsports teammates
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, as well as Joey Logano. All
four drivers are three points behind new points leader Brad
Keselowski.
CHICAGO RECORD: 13 career starts, 1 win, 6 top-5s, 8 top-10s, 1
pole. Best career finish: First in 2006. Finished sixth in this race
last year and was a career-worst 35th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Even though he's no longer in the points lead, Gordon
is still well within striking distance of regaining the lead if he
has a strong run Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. "The 24 team is
communicating and running well right now, so we're really looking
forward to the Chase starting this weekend in Chicago. The Chase is
going to be intense. There is a perception that you have to win in
the first two rounds, but I don't think that is necessarily true.
It'd be nice to win, but you really need to be solid. If you put
solid races together in the first two rounds, you're moving on. But
you're going to need to step it up for the (Eliminator) round. The
competition is that much tougher when it's eight drivers battling to
be the four that will compete for the championship at Homestead."
LOOKING BACK: Gordon just barely missed being the No. 1 seed in the
Chase following Richmond, finishing second to race winner and
top-ranked Brad Keselowski, who assumed the top spot in the
standings after they were reseeded for the Chase.
ETC.: Gordon has completed 97.2 percent (3,377) of the 3,474 total
laps contested in 13 career starts at Chicagoland. His average start
is 11.6 and his average finish is also 11.6. He has two DNFs there.
88 DALE EARNHARDT JR., Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: Even with the standings reseeded after Richmond,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. remained in second place - although he's now tied
with three other drivers (Joey Logano and teammates Jeff Gordon and
Jimmie Johnson) for the No. 2 position. The quartet trails points
leader Brad Keselowski by three points each.
CHICAGO RECORD: 13 career starts, 1 win, 3 top-5s, 5 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: First in 2005. Finished 35th in this race
last year (engine failure) and was eighth in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Earnhardt is looking to have a much better start to
this year's Chase than he did in last year's first race, which he
retired from early due to engine failure. Earnhardt would like
nothing more than to win his fourth race of the season and second of
his career at Chicagoland this Sunday. "It's time to get to it,"
Earnhardt said. "I'm looking forward to sitting down with (crew
chief) Steve (Letarte) and our engineers to prepare, set our goals
for each individual race. Steve has some great ideas and I really
believe in his direction. We've got a great team around us. We want
to put our best foot forward in the Chase and be one of those teams
in the battle going into Homestead. But as a company, I don't think
we could be any more prepared than we are."
LOOKING BACK: Earnhardt was never able to challenge for the lead,
but still had a decent night at Richmond, finishing 12th.
ETC.: Earnhardt has completed 97.0 percent (3,369) of the 3,474
total laps contested in 13 career starts at Chicagoland. His average
start there is 17.1 and average finish is 15.8. He has two DNFs
there.
48 JIMMIE JOHNSON, Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: Jimmie Johnson jumped from sixth place in the
regular season standings and into a four-way tie for second place in
the reseeded Chase standings with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
and Joey Logano. All four drivers trail new points leader Brad
Keselowski by three points each.
CHICAGO RECORD: 12 career starts, 0 wins, 7 top-5s, 10 top-10s, 2
poles. Best career finish: Second in 2004, 2008 and 2012. Finished
fifth in this race last year and was second in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Johnson is looking to kick off his bid for a
record-tying seventh championship this weekend. If he wins his
seventh crown in the last nine seasons, Johnson would tie NASCAR
Hall of Famers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for most
Cup championships won by a driver. Johnson has added incentive this
weekend: Chicagoland is one of only four tracks that he has never
won at. "I'm excited to get started with the Chase," Johnson said.
"It's an exciting time for our sport and an exciting time for the
Lowe's team. I'm hoping to get started this weekend in Chicago with
a win."
LOOKING BACK: After a pair of fourth-place finishes at Bristol and
Atlanta, Johnson finished eighth at Richmond. But he suffered severe
dehydration in the race and was transported to the infield medical
center, where he received five liters of fluid. The cause was traced
to a defective cooling system in his helmet. "I felt a lot better
Saturday evening after the infield care center. I attended the
triathlon that my foundation (the Jimmie Johnson Foundation) put on
Sunday morning (in Davidson, N.C.) and then headed down to
Charleston (S.C.) for a buddy's wedding. But I'm doing much better
and feeling good."
ETC.: Johnson has completed 98.6 percent (3,161) of 3,207 total laps
in 12 career starts at Chicagoland. His average start there is an
outstanding 7.7, with an equally outstanding 8.9 average finish. He
has one DNF there.
22 JOEY LOGANO, Ford
Team: Penske Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: After coming into Richmond in fourth place, Joey
Logano left there after Saturday's race tied for second in the
reseeded Chase standings. He's tied with Jimmie Johnson, Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. The quartet is three points ahead of
two drivers tied for sixth-place, Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick.
CHICAGO RECORD: 5 career starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5s, 1 top-10, 1 pole.
Best career finish: Seventh in 2012. Finished 37th in this race last
year and was a career-best 7th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Chicagoland Speedway has not been a good venue for
Logano to date, with just one top-10 finish in five career starts.
He's looking to improve significantly from a career-worst finish of
37th in this race last year. "You have to go into these next 10
races and bring you're A game the entire time," Logano said. "You
can't have a letdown. This is a different Chase this year, but our
Chicago race last year proved that you can't afford to have a bad
race. We won the pole and were running third last year in the first
race of the Chase and blew an engine and that put us behind for the
next nine races. You can't afford to dig yourself out of a hole. Ten
races sounds like a lot of time and a lot of chances, but it's not.
These next 10 weeks will go really fast."
LOOKING BACK: Logano tried to keep pace with Team Penske teammate
Brad Keselowski, who was the class of the field in dominating the
final Chase qualifying race at Richmond. But when it was over,
Keselowski won and Logano finished a still-respectable sixth.
ETC.: Logano has completed just 93.0 percent (1,242) of the 1,335
laps contested in five career starts at Chicagoland. His average
start there is 12.6 and average finish is a mediocre 19.4. He has
one DNF there.
4 KEVIN HARVICK, Chevrolet
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Kevin Harvick went from seventh heading into
Richmond this past Saturday and into a tie with Carl Edwards for
sixth place after the standings were reseeded for the Chase. He
trails points leader Brad Keselowski by six points, is three points
behind four drivers tied for second (Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano), and is three points ahead of a
six-way tie for ninth-place (Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne,
Aric Almirola, AJ Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin).
CHICAGO RECORD: 13 career starts, 2 wins, 7 top-5s, 8 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: First in 2001 and 2002. Finished third in
this race last year and was 12th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Harvick has finished second and third in two of the
last three races at Chicagoland Speedway. He's hoping to finally
earn his third career win there this Sunday. Also, in an unusual
move, Harvick has exchanged pit crews with teammate Tony Stewart,
who did not make the Chase, for the entire 10-race playoff. Harvick
has been beset by numerous mistakes on pit road this season, and
it's hoped that the trade of pit crews will help Harvick's
championship bid. "You just have to survive," Harvick said about
having success in the Chase. "You need to be consistent, but you
need to capitalize on winning races because that guarantees you a
trip to the next round. You can't force it, you just have to go out
and do the things that you have to do to race every week and try to
qualify well, lead laps, run up front. And when you have a chance to
win you need to capitalize on it and try to figure it out."
LOOKING BACK: Harvick was the only driver other than race winner
Brad Keselowski to lead laps at Richmond. Harvick led 17, Keselowski
383. Harvick fell back near the end of the race, but still finished
a respectable fifth.
ETC.: Harvick has completed a near-perfect 99.5 percent (3,457 laps)
of the 3,474 total laps contested in 13 career starts at
Chicagoland. His average start there is 18.7 and his average finish
is 9.9. He has zero DNFs there.
99 CARL EDWARDS, Ford
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Carl Edwards went from seventh in the regular
season standings prior to Richmond to tie with Kevin Harvick for
sixth in the reseeded Chase grid. The pair is six points behind new
points leader Brad Keselowski, three points behind the four drivers
(Logano, Johnson, Gordon and Earnhardt Jr.) tied for second and
leads the six drivers (Kyle and Kurt Busch, Kahne, Almirola, Hamlin
and Allmendinger) tied for ninth by three points.
CHICAGO RECORD: Nine career starts, 0 wins, 3 top-5s, 3 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: second in 2010. Finished 11th in this
race last year and was 19th in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: As he begins his last Chase for Roush Fenway Racing
(he moves to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015), Edwards knows what's at
stake at Chicagoland. He needs a good finish to get a good jump on
the rest of the field in the Chase, especially with the first cutoff
round coming up after Dover. Edwards likes his chances at Chicago:
"We had a good test there," he said. "We ran fifth in Atlanta (a
1.5-mile track like Chicagoland) a couple weeks ago, so hopefully
it's a good race. It's going to be crazy. We've got three races to
seal our chances to win the Chase. Hopefully, we'll have a good run.
It would be nice to get a win right off the bat so we don't have to
worry about making it to the next round."
LOOKING BACK: Edwards had a rough night at Richmond, eventually
falling four laps off the pace to finish a disappointing 22nd. It
was not the kind of finish he hoped he would have heading into the
Chase. Now it's just another obstacle he'll have to overcome.
ETC.: Edwards has completed 95.9 percent (2,307) of 2,406 total laps
contested in nine career starts at Chicagoland. His average start
there is 13.9, while his average finish is 16.0. He has zero DNFs
there.
18 KYLE BUSCH, Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: Kyle Busch went from ninth place in the standings
heading into Richmond to being part of a six-way tie for ninth once
the points were reseeded for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch is
tied with older brother Kurt, AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Kasey
Kahne, and Denny Hamlin.
CHICAGO RECORD: Nine career starts, 1 win, 4 top-5s, 4 top-10s, 0
poles. Best career finish: First in 2008. Finished second in this
race last year and was fourth in the 2012 race there.
LOOKING AHEAD: Busch comes into this year's Chase having enjoyed his
best career finish (fourth) in the 2013 Chase. But in most of the
other times he's been in the Chase, Busch has struggled to
disappointing finishes. Will he be able to pick up where he left off
in last year's Chase, or is he due for another disappointment in
this year's playoff edition? "It's important to win (races in the
Chase), but I don't think you need to be ultra-aggressive to get
those wins," Busch said. "If you finish second every week, it's
going to get you to Homestead, but you have to win Homestead. Last
year, we started out with a second and a second - those would be two
great finishes to have again this year if we could have them and try
to move on and get into the second round."
LOOKING BACK: Busch had a decent run at Richmond but was unable to
get back to victory lane there. He ultimately finished 14th.
ETC.: Busch has completed a near-perfect 99.5 percent (2,395) of the
2,406 total laps contested in nine career starts at Chicagoland. His
average start there is 15.0 and his average finish is 12.1. He has
one DNF there.
[to top of second column]
|
11 DENNY HAMLIN, Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 9th, nine points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Two top-10 finishes in eight starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: Hamlin said, "Obviously, our performance lately (six
top-10 finishes in the last nine races) has been pretty consistent,
but I believe that we still need a little bit more speed to really
contend for the title. The new format, I think, sets up pretty well
for the FedEx team. We have proven over the years that we can win at
most of the Chase tracks, and with the points resetting after each
segment, we just need to survive and advance."
LOOKING BACK: Hamlin finished 21st at his home track. "Very
disappointing in tonight," said Hamlin. "It's hard to put tonight
behind us because I live in the moment and I wear my performance on
my sleeve. Our short track package is off quite a bit obviously.
Just disappointed with our overall effort. Not effort, but just what
we were able to put out on the race track tonight."
ETC.: Crew chief Darian Grubb will be back atop the pit box this
weekend at Chicagoland Speedway after his six-race suspension for a
rules violation. Grubb has spent the time getting new cars built for
the Chase. "I am confident we will have some cars prepared that can
go out and run up front to challenge for wins," said Hamlin. "If we
can stay consistent and take care of business in the first two
segments, I think we have a pretty good shot. The last four races
are at really good tracks for us. I'm excited to be back in the
Chase (after missing last year's Chase for the Championship)."
41 KURT BUSCH, Chevrolet
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 10th, nine points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Finished fourth a year ago for his seventh top-10
finish in 13 starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: The team tested at Chicagoland Speedway earlier this
summer. "I hope we are able to take advantage of the test and not
fall behind on that first practice session (Friday)," said Busch.
"That has been some of the trouble this year and we have played a
little bit of catch-up after the first Friday practice. Now, with a
test session used at Chicago, a test session used at Loudon, we have
to apply that knowledge the right way and make those finishes (in
the first two Chase races) count because that is what the Chase is
all about."
LOOKING BACK: Busch finished seventh at Richmond. "It's great to
finish in the top-10 tonight and give ourselves a chance to pretend
it was a Chase race, and race for points tonight amongst all the
chaos," said Busch. "If you can finish seventh in the each of the
first three races in the Chase, you will advance. So tonight was a
nice feel for us to run our own race. Our team has really developed
over the year."
ETC.: Busch is a big fan of the Chicago Cubs and loves going to
Wrigley Field. He got another chance on Monday when he put on a
photographer's vest and joined the "regular" photographers who cover
his favorite team at each and every home game. "I'm a diehard
Chicago sports fan - I've always loved the Cubs and the Bears in
both good and bad times," said Busch. "I'm hoping my fondness for
Chicago will rub off at Chicagoland Speedway and I have a
breakthrough race there on Sunday afternoon. I finally got my first
top-five there last year. For us to do well in the Chase, we'll have
to master the 1.5-mile tracks like Chicagoland since there are five
of them in the Chase."
5 KASEY KAHNE, Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: 11th, nine points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Three top-six finishes in the last five races
including two third-place finishes.
LOOKING AHEAD: Kahne is "glad I spent our last off-weekend and ran
for JR Motorsports at Chicagoland (in the Nationwide Series race).
We ran fourth, and I felt like we had a really good time and learned
a lot about the track and the tire. Hopefully, we can use some that
to help us when get there this weekend. Chicago is a cool track, and
I like it a lot. You can move around a lot. It's all about momentum
and where you're at. Right now I feel like we have momentum as a
team, and hopefully we can carry it with us to Chicago."
LOOKING BACK: Kahne finished 17th at Richmond. "I'm terrible here so
the racing is not what I enjoy because I can't figure it out. It's
just not ideal. I'm just happy this track isn't in the final 10 for
the rest of this year. I'm really happy we won last week because we
wouldn't have raced our way in this week. There were a lot of long
runs (tonight) and I was slow so I wasn't really enjoying it that
much. I'm glad we don't come here anymore this year."
ETC.: Kahne has high hopes for this weekend after his winning
performance at Atlanta two weeks ago. "I felt really good about how
we ran at Atlanta (another 1.5-mile track), especially at the end of
that race, and look forward to Chicago," said Kahne. "It'll be a
great track for us to get started (in the Chase)."
43 ARIC ALMIROLA, Ford
Team: Richard Petty Motorsports
WHERE HE STANDS: 12th, nine points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Finished 13th a year ago for his best finish in two
starts. Has led in both races.
LOOKING AHEAD: Almirola said, "I really enjoy racing at Chicago. The
track is kind of worn out and slick, and any time we go to race
tracks like that, I really enjoy it. I'm looking forward to going to
Chicago and kicking off the Chase with a good run. We tested there,
and I felt like we have a pretty good test. But we don't want to be
just happy to be in the Chase. We want to go out and execute for the
next 10 weeks and we're gonna have to be flawless, we know that, but
we're up to the challenge."
LOOKING BACK: Almirola rallied in the final 150 laps to finish 10th
at Richmond for his second straight top-10 finish. "This is what we
need to do for the next 10 weeks," said Almirola. "For the second
week in a row, we struggled a bit to get the car handling how we
needed to, but Trent (Owens, crew chief) and the guys made the right
adjustments to get us a top-10 finish. I am really excited and proud
of Trent Owens and all my guys on this Smithfield team."
ETC.: Almirola doesn't normally compete in the Nationwide Series
races, but he will this weekend and again at Dover in two weeks.
"I'm excited to return to the Nationwide Series at Chicago and
Dover," said Almirola. "Our team is really focused on getting to the
contender round in the Chase, and I think running the Nationwide
races for two of the three races in the first round will really help
us. We'll be there to learn as much as we can for the Cup races, but
I also want to win."
47 A J ALLMENDINGER, Chevrolet
Team: JTG Daugherty Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 13th, nine points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Best finish in five starts is 13th (twice).
LOOKING AHEAD: Allmendinger said, "We're in the Chase and that's
pretty cool. I feel like if we are at our best, we have a shot to
get through the first three races and have a shot to move on to the
Contender Round. We did a test at Charlotte Motor Speedway and RCR
(Richard Childress Racing) has given us a new car for Chicago. We're
in it so we have a shot at it."
LOOKING BACK: Allmendinger finished 23rd at Richmond. "It was a
tough race," said Allmendinger. "The last couple of weeks have been
tough on us. I was hoping to get some momentum going into the Chase
with a strong finish at Richmond. At the same point, we knew we
might have to sacrifice the last couple of races because we don't
have that many race cars in the shop and we had to get our three
best cars ready for the first three Chase races. The race (tonight)
for me was no fun. We'll forget about this effort tonight, and we'll
be ready for Chicago."
ETC.: Allmendinger and the team know that very few people expect
them to survive the first round of eliminations of the new Chase
format which take place after the third race. Four drivers will be
eliminated at that time. But as Allmendinger is quick to point out,
"when it comes down to the new format, you don't have to be great
for 10 races. You just have to be good enough in each segment. For
our race team, it's all about Chicago. If we can go there and run
well that would be huge for us because we have struggled at the
mile-and-a-halfs a little bit."
20 MATT KENSETH, Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 14th, 12 points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Won the opening race of the Chase a year ago. Has
two runner-up finishes and five top-10 finishes in 13 starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: Kenseth knows the importance of getting the Chase off
to a good start as he did in 2013 when he won the first two races.
"You do want to go to Chicago and get a good start to the Chase,"
said Kenseth. "You want to go get a good finish, or even better, a
win to get the thing started off on the right foot for sure, so
we're going to try and do that this weekend at Chicago. I feel like
we've been gaining on it in performance. We've been able to run in
the top five with pretty good runs lately, and if you can run up in
the top-five and keep putting yourself in position enough times;
hopefully you eventually will get those wins."
LOOKING BACK: After bouncing hard off the wall early in the race,
Kenseth was forced to spend considerable time in the garage area as
his team made repairs to his badly-damaged car. Kenseth finished
41st at Richmond. "I drove it in the fence about lap 100 and then we
had to go to the garage and fix it," said Kenseth. "It was a really
bad night."
ETC.: Crew chief Jason Ratcliff knows he won't be able to use the
same chassis setup as he did a year ago when Kenseth won at
Chicagoland Speedway. "With the ride height rule and the tire
change, this weekend's race will be a lot different than what we
raced at Chicago last year," said Ratcliff. And that is why the team
tested at Chicago earlier this summer. "I thought it was a good
test," added Ratcliff. "Overall, I thought our test went really
well."
16 GREG BIFFLE, Ford
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 15th, 12 points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Only one top-10 finish in 11 starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: Biffle is another driver who tested at Chicagoland
Speedway earlier in the summer. "We tested at Chicago a few weeks
ago, so I feel good about our chances this weekend with Chicago
being the first race of the Chase," said Biffle. "Chicago is a
really bumpy race track and it's hard to get a handle on to balance
the effects of getting through the bumps, but I think we learned
some things that will pay off this weekend. Hopefully we can get a
good run to start off the Chase."
LOOKING BACK: It was a long, long night for Biffle as he struggled
with an ill-handling race car in his bid to make the Chase. He ended
the night in 19th place which allowed him to hold off Clint Bowyer
by only seven points in the race for the last spot in the Chase. "I
drove as hard as I could and it was enough to get us in," said a
relieved Biffle. "I know I needed to be in the top 20 and like I
said, it was all I could do. We just missed the setup. It was clear
that our whole company did - Carl (Edwards), Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.)
and myself were way off tonight, which is frustrating because five
top-10s in a row put us in this position, but tonight was not
pretty."
ETC.: Biffle believes that there needs to be a "benefits package or
a fund or something to that affect" to help race car drivers "on the
less fortunate side of things. We see a lot of players in all sports
that end up on hard times at some point," adds Biffle. "I would be
in favor of something (to help them out)."
31 RYAN NEWMAN, Chevrolet
Team: Richard Childress Racing
WHERE HE STANDS: 16th, 12 points out of first place.
CHICAGO RECORD: Will be shooting for his fourth straight top-10
finish. Has one win and eight top-10 finishes in 12 starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: Newman has high hopes for the Chase. "We were up to
fifth in points before the Watkins Glen crash," said Newman. "I
think we can certainly contend. We just need to step up our game
because everyone else will, too. We've shown a lot of consistency
and I think that can pay off at times with the exception of
Homestead (the last race of the year). If we make it that far, we'll
hopefully have made some improvements. The guys are doing a good job
of having better stops. ECR is doing a much better job on the engine
side. Everybody has stepped up, and now it's time to step up even
more."
LOOKING BACK: Newman finished ninth at Richmond. "We did tonight
what we had to do and a little bit more," said Newman. "We didn't
win the race, we were here to do that, but it got to a point there
near the end where there were so many cars on the lead lap that if
we could just maintain, we were in a good spot. It has been a lot of
fun this year, but the fun has got the potential to just begin
with."
ETC.: Newman believes his team has come a long way in 2014. "RCR has
dug in as an entire organization to work on improving our aero
program," said Newman. "The guys at ECR have done a good job in
making a better engine package for us. We definitely needed that
when looking back at where we were at the start of the season. We
have had much better pit stops over the last few weeks than we did
at the start of the season. All of these things add up.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
