This Week in Auto Racing September 28 - September 30

Autoracing Betting Lines

09/25/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a wild race at the Monster Mile, the "Chase for the Nextel Cup" continues with round three of 10 at the Kansas Speedway. Meanwhile, the Formula One championship heads down the home stretch with four drivers still vying for the title.

NASCAR

Nextel Cup

LifeLock 400 - Kansas Speedway - Kansas City, KS

For those who survived the "Monster Mile" it's on to the Kansas Speedway for race No.3 in the 10-race "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Last Sunday's "War of Attrition" saw Carl Edwards emerge as the big winner, climbing five positions after his win. At the other end of the spectrum were Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin who all had problems and find themselves more than 100 points behind front-runner Jeff Gordon.

The good news for those who have fallen back is that 2006 Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson gave them a blueprint for their comeback in last year's "Chase." The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver began his 2006 Chase by finishing 39th at New Hampshire, 13th at Dover, 14th at Kansas and 24th at Talladega before going "crazy" and winning the title.

It won't be easy for the bottom four drivers, but it is still possible.

While Gordon is the points leader, he was really nowhere in Dover. He didn't lead any laps and finished one lap down to the leaders. But he also avoided both mechanical problems and all the on-track accidents to finish 11th. It's that kind of driving that helps win championships - when you aren't really competitive, but pull out a decent finish.

The No.24 DuPont Chevrolet has done well in Kansas, winning the first two events held at the track and collecting a total of four top-10s in six starts. His average finish on the 1.5-mile oval is 11.5. Gordon will need a great outing to maintain the championship lead. Just behind him are five drivers within 18 points.

Two-time Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart is second overall just two points back.

"If there was one place I was worried about, it was here," said Stewart of Sunday's race on the team's website. "There were a lot of good cars that are in the Chase that had a bad day today, and not having a bad day is what you've got to do."

And Stewart has a better record at Kansas than Gordon with one win, five top-10s and an average finish of 6.5. That number is the best of the 12 "Chase" drivers.

Off his dramatic win at Dover, Carl Edwards is just three points behind Gordon and in line to make history. He leads the Busch Series by a whopping 754 points and can become the first driver in NASCAR history to win both the Busch and Nextel Cup Series in the same year.

Edwards survived multiple restarts at Dover to hold off his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle for the win.

"That was a lot of fun, but those red flags were killing me," said Edwards.

Some of the fun might have disappeared after the race when the No.99 Ford failed post-race inspection. NASCAR will have to make a decision about any penalties or fines, but at worst expect a 25-point penalty which will still keep him in the middle of the "Chase" battle.

"We'll go back to Daytona," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston. "We always like to have the opportunity to have a couple days' separation. We'll discuss it there and announce it, probably in the middle of next week."

Johnson started on the pole at Dover, but a blown tire left him two laps down to the leaders before he rebounded to finish 14th. After coming into the event as the points leader, he somehow survived and will start the Kansas race in fourth place, but just four points behind his teammate and co-owner Gordon.

Kyle Busch has been one of the quite ones so far, but a fourth at Loudon and a fifth at Dover has him in the middle of the championship fight. He is 10 points behind Gordon.

After earning his first Nextel Cup victory in the "Chase" opener at Loudon, Bowyer finished 12th at Dover and finds himself in sixth place just 18 points back.

Last year's race, won by Stewart, was decided by fuel mileage. The No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet was coasting as it crossed the finish line, out of fuel, but more than 12 seconds ahead of Casey Mears, who was also out of fuel.

It should be another interesting day on Sunday.

Busch

Yellow Transportation 300 - Kansas Speedway - Kansas City, KS

While the Nextel Cup race has six drivers within 18 points of each other, the Busch Series has no such drama. Carl Edwards is cruising to the championship and the only drama is whether he will break Kevin Harvick's record 824-point win of one year ago.

After suffering through the summer doldrums, Edwards has been his old self over the last two events. From Montreal to the California Speedway (five races) Edwards failed to crack the top-10, but in his last two starts Edwards has a second place and a sixth place finish.

Only three drivers are within 1000 points of Edwards - David Reutimann (-754), Harvick (-888) and Jason Leffler (-908).

At Kansas, Jason Keller will have a chance to tie the all-time mark for starts - 417 currently held by Tommy Houston. Keller, driving for CJM Racing, will have to qualify on time. The 37-year-old has accumulated 11 poles, 10 wins and 161 top-10s over his career. Twice he finished second in the championship (2000, 2002).

FORMULA ONE

Japanese Grand Prix - Fuji Speedway - Oyama, Japan

The Formula One championship has been a four-man race since the beginning, and it still is, with three races left in the season.

McLaren's rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton leads the series with three wins and 97 points. But after opening with nine consecutive podium finishes, Hamilton left the door open by finishing off the podium in three of the last five events.

Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, also of McLaren, has seized on the opportunity winning two of the last five events to close to within two points of Hamilton.

Despite being teammates, the two drivers don't get along which has created friction on the team. It didn't help that Alonso came to the team expecting to be the No.1 driver but feels he hasn't been treated that way.

Then there is the whole "spygate" fiasco that cost McLaren the manufacturers championship. After he was given immunity, Alonso testified that McLaren did indeed have and use the Ferrari data that was given to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan. He is not on speaking terms with McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

"In Fernando's mind, there is the firm belief that our policy, whereby each driver receives equal treatment, does not properly reflect his status as World Champion," Dennis said.

Expect Alonso to be driving for a different team in 2008.

Unless Michael Schumacher comes out of retirement, expect both Ferrari drivers to return in 2008. Both are still in the championship battle and both have shown they can win on any given Sunday.

In his first year with Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen has won a series-high four times and sits 13 points behind Hamilton. Felipe Massa is fourth overall, with three wins and is 20 points back.

The Japanese GP has been held at Suzuka International Racing Course for the last 20 years, but will return to the Fuji Speedway for the first time since 1977. Formula One has raced there two times.

In 1976, Mario Andretti won a rain-filled race in his Lotus, but James Hunt won the championship by out-pointing Niki Lauda. Lauda withdrew from the race after three laps citing dangerous conditions.

The next year, Hunt won the race, but Gilles Villeneuve was involved in a crash that killed two people on the side of the track. After the event, Japan would not hold another F1 race for 10 years and then the venue was shifted to Suzuka.

In 2003 the Fuji circuit was closed for redesign by Hermann Tilke. It reopened in 2005 with a 1.5 km straight, which will be the longest in F1.

It should be an interesting "first" visit.