Don't count out Montoya or Kurt Busch just yet
Broadcasts' insight, analysis isn't always presented in an unbiased manner
 Geoff Burke / Getty Images for NASCAR Currently third and fourth, respectively, in the standings, Juan Pablo Montoya (right) and Kurt Busch are poised to take advantage of any mistakes made by the top two drivers. |
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If you look at the current Chase standings, you see just what everybody expected to see – Hendrick Motor Sports drivers at the top.
Mark Martin is in first, a mere 10 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Conventional wisdom states that one of those two will hoist the trophy in Miami. That is a slight adjustment in perception from a few weeks ago when conventional wisdom suggested that the Championship would be won by any one of four Hendrick drivers: Johnson, Martin, Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart. (The team actually has five guys in the Chase, but nobody has given Ryan Newman much of a shot.)
Stewart and Gordon sit 106 and 122 points out of first respectively. While those aren't insurmountable deficits, especially for those two, let's not forget that standing between them and their teammates are a couple of cats named Kurt and Juan.
Juan Pablo Montoya sits in third, and Kurt Busch holds down fourth. Yet, I haven't heard anybody give them serious consideration as Championship contenders. What I have heard is, 'They won't sustain the pace,' or 'Their equipment won't remain competitive over the next eight races.' Come on people, how about a little love for Montoya and Busch?
Juan Pablo finished third at New Hampshire and fourth at Dover. He has looked every bit as fast as Mark and Jimmie. JP has finally figured out these cars. He's seeing these tracks for the third or sixth time. The immense talent he showed in open-wheel racing is finally showing through in stock cars. In the unlikely event of a mistake by the No. 48 or No. 5, he will be there to take advantage.
When it was announced that Kurt's lame-duck Crew Chief, Pat Tryson, would be limited to working one day a week at the shop I assumed it was the death-knell of the No. 2's championship hopes. It is a testament to those two men that it has instead signaled something of a resurgence. Over the last three races, his worst finish has been a 6th at Loudon.
Granted, these guys have not shown the season-long consistency of Jimmie and Mark, but they don't need to. They need to show consistency over the next eight races, and I, for one, am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until they give me reason not to.
Sing along with Buzz ...
This coming Thursday, I will be attending U2's 360 Tour. In honor of that event, I hereby dedicate the following U2 songs to the following NASCAR personalities:
“Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car” – Paul Menard
“Mysterious Ways – Chad Knaus
“Out of Control” – Steve Wallace
“Two Hearts Beat As One” – Jimmie Johnson & Chad Kanus
“With Or Without You” – Kurt Busch to Pat Tryson
“I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” – Mark Martin
“Lemon” – Furniture Row Motorsports, TRG Motorpsorts
“Pride” – Kyle Busch
“Miracle Drug” – Jeremy Mayfied
“Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own” – Kyle Busch
“Babyface” – Joey Logano
“Stranger In A Strange Land” – Marcos Ambrose
“Party Girl” – Danica Patrick
And two more for which I am accepting suggestions:
“Running to Stand Still”
“I Will Follow”
Buzz Cutler is a co-host of Rowdy.com. For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com.
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