Gettin Loose...10/19

We are Gettin Loose once again but this week its in Virginia. Martinsville to be exact. Its the shortest track NASCAR runs on and that should make for some exciting racing. Jimmie Johnson is the defending champion of this race and this is where he started a streak of three straight victories last year. This was where he began his run at the title and no one could stop him once he got serious.

This year Johnson comes into the race with a 69 point lead of Jeff Burton. Greg Biffle is a close third only 17 behind Burton and Carl Edwards is fourth. Edwards needs to really pick up his game after a 29th and 33rd place finished the last two weeks. He has dug himself a big whole, but not one he can't get out of. The other two guys just need to run the way they are capable and just hope that the 48 team runs into some bad luck sooner or later.

This week qualifying was canceled and in the 4 weeks since I started "Gettin Loose" qualifying has been rained out twice. I understand weather is something we can't control but I am not sure I like the way NASCAR handles starting lineups when they don't qualify. The rule now is that driver and owner points are what decide who starts where. Now don't get me wrong, right now its making this chase even more dramatic every week due to all the chase drivers starting up front. This, I believe, has given Jimmie a major advantage. He gets to start on the pole and especially here is helps him get those five bonus points right away. I am not saying he wouldn't lead the race at some point anyway, but at a short track like this, starting on the pole is definitely an advantage. Do I have a solution to the issue? Nope, no I don't. Drawing out of a hat really doesn't do anything for me because then you are bringing luck into it way more then it should. You could change one of the practice sessions into a qualifying session. If the drivers knew that was the rule then they would understand. Or change the Nationwide qualifying session into the cup qualifying session and let them start by points position. Like I said, I don't know what the best solution is but I do believe it needs to change.

Getting back to this week at the Tum's quikpak 500. I think its going to be a very interesting and competitive race around like short track in Martinsville. This is the other major question mark for a lot of the drivers in the chase. They are all trying to keep their noses clean and make sure they get out of their with a solid finish. After this week, I really believe that we are going to figure out who the true contenders are for the title. It would not surprise if one or two more drivers really gave themselves a chance after today.

My lock of the week is Denny Hamlin. He won here in the spring and really never runs bad here. He will have a strong car and this is a track he really likes. He is looking for some momentum going into next year and I think he gets it here today.

My sleeper of the week is Jamie McMurray. He likes short tracks as well and lately he has been running good. He would also love to win just to build some momentum for next year. He has always had the talent now lets see if he can put it all together and get a win.