Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Newman may be down, but I wouldn’t count them out quite yet.
While it seems as if nil can go wrong for Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, and Tony Stewart, there are a number of drivers who just can't seem to shake that monkey off of their backs.
Once again, Greg Biffle looked like the man to beat as he led 151 laps in Saturday night's Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix. As the race reached it's closing laps and no caution seemed to be in sight, Biffle was forced to salvage fuel mileage. Unfortunately, he didn't quite salvage enough as his fuel tank became empty with two laps remaining. Instead of finishing second to Kevin Harvick, which is where he would have likely finished if he had enough gas, he limped home 16th. No wonder he left the racetrack without saying a word.
Now, Biffle finds himself mired back in 21st spot in the Nextel Cup standings, 166 points out of tenth place. Ironically, Biffle's teammate Matt Kenseth was in 21st in the Nextel Cup standings this time a year ago, and he rallied back in to the Chase For The Championship.
Next weekend, it will be imperative for Biffle to subsist the crapshoot at Talladega, and return to his dominating routine at Richmond and Darlington. It may take just two or three top fives, and Biffle could be back near the top ten.
Things are not quite that simple for the Penske Racing South teammates of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. Neither driver carrying the Penske banner is performing at the same level as Biffle.
After qualifying seventh for the Subway Fresh 500, many analysts had Busch picked to win his second consecutive spring event at the 1-mile tri-oval. It didn't take long for Busch to advance his Miller Lite Dodge into second position, but as the night progressed, Busch's performance seemed to regress. After falling a lap down in mid-race, Busch rallied back into the top fifteen, but with about 25 laps remaining, his window net came loose. After NASCAR displayed the black flag to Busch, he would finish the race in 24th position, two laps off the pace.
Busch currently sits 17th in the Nextel Cup standings, 405 points behind Matt Kenseth.
On the bright side of things, the next two races on the Nextel Cup schedule really favors Busch. He characteristically runs well on the restrictor plate tracks, and of course he is a past winner at Richmond. If Busch can get through the next two or three weeks without any additional plight, he'll still have a solid shot at qualifying for the Chase For The Championship.
Newman's predicament is indeed more acute than Busch's.
After solidly maintaining a spot in the top fifteen all night at Phoenix, Newman had finally begun to race his way to the front. He had made his way into the top ten when he was involved in the melee that started when Dale Earnhardt Jr hit Kyle Petty from behind. Newman's car was seriously damaged and his night was over. He would finish the Subway Fresh 500 in 39th spot, and tallied his third DNF of 2006.
Despite the disastrous finish, Newman and the #12 team can take solace in the fact that they ran well, and stayed on the lead lap. What happened to them was not because they were performing horribly. But now that they have been relegated to 22nd in the Nextel Cup standings, next week's race at Talladega is pivotal.
After finishing 3rd in the Daytona 500, Newman will be among the favorites to win the Aaron's 499, but if misfortune strikes him again, he may find himself in a hole too deep to climb out of.
Other drivers who need to climb the ladder in the Nextel Cup standings include Bobby Labonte (who is on the upswing), Robby Gordon, Jeremy Mayfield, and Jamie McMurray.
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