The pass: DW breaks down the dramatic first race of the Chase
I don't know about you, but Sunday's race at Chicago was fun to watch and quite exciting. We all saw some pretty serious racing going on, particularly when we got down there near the end. You can tell those drivers definitely want to win a race. Obviously with this new Chase format this year, if you win, you automatically move on to the next round.
So Brad Keselowski has now accomplished that. There were others like Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick racing their butts off trying to get that win Sunday. Then you throw young rookie phenom Kyle Larson up in the middle of that, even though he's not in the Chase but still wants to win, and it created a really exciting finish.
Did you see what Brad Keselowski did? "The Pass" was a thing of beauty. He gassed that No. 2 car up and went three-wide between Harvick and Larson. Not only did he pass them but he took the lead and then never looked back. Just one of the best passes I've seen in a long time.
I just don't think fans truly appreciate the nerve it takes to put it all on the line like Brad did. He pushed all his chips to the center of the table and was all in. That's a guy who wagered it all on being able to make the pass, come out the other side and take the lead. The flip side to that is if it didn't work, then he probably was going to take all three cars out of contention.
That is just sheer nerve and confidence from a driver to attempt that. He just went for it and that's what I love about Brad. He just seems to always go for it. I thought Sunday's race was just fun to watch. Jeff Gordon had a few choice words with young Kyle Larson after the race. Kyle classified the conversation as Jeff giving him "constructive criticism."
That Larson kid sure did impress me Sunday with his car control. He was down on the bottom under Jeff with his car sideways but he stays in the gas and doesn't lose a foot. He gets up high riding that wall, smoking the tires and he doesn't lose an inch. Folks get into him but the boy just keeps digging and never loses a position.
This kid is the real deal. The future of NASCAR is pretty bright with young Kyle Larson in it. If you want someone to get behind and support for a long time, well this is your young man. Get on the bandwagon because this kid can drive. Seriously, he is a D-R-I-V-E-R! He's a pureblooded racer. He put on a great show Sunday starting in the back in a backup car no less and almost won the race. That's simply impressive.
As everyone has been predicting, Sunday was the first example of the Hendrick Motorsports versus Team Penske battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Gordon has been the most consistent Hendrick car over the last several weeks. We can't rule out Harvick or Brad's teammate Joey Logano either.
I was looking at some of the statistics and I think I remember reading that in the last four races, Kevin has led the most laps. The downside is that Kevin has been unable to close the deal and get the wins. We all know about his pit crew issues all season long, so it was finally nice to see them do something in switching Kevin's pit crew with owner/teammate Tony Stewart's pit crew.
Will that be the difference maker? Well I guess we'll find out in nine more races. Kevin is always incredibly fast no matter where we go. They just need to focus on closing the deal and getting the win. If they do that, then you will be easily looking at the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.
Make no mistake, right now the championship runs through Team Penske. That whole organization is hitting on all eight cylinders. The chemistry between Brad and crew chief Paul Wolfe is perfect. They are on the same page and communicating. The crew is the same way. Sunday we saw the tire changer step up and say he made a mistake and to bring the car back in to tighten all the lug nuts.
You know what that is? That is having complete confidence in the people you work for and work with. So they brought the car back in. They restarted 16th but Brad had a great car and well Brad being Brad, he took it right to the front and then to Victory Circle. That's just how good that team is right now from top to bottom.
So the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase is off to a great start. Well I say that but @TheOrangeCone might just disagree with you on that. The poor guy is just down there doing his job and got drilled by Kurt Busch. Getting moved out of the way by Kurt probably had to hurt the Cone's feelings.
We saw loose wheels, speeding penalties, sliding through pits, etc, etc Sunday. I think that is a clear indication of the pressure that is on everyone with this first Chase race. The driver and pit crew are always trying to be perfect every race, but when you start the Chase, well, the pressure on you simply ramps up even greater. It's taken the pressure to a whole new level.
We're now set for New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. It's an interesting track. It's a flat one-mile joint. There's always a lot of action. If Brad doesn't win, then we'll have another new winner that is guaranteed a spot in the next round. That's really what you are trying to do.
It also came out last week that one of the guys I really like and have an incredible amount of respect for, Marcos Ambrose, will be leaving NASCAR at the end of the year. That makes me sad because I think Marcos is hands-down the best road racer in our sport today.
I know he's disappointed he wasn't able to win on the oval tracks, but I'm going to miss his enthusiasm, his competitiveness, his spirit and his smile in our sport. I'm going to miss him and so will our sport. With all that said, I'm very excited about his future. He is returning home not only to Australia but to the racing series that made him famous. It even gets better than that. He's teaming up with legendary car owner and icon Roger Penske to drive in the V8 Supercars series. Don't worry, we're going to continue to hear about great things from Marcos Ambrose, but it will simply be in another series.
The Toyota's looked a little better Sunday. Joe Gibbs Racing had all three cars in the top 10. It looks like some of the engine changes they are making are starting to pay off for the Toyotas. Obviously the biggest question is whether it will pay off in time for them to be a factor in this year's Chase. We have nine races left to see.
Like I said, next up is Loudon. I'll be there this weekend working for FOX Sports 1. I love going there this time of year. Cooler temperatures with the fall weather, so it should be an exciting race. There are a lot of nervous Chase contenders who have to try and bounce back from Sunday in Chicago. Let's see if they can or they will see their 2014 Chase dreams slip through their fingers.
VIDEO: Brad Keselowski wins opening Chase race at Chicagoland Speedway
