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Sporting News, The, Nov 8, 2004 by Lee Spencer

They are the other 33.

Rusty Wallace is one of them. So are Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Terry Labonte, all former NASCAR Cup champions. Add Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray to the list. You know the names and faces, but as the season speeds toward the finish, you aren't seeing them--or hearing from them--much.

They are the drivers outside the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

They were supposed to have an impact on the Chase--there were theories that drivers not in the Chase would help teammates who were by blocking, causing wrecks and doing all sorts of underhanded things--but with seven of the 10 races complete, non-Chasers have had minimal effect on the drivers competing for the championship.

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The story lines for non-Chasers so far:

* Joe Nemechek and Ricky Rudd battled to the finish at Kansas, with Nemechek prevailing for the victory. Eight of the first 12 finishers were non-Chase drivers.

* Robby Gordon got mad and wrecked Greg Biffle in the first Chase race, at New Hampshire, and Chase drivers Jeremy Mayfield and Tony Stewart were caught up in the mess. Mayfield and Stewart haven't recovered.

* On the Friday before the Martinsville race, Wallace said he would move over and let Ryan Newman, his teammate in the Chase, go past. But with Wallace running second and Newman third before a late restart, Wallace sent a message via radio that he had a chance to win if Newman would keep off him. When Wallace went high to try to pass Jimmie Johnson, Newman stayed low, behind Johnson, and Newman and Wallace banged together. Wallace saved the car but finished 10th. Newman wound up third.

When the 10 qualifiers for the Chase were set after the 26th race of the season, the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond, most of the drivers who didn't make the cut knew their roles might change during the final 10 races. Although NASCAR threw the outsiders a bone--the driver who finishes 11th will get $1 million and a spot at the head table at the awards banquet in New York--it was little consolation for many. They would sink into the shadows of the Chase spotlight--taking their big-money sponsors with them--unless they grabbed headlines by winning a race or a pole.

Jamie McMurray, who came up 16 points short of making the Chase, is a good example. Through seven Chase races, he has scored more points than every driver except points leader Kurt Busch. Because McMurray hasn't won a race or a pole, little has been made of his impressive run. Twelve other non-Chase drivers also have scored more points in Chase races than Mayfield, who ranks 10th in the standings.

Non-Chase drivers also realized they might be told to sacrifice personal gain for the good of teammates in the Chase, but there have been few requests or instances that have ruffled feathers. Drivers have been asked to let a teammate in the Chase lead a lap to gain bonus points, and there has been blocking at times, although none of it has resulted in controversy or determined the outcome of a race.

More examples of teamwork and sharing are evident off the track, where teammates of Chase racers help with research and development. Multicar organizations such as Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing--whose teams make up half of the Chase field--gather information from fellow teammates inside and outside the top 10. Cars without as much on the line can take more risks and test new tricks. That's the advantage of building a powerhouse and one of the reasons Joe Gibbs is adding a third team in 2005 and Dale Earnhardt Inc. plans to field a third team soon.

Hendrick Motorsports' engine program receives feedback from its four in-house drivers--Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers--as well as the other three Cup teams it supplies engines to: MBV, MB2 and Haas CNC Racing. All of the data is relevant when setting up engines for race day.

Before the season, Ford Racing Engines pooled resources between Roush Racing and Robert Yates Racing, and the results--three Roush drivers and one Yates driver made the Chase--might drive other powerhouse teams to form alliances.

What happens on the racetrack usually is determined by factors other than whether drivers are teammates or are inside or outside the Chase. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have welcomed help from non-Chase teammate Michael Waltrip during the closing laps at Talladega, but Waltrip didn't have a car capable of catching Earnhardt, let alone draft with him.

Late in the race at Martinsville, Mark Martin asked his crew to see if it could get non-Chaser Jeff Burton to move over so Martin could gain a spot because Martin thought his car was faster. Martin and Burton were teammates for years, but Burton joined Richard Childress at midseason and is trying to gain momentum for next year. Burton didn't move, and Martin didn't pass or wreck him. Burton finished 12th and Martin 13th.

"When you're out there running right behind somebody or you've got somebody in the mirror, you're not thinking about where they are in the points system," Earnhardt says. "You just worry about how their car is handling and how your car is handling and whether you need to get them out of the way or whatever.

2005 Ad

Sporting News, The, Nov 8, 2004 by Lee Spencer

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