Nascar: twelve candidates for a title

Jimmie Johnson, four-time consecutive champion Nascar Sprint Cup Series, will he win a fifth title this season? With five victories in 26 races, the driver of the Hendrick Motorsports team has once again positioned himself as a very serious candidate for his own succession and will begin the “Chase”, a sort of playoff, with extreme motivation. But, leader of the new General classification (ranking based on Chase qualification and number of regular season wins), Denny Hamlin also has a few points to make.

If Hamlin and Johnson are at the top of the general classification due to their significant number of victories – six and five respectively – this advantage can quickly be reduced to nothing by the results of the next races. Other men could return to the top, starting with Kyle Busch. Determined to shine, the “M&M?s” driver is only thirty points behind the head of the standings and can aim for a first coronation. Not qualified for the Chase last season, he has all the weapons to become a great in Nascar this year. A few weeks ago, Kyle Busch already entered the legend by winning, in the same week and on the same circuit – Bristol –, the races of three different divisions: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

Among the other competitors who could play spoilsport, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart appear to be the most serious. On the other hand, some top drivers missed the boat and will not be able to fight for the title in the last races of the season, notably Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kasey Kahne and Juan Pablo Montoya, in addition to Jamie McMurray, winner of the Daytona 500. Not qualified for the Chase, they can only hope for occasional highlights.

The first of ten acts in this fight for the title will take place this Sunday on the Loudon circuit, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. During the last appearance of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series cars on this oval, at the end of June, it was Jimmie Johnson who won ahead of Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.