Zero to Hero

Zero to hero with one with one win, but don't get too comfortable as one bad race can put you back down the standings again...

Tony Stewart really did Smoke'em at Chicagoland, one of only two drivers to make it into the Chase with no wins in the regular season, Stewart addressed that with a win in the first Chase race of 2011!

However this season is still wide open, and one bad weekend can turn the points standings on its head. The good news for Stewart is that the next race is New Hampshire, and we all know what happened there earlier in the year!

If the latest chase points system has done one thing it has put more of an emphasis on race wins. The old points system, along with the long race season put an emphasis on consistancy. Despite the changes I think the emphasis is still on consistancy, only now instead of being consistantly in, say, the top 15, now you have to be consistantly winning or very, very close.

You can not afford to have a bad weekend in the Chase if you want to be in the top 3, and in with a chance, at the end.

What is it with the mile-and-a-half races this year? They should produce some great racing, and some close finishes with the smooth wide surfaces giving the drivers lots of racing room and various grooves to choose from. However many races this year have ended as fuel mileage races. Before you say it, yes fuel strategy is part of NASCAR racing and so it should be, however I would shorten some of the race lengths to put the emphasis on racing not fuel economy.

One point has to be made though... while Tony Stewart might have won the race because of his fuel strategy, he got to the front by out racing the opposition!

The question is... who can be the most consistant in the run to the Championship?