Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR this week:
Turn 1: Kyle Busch is returning, and NASCAR has ruled that he is Chase eligible as long as he stays in the top 30 and wins a race. Is this the right call for a driver who has missed 11 races, nearly a third of the season?
Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Absolutely. In fact, I would take it a step further and I would waive the requirement that Kyle Busch be in the top 30 in points. My understanding of the Chase qualifying this season is to ensure that all drivers with the objective to compete for a championship enter and attempt to qualify for all Cup events. It’s a foregone conclusion that Kyle Busch would have attempted all races had he not been injured in Daytona. And NASCAR chairman Brian France acknowledged, “This is on us,” of the injury at Daytona that sidelined him. With that said, the only requirements for Kyle Busch should be to attempt to qualify for remaining events and win a race between now and the end of the regular season.
Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: We talked about this on Marty & McGee on Tuesday, and honestly, my view on this has shifted. My initial reaction was, “Dang, what’s a man gotta do to not get a Chase waiver?” But I think the intent of the team matters. And this a team that runs hard full-time every weekend for a championship. If he meets the requirements — wins a race and makes that big climb into the top 30 — then that’s hard to ignore. That being said, if he was to win the championship … that would be a hell of an offseason debate! So his goal needs to be not just to win one race, but win multiple races. Make the results so good that there can be no debate of worthiness.
John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: Yes. Think of it as Tom Brady coming back after missing a third of the NFL season due to injury (or suspension) and potentially leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl. If Busch can spot the field 180 points and still make it to the top 30, he deserves to be in the Chase. Another thought: Who is a more likely championship candidate — Kyle Busch, or any of the drivers currently ranked 17-30 in the standings, should they win a race? I’d take Busch against that field. Eventually, NASCAR will have to write a hard and fast rule — or admit that every driver will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: The heart says this is the right move. The brain says it makes sense, especially considering he injured himself racing and NASCAR took part of the blame because of no energy-absorbing barrier. And yet the gut says there’s something inherently wrong with a driver missing 42 percent of the regular season to be eligible for the Chase. Part of racing is about the grind, to perform week in and week out at a variety of tracks. His absence was just too long. NASCAR either needs to set a maximum number of races a driver can miss (I’d say six) or get rid of the waiver rule and just say a driver is eligible for the Chase if the driver competes in every event for which the driver is medically cleared (and finishes top-30 in points). At least then, it doesn’t back itself into a corner of how many races is too many; it’s just that top-30 is the standard.
Marty Smith, ESPN Insider: Everything is contextual in this life. As far as I can tell, NASCAR has granted every Chase waiver request posed them. Take Kyle’s brother, Kurt Busch. He was granted a waiver, and he was suspended based on a personal conduct allegation. Meanwhile, Kyle was sidelined by two broken legs — which NASCAR chairman Brian France was quoted as saying “was on us.” France is right. It is on NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. That wall should have had a SAFER barrier on it — especially after Kevin Harvick hit the very same wall the previous year, eliminating any deniability that cars weren’t susceptible to hitting it.
Though it seems impossible to empower a driver who missed 11 races toward winning a championship, I ultimately agree that Kyle’s Chase waiver is warranted, given the context. On another note, Busch said something to me the other week that was really honest. He said he’s grown quite a bit from this experience. It took away some of his sense of invincibility. I noted to him that he seemed very calm, at peace. He is. And he admitted he might still be a jerk at the track sometimes — he is, after all, there to do a job and make a race car as fast as it can be and to win races. That requires complete focus. But he has new perspective on his life and his opportunity and his place, and he will make the effort to show appreciation for it all through action and demeanor. I told him he’d already done that. I could sense a new perspective even before the injury. But I appreciate where his head is.
Turn 2: The next NASCAR Hall of Fame class will be voted on Wednesday. Who would be in your five right now before you’ve heard all the arguments?
Craven: Benny Parsons — a champion driver, outstanding television personality and all-around great ambassador of our sport. Bobby Isaac — he won roughly 12 percent of the races he entered, and the 1970 championship. Mark Martin — it would be difficult for me to name five drivers I competed against who were better than Mark Martin. Those three are either in the Hall of Fame or destined for it. Bruton Smith — He would not have gotten my vote during my driving days, but the past eight years have introduced me to the monumental contributions he has made to our sport. Energy, determination, and vision are just a few of the words I believe best describe the track owner. We have all benefited from him being in the sport. Rick Hendrick — Although the statistics and accomplishments will continue to climb, Rick has, with all he has done, earned his spot in the Hall of Fame right now.
McGee: Curtis Turner, Red Byron, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons and Rick Hendrick. I realize that a class consisting of zero living drivers is a problem for the marketing people, but Turner is the best driver not already in and the more recent stars on the ballot — Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Ray Evernham — concede that their old boss, Rick Hendrick, should be in first. He’s the greatest team owner of all time and he’s been on ballot since the beginning. Making him continue to wait is starting to look silly.
Oreovicz: Alphabetically, I’ll take: Buddy Baker – electrifying on superspeedways and a man who would have won many more races with modern car reliability; Rick Hendrick — most successful team owner in NASCAR history and architect of the modern stock car superteam; Benny Parsons — champion, overall good guy and a key figure in stock car racing’s growth on television; Bruton Smith — a pioneering promoter who deserves to enjoy the honor while he’s still active; and Curtis Turner — came along a bit too early to enjoy NASCAR’s golden era, but a keystone of the sport’s formative years.
Pockrass: Ray Evernham, Bruton Smith, Curtis Turner, Mark Martin and Rick Hendrick. These five successful people all have had huge impacts on the sport.
Smith: I’m a voter now. I can’t go there until May 20. (Booooo!)
Turn 3: Who will be the two drivers to get into the All-Star race through the Sprint Showdown? And who should get in through the fan vote?
Craven: Martin Truex Jr. wins the first showdown and then has a very legitimate shot at winning the All-Star race. I’m going with a bit of an upset for my second pick, and that is Chase Elliott. This race doesn’t require a lot of experience; it requires speed, and Chase has the talent and equipment necessary to go fast. There will be many All-Star races in this young man’s future, so he might as well start now. And Danica Patrick gets the fan vote, as she has become one of the most recognizable people in auto racing.
McGee: Truex and Kyle Larson should race their way in. Danica should win the fan vote, assuming that another nerd-powered Internet currency takeover doesn’t get someone else in. And if it does, good for them. I like nerds. I am one.
Oreovicz: Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer will get in via top two finishes in the Sprint Showdown. And unless somebody hijacks the balloting again, Danica Patrick will win the fan vote.
Pockrass: Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson will win the segments at Charlotte, though Truex is a much easier prediction than it is figuring out who will join him. The fan vote? Danica Patrick. People will still watch because of her.
Smith: Martin Truex, Jr. and Kyle Larson will race in. Danica will win the fan vote. The young ladies she inspires every day are active on such platforms.
Turn 4: Who is the biggest surprise so far this season and who is the biggest disappointment?
Craven: Martin Truex Jr. is my biggest surprise. He has been an outstanding story, one that’s been fun to watch and impressive to witness. The single-car team from Colorado is not slowing down, and it’s setting up to be a fabulous story. As for disappointment: I have very high expectations of Clint Boyer and I’ve been disappointed that the No. 15 team hasn’t performed better. Clint has the ability to win a championship but his team somehow needs to reverse its momentum.
McGee: My surprise is Truex. For a second-tier, single-car team to crank out top-10 finishes at a pace matched only by the defending champion, that’s amazing. Remember, everyone was predicting that Furniture Row would vanish after they lost Kurt Busch to Stewart-Haas. Nope. My disappointment is Roush Fenway Racing, and it’s not even close. Honestly, it’s a bit distressing to see a team that was one of the sport’s true superpowers fall so far behind in such a relatively short period of time.
Oreovicz:The biggest surprise is Martin Truex Jr. running in the top 10 pretty much every week for Furniture Row Racing, sitting second in the points and looking likely to win a race soon. The biggest disappointment is Tony Stewart, who can’t seem to buy a break in any way, shape or form.
Pockrass: Martin Truex Jr. is probably the biggest surprise as far as driver, but to me the biggest surprise in the garage is Danica Patrick crew chief Daniel Knost. The way last season ended, it didn’t appear he would be back as her crew chief this year. He has done a solid job in helping her improve her results this year. The biggest disappointment is Tony Stewart. He’s 30th in the standings and accidents have thwarted potential decent runs in two of the last three weeks.
Smith: The biggest surprise is certainly Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row has long been the Little Team That Could, ever since Regan Smith took them to Victory Lane in the Southern 500 four years ago. Barney Visser is committed as an owner to their success. They’ve built a fruitful relationship with Richard Childress Racing — fact is the No. 78 is the best team of the RCR lot, right now. Truex endured an impossible year in 2014, with his girlfriend’s cancer battle and his not running consistently well. But he knew the No. 78 team had true potential. He knew Cole Pearn would make an excellent crew chief. And above all he gained perspective on what makes life special. It’s not wins or top-fives, it’s dinner and laughter on the porch with your woman. It’s a good song and a ride through the country. It’s your health, your buddies, your parents. Not race cars. Biggest disappointment? Money. The television revenue dollars must start filtering down to the teams for the future sustainability of the sport. It perplexes me how race purses can be smaller in 2015 than they were in 2014 under a much more-lucrative television deal.
