Opposite directions
BROOKLYN, Mich. – When it comes to qualifying for this season's Chase for the Nextel Cup, life has resembled a freeway lately for Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler.
Like being mired in stop-and-go traffic, Kenseth has been slowly plodding along in the local lanes, trying to get himself and the No. 17 Ford back into contention for the Chase.
"We're just running the best we can run every week," Kenseth said.
Sadler, on the other hand, has been in the fast lane – in reverse. In the last eight races, he has plummeted 10 spots in the standings from third to 13th.
"I think my worst nightmare has come true," Sadler said. "I've put us in a position where we've got to win the next couple of races to try and get into the Chase."
While most attention in recent weeks has been on whether Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make NASCAR's so-called playoffs, Kenseth has been quietly moving up in the standings.
His third-place run in Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway marked his fourth top-five and seventh top-11 finish in the last nine races. During that period, the Wisconsin native has climbed from 24th to 15th in points.
"I still don't think we're quite in the form that we were maybe a couple of years ago or three years ago, but we're turning it around and we're getting better and that's all I can ask for," said Kenseth, who won the Winston Cup championship in 2003.
Being in the top 15 is quite a contrast to where he was a month ago. After finishing 36th in the season's second Pocono race, Kenseth thought his Chase chances were gone.
"After we left there, we were so far behind that I sort of forgot about it," Kenseth said.
But Kenseth suddenly is back in the running – although he quickly adds that time may not be on his side – sitting just 104 points behind 10th-place holder Jamie McMurray.
"All you can do is the best you can every week and let those points fall where they may," Kenseth said. "Yeah, if everything goes perfect the next three weeks we could make it, but it's definitely a real, real long shot.
"We're still trying to get as many points as we can every week and still try to lead laps and try to win if you can and finish as high as you can. So, we'll just see how it shakes out."
Sadler's performance, meanwhile, has been the antithesis of Kenseth's of late, as the Virginian has been mired in one of the worst slumps of his nearly seven-year Cup career.
The driver of the No. 38 Ford tied his season-low (39th) Sunday at Michigan, marking his fourth finish of 32nd or worst in the last six races.
Sadler ran as high as seventh at MIS before making a costly error, losing control of his car and crashing on lap 82. He finished 26 laps down.
"I don't know what I'm doing as a driver to mess up so many times," he said. "I was a little loose in traffic all day, but I didn't really expect it to be that loose. So I just made a driver mistake and I have dug a hole that's maybe too deep for my team to get me out."
Sadler mathematically is still in the hunt, sitting eight points behind No. 12 Gordon, 15 points behind No. 11 Dale Jarrett and only 66 points behind McMurray. He also remains 38 points ahead of Kenseth and 16 points in front of 14th-place Kevin Harvick.
But missing the top 10 in each of the last seven races has definitely cost Sadler. One more bad finish and his Chase hopes will likely be all but gone.
But Sadler does have something to look forward to in the next two races.
Nextel Cup now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for Saturday night's Sharpie 500, where Sadler sat on the pole and finished second in the spring. Sadler also has one of his three career Cup wins there.
If he can avoid trouble and have a strong performance at BMS, he also has high hopes for the following week at California Speedway, where he won last fall.
"We're not going to give up," said Sadler, who is winless this season. "Yeah, we're making our chances a long shot, but it's not over with yet."
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst. Send Jerry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Like being mired in stop-and-go traffic, Kenseth has been slowly plodding along in the local lanes, trying to get himself and the No. 17 Ford back into contention for the Chase.
"We're just running the best we can run every week," Kenseth said.
Sadler, on the other hand, has been in the fast lane – in reverse. In the last eight races, he has plummeted 10 spots in the standings from third to 13th.
"I think my worst nightmare has come true," Sadler said. "I've put us in a position where we've got to win the next couple of races to try and get into the Chase."
While most attention in recent weeks has been on whether Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make NASCAR's so-called playoffs, Kenseth has been quietly moving up in the standings.
His third-place run in Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway marked his fourth top-five and seventh top-11 finish in the last nine races. During that period, the Wisconsin native has climbed from 24th to 15th in points.
"I still don't think we're quite in the form that we were maybe a couple of years ago or three years ago, but we're turning it around and we're getting better and that's all I can ask for," said Kenseth, who won the Winston Cup championship in 2003.
Being in the top 15 is quite a contrast to where he was a month ago. After finishing 36th in the season's second Pocono race, Kenseth thought his Chase chances were gone.
"After we left there, we were so far behind that I sort of forgot about it," Kenseth said.
But Kenseth suddenly is back in the running – although he quickly adds that time may not be on his side – sitting just 104 points behind 10th-place holder Jamie McMurray.
"All you can do is the best you can every week and let those points fall where they may," Kenseth said. "Yeah, if everything goes perfect the next three weeks we could make it, but it's definitely a real, real long shot.
"We're still trying to get as many points as we can every week and still try to lead laps and try to win if you can and finish as high as you can. So, we'll just see how it shakes out."
Sadler's performance, meanwhile, has been the antithesis of Kenseth's of late, as the Virginian has been mired in one of the worst slumps of his nearly seven-year Cup career.
The driver of the No. 38 Ford tied his season-low (39th) Sunday at Michigan, marking his fourth finish of 32nd or worst in the last six races.
Sadler ran as high as seventh at MIS before making a costly error, losing control of his car and crashing on lap 82. He finished 26 laps down.
"I don't know what I'm doing as a driver to mess up so many times," he said. "I was a little loose in traffic all day, but I didn't really expect it to be that loose. So I just made a driver mistake and I have dug a hole that's maybe too deep for my team to get me out."
Sadler mathematically is still in the hunt, sitting eight points behind No. 12 Gordon, 15 points behind No. 11 Dale Jarrett and only 66 points behind McMurray. He also remains 38 points ahead of Kenseth and 16 points in front of 14th-place Kevin Harvick.
But missing the top 10 in each of the last seven races has definitely cost Sadler. One more bad finish and his Chase hopes will likely be all but gone.
But Sadler does have something to look forward to in the next two races.
Nextel Cup now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for Saturday night's Sharpie 500, where Sadler sat on the pole and finished second in the spring. Sadler also has one of his three career Cup wins there.
If he can avoid trouble and have a strong performance at BMS, he also has high hopes for the following week at California Speedway, where he won last fall.
"We're not going to give up," said Sadler, who is winless this season. "Yeah, we're making our chances a long shot, but it's not over with yet."
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst. Send Jerry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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