Two NASCAR teams that don’t have drivers in the 12-car playoff are talking merger. It seems Chip Ganassi and Dale Earnhardt Inc. are tired of running behind the Big Four, made up of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Roush Fenway Racing.
The Big Four has combined to win 30 of 34 races and has produced the 12 cars in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, with each team represented by three drivers. The other teams are just making laps these days.
Ganassi and Earnhardt are reportedly considering joining forces to create a four-car team. The drivers under contract for next year are Martin Truex (No. 1 DEI), Aric Almirola (No. 8 DEI) and Juan Montoya (No. 42 Ganassi). Ganassi hasn’t named a driver for his No. 41 car.
In owners’ points, the top DEI car has been the No. 8, at 14th in the standings. Mark Martin (23 races) and Almirola (11) have shared that ride. Ganassi’s best team has been Montoya’s No. 42, which is 26th in owner’s points.
The alliance would be complicated, because DEI is under contract with Chevrolet and Ganassi with Dodge. But let’s hope they get it worked out, because Hendrick, Gibbs, Childress and Roush have become too dominant.
We could use some fresh faces smiling under that checkered flag.
Magic numbers.
Jimmie Johnson could clinch the championship with this weekend’s race at Phoenix by leaving the desert with a 162-point advantage over Edwards and third-place Greg Biffle. That would mean Johnson would just have to start the season finale at Homestead, Fla., to win his third consecutive title.
The better number to pin on Johnson is seven. If he finishes seventh or better in each of the final two races, he will win the title no matter what Edwards and Biffle do.
Nobody has ever made up 106 points or more in the final two races to win the title. But in 1992, eventual champion Alan Kulwicki trailed Bill Elliott by 85 points with two to go.
In jeopardy.
Jeff Gordon has won at least two races in the past 14 seasons, a streak that could come to an end at Phoenix. He must win the rest of his races this season to keep it alive.
In 28 combined career races at Phoenix and Homestead, Gordon has just one victory, and Homestead is one of two tracks where he never has won (Texas is the other).
Gordon’s last nonwinning season was in 1993 as a rookie. He has amassed 81 victories since.
Mike Chambers covers motorsports. He can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
