Guest Author - Rachel Thornhill
The race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be a memorable race for both Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray.
Jeff Gordon won the pole for this race on Saturday for the second time in his career but the first time that he won the pole for the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was ten years prior to this race. Because of the long length of time between the two poles won, this was a big accomplishment for Gordon since this year has been pretty rough for him and his team when it comes to race performance. He has been on a huge losing streak with no wins this year.
On the other hand, a non-chase contender has been dominating in NASCAR this race season. That driver being Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 Bass Pro Shop Ford Fusion. Also, Jamie McMurray was the winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night. He is doing very well this year despite the rough season he had last year. He has won four Sprint Cup races so far this season which is definitely making him a threat to the Chase contenders.
The Chase contenders have been winning races as well but Jamie McMurray and the other non-Chase contenders are at the point in the season where they do not have a problem with competing with the Chase contenders for some wins. The non-Chase contenders are willing to do whatever it takes to win races even though it can hurts many of the Chase contenders’ chances of winning the Chase.
On the post-race show, Jamie McMurray mentioned that he needed to prove that his team is worthy of being a contender in the Chase and he wanted to prove that, which he has done this season. He is the only driver that has won this season that is not a chase contender.
None of the Chase contenders have been able to knock Jimmie Johnson out of the number 1 spot for the championship so far even after the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Will Jimmie Johnson’s lead in the championship change next week at Martinsville or will Jimmie Johnson be able to dominate at Martinsville like he has always done in the past?
Everyone will have to stay tuned until next weekend to find out but I am hoping that someone else will be able to have the chance to win the championship this year because it is time for Jimmie Johnson to step down from his NASCAR throne.
