Musings about The Chase

Kasey Kahne may be able to get his championship hopes off of life support today at Kansas.

Kahne starts from the pole, and has been impressive on the mile and a half tracks this season, with three of his five wins coming on the intermediate speedways. Kahne is well down in the points after two bad races in the 10-race Chase for the Championship. He's going to need to win just about every time out now to have a shot at the title and most of those ahead of him in the standings will have to have a really bad race in order for Kahne to get back into contention.

But hey, isn't that why they instituted the Chase anyway? The idea was to bunch the top 10 teams closely in points for the last 10 races, then stand back and watch the fireworks.

Mark Martin is the defending champion at Kansas, and a sentimental favorite to capture his 36th career win and improve his Chase standings. Martin is the winningest non-Cup champion around, and is favored to win today's race. He's also hands-down the sentimental favorite to take the Nextel Cup championship. Mark personifies all that is best about NASCAR drivers . . . he is a true hero of the sport.

In an age when drivers jump ship at the drop of a hat, Mark has stuck with Jack Roush (who never drops his hat) for his entire NASCAR career. That kind of loyalty also breeds loyalty in the fans, and NASCAR fans are as fiercely loyal as sports fans anywhere.

Kansas is still a relatively new track, and as such has been a one-groove racetrack up till now. Experts expect to see a bit more experimenting with different racing lines this time around, as the track is more seasoned.

The Craftsman Truck race at Las Vegas last weekend underscored the "new track, one groove" syndrome. The newly reconfigured and repaved 1.5 mile Vegas oval bore out the conventional wisdom. Look for next spring's Nextel Cup race at Vegas to be another "new track" parade.

If there was any doubt left about if the Childress Racing organization was back on track, it was certainly dispelled with Jeff Burton's win at Dover last weekend. Had it not been for a rare engine failure for teammate Kevin Harvick, the resurgence would have been even more impressive. Harvick is a lock to win the Busch Grand National series this year, and Burton's victory put him at the top of the Chase chart. The Childress organization is finally on its way back from Dale Earnhardt's loss.

Local Legends racer Mackena Bell recently ran her first race at the famed Altamont Speedway in California, qualifying 11th out of 23 drivers (all males except her), winning her heat race and finishing fourth in the Saturday main. On Sunday she qualified third, set fast time in her heat race, and came home ninth.

Bell is taking to the dirt in her 500cc Open Outlaw Kart this weekend in Dixon, Calif., joined by her younger sister Kellcy, who will wheel a 250cc kart. Mackena will be back in the Legends car for the West Coast Legend Classic at Shasta Raceway Park on October 20 and 21, along with several other local Legends racers. I'll try to get a full rundown on the race and local participation from Rob Woods of RWW Fabrication, "Mr. Legends" of Northern Nevada.

I recently received an e-mail from Eileen Thomas, better known as "ET," the proprietress of The Next Level driving school. TNL is relocating from Reno-Fernley Raceway and is now offering racing simulator training. Private coaching at Reno-Fernley's road course will still be available on tune and test days.

ET tells me that her state of the art simulator is the real deal, not a video game. And the costs are considerably less than a traditional racing school, eliminating the costs for fuel, tires, brakes, body damage, towing, and track rental fees. Sites in Carson City and Reno are currently under development. Contact ET at (775) 629-9326 for further information.