NASCAR: Late-season stumbles put Bowyer, Larson on ropes heading to Richmond

By Sep 1, 2014, 3:11 PM EDT
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After the dust settled on last night’s Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, noted motorsport journalist Lewis Franck made the following observation:

Indeed, one year after helping to trigger Michael Waltrip Racing’s race manipulation scandal at Richmond International Raceway, Bowyer is set to return to “The Action Track” as a center of attention once again.

It’s attention that he could do without.

Bowyer finished 38th last night after having to go to the garage early with a broken shifter, which led to a transmission replacement and more than 20 laps lost.

Now down 23 points to Greg Biffle for the 16th and final Chase Grid position, Bowyer may need a “Hail Mary” of his own like that of Atlanta winner Kasey Kahne in order to make the post-season.

“It seems like if it weren’t for bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck,” Bowyer said last night. “We’ve been good at Richmond but we are going to have to have a really good finish, if not a win, to make it into the Chase.”

He makes an important point there, as Bowyer’s won twice in his Cup career on the 3/4-mile RIR bullring.

But his Atlanta problems again emphasize how disastrous late-season mishaps can be for those like him that are on the Chase bubble.

Take Kyle Larson, for example. Going into Michigan three races ago, Larson was +9 points over the cutoff at 15th on the Chase Grid.

Then he crashed just before the midway point of that race and finished dead last, 43rd place. Larson promptly dropped out of the Grid to 19th, at -24 points behind the cutoff.

And with 16th place Greg Biffle on a perfectly-timed run of Top-10 finishes (his 10th-place result last night was his fifth Top-10 in a row), Larson’s solid results of 12th at Bristol and eighth in Atlanta have done nothing to close the deficit – which is again at 24 points with only Saturday’s regular season finale at RIR to go.

“[A] Top‑10 is not bad, but it doesn’t really matter anymore because Kasey won,” Larson said. “So happy for Kasey, but that pretty much ends our Chase hopes unless we win.”

And if neither Bowyer or Larson can get a win in the Commonwealth of Virginia, they’ll clearly know how, when, and where things went wrong for them.

IndyCar Power Rankings: Alex Palou still first as Newgarden, Ferrucci make Indy 500 jumps

By May 31, 2023, 2:00 PM EDT
NBC IndyCar power rankings
Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar/USA TODAY Sports Images Network
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The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

  1. Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
  2. Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
  3. Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
  4. Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
  5. Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
  6. Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
  7. Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
  8. Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
  9. Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
  10. Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.

Falling out: Will Power (8), Felix Rosenqvist (9), Romain Grosjean (10)

PAST NBC SPORTS INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS

PRESEASON: Josef Newgarden is a favorite to win third championship

RACE 1: Pato O’Ward to first; Newgarden drops out after St. Pete

RACE 2: O’Ward stays firmly on top of standings after Texas

RACE 3: Marcus Ericsson leads powerhouses at the top

RACE 4: Grosjean, Palou flex in bids for first victory

RACE 5: Alex Palou carrying all the momentum into Indy 500