Burning Questions: New Hampshire II
September 17, 2001
4:19 PM EDT (2019 GMT)
CNNSI.com's Stephen Thomas tackles three questions that matter to fans:
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Ricky Rudd
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1. Is there hope for Ricky Rudd's title chances?
To hear Ricky Rudd tell it, he’s got a snowball’s chance in hell of catching Jeff Gordon to win his first Winston Cup title. "Running them down as far as making points up every week and passing [Gordon]?" Rudd asked last Saturday. "No, that won’t happen." And consider that Rudd made that statement after he’d won the Monte Carlo 400 and sliced Gordon’s lead in the points race from 342 to 222.
Rudd’s skepticism is understandable. After all, Gordon’s 36th-place finish Saturday marked just the fourth time in the past 17 races that the Kid has so much as finished outside of the top eight. In fact, since the NAPA Auto Parts 500 on April 29, Gordon has four wins, five seconds and three thirds.
Rudd certainly has a tough row to hoe, but such a comeback wouldn’t be without precedent. Alan Kulwicki trailed Bill Elliott by 278 points with six races remaining in 1992 before winning the title by 10 points (the narrowest margin in history). Were Rudd to make up the almost-47 points per race that Kulwicki did, he’d win the title by almost 250 points. Still, the reality is that Rudd is in the unpleasant position of having to hope for another man’s failure; Rudd needs to average 22 more points per race than Gordon in the next 10 races, or, roughly, beat Gordon by almost six spots in every race.
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Greg Biffle
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2. Is Greg Biffle the next Kevin Harvick ... or Robby Gordon?
In his rookie year on the Busch Grand National series, Greg Biffle has won three races, finished second five times and finished between third and 10th another eight times. With seven races to go, he is fourth in the points race, 402 points behind Kevin Harvick.
But if it’s clear that Biffle is a Harvick-like talent, it’s also obvious that he bears a slight resemblance to Gordon. And that would be Robby, not Jeff.
Near the end of the CVS Pharmacy 200 in May, Biffle, angry that Harvick hadn’t allowed him to get a lap back earlier in the race, went toe-to-toe with Harvick while Jason Keller went on to win the race. Biffle’s stand on principle foreshadowed Robby’s battle with Harvick at Sears Point that allowed Tony Stewart to win. Then, there was an incident with Shane Hall at St. Louis, when the two drivers renewed a spat that had begun earlier in Milwaukee. Running second behind Harvick, Biffle bumped Hall, who was three laps down at the time. Hall, in turn, bumped Biffle. The confrontation with Hall certainly cost Biffle a chance to pass Harvick. Finally, there was the 21-year-old’s on-track explosion at Richmond on Friday night, when he threw a punch at Jay Sauter after Sauter wrecked him in retaliation for an earlier incident.
Biffle may well have compelling arguments in defense of each of his actions -- but then, Robby Gordon has also been eloquent at those moments when he’s been forced to explain himself. Of course, Biffle might want to consider the arc of Gordon’s career the next time he gets a little hot under the collar.
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Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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3. Will Little E be the one to inherit Dale Earnhardt's mantle?
Among the more significant questions left unanswered in the wake of Dale Earnhardt’s death was which of the remaining drivers could possibly replace the Intimidator. The consensus was that no one person could or should be expected to fill those shoes.
In the immediate aftermath of the Daytona 500, prominent drivers like Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton were repeatedly asked who might inherit Earnhardt’s very powerful position in the garage. Each deflected the question. But subsequent events have proved that perhaps people looked too far afield -- perhaps without even realizing it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. could well evolve into much the same role.
From his unrivaled candor to his competitiveness to the playful way he sends messages to fellow drivers ("He just does that every time he’s behind me," Harvick said of Junior’s post-race bumps at Richmond), the 26-year-old has already shown that he shares more than a facial resemblance with his father. And the fact is that NASCAR needs a driver like the late Earnhardt, not only as a public figure around whom fans can rally, for or against, but because the drivers need a representative whose voice will carry weight with series officials.
With all due respect to the Gordons and Jarretts and Burtons of the world, Earnhardt Jr. is uniquely positioned and clearly qualified to be that person.
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