Larry Mcreynolds Posts

It's that time of year again. Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially kicks off the "Race to the Chase," the 10-race stretch for a shot at the championship.

While there have been several surprises in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year, one of the biggest shocks as we close in on the Chase for the Sprint Cup is the absence of a clear-cut favorite for the championship. Last year's dominant teams at this time of the season were the 99 and 18, and the 24 and 48 in 2007, but we really don't have one in 2009, which bodes well for the sport.

Although NASCAR banned all test sessions across the board this season, expect to see 100 laps of disguised "testing" Saturday night in the 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (7PM ET on SPEED).

Even when testing was permissible, the All-Star Race traditionally has been a time when teams think outside the box and employ aggressive tactics with their chassis setups to evaluate potential benefits for them in the following week's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The All-Star Race can be a thrill-packed, high-paying, no points test session where almost anything goes and usually does.