Questions Aplenty Heading Into 2012

01/06/2012 By 2 Comments

Now that the champagne bottles having been discarded into the recycling bin and the calendar have been flipped to 2012, we have turned our collective attention to the forthcoming NASCAR season which is just a little more than a month from commencing.

As there always are at the beginning of the year, there are numerous questions being asked regarding the upcoming season. Questions that of course don’t yet have answers, but need to be asked nonetheless.

Without further ado, away we go.

• After being unceremoniously dumped by Stewart-Haas Racing despite leading Tony Stewart to a series-high five victories, not to mention the championship, Darian Grubb landed on his feet by being named the crew chief for Denny Hamlin, whose relationship with former crew chief Mike Ford had grown stale. Although it’s going to take some time for them to get on the same page, with Grubb a proven top wrench and Hamlin a driver capable of winning a title, big things are expected of this duo. How each manages and goes about meeting said expectations will go a long way to dictating what kind of season the No. 11 FedEx team will have in 2012. Is this a potential dream team or just another driver-crew chief that fails to click?

• Grubb’s replacement at SHR will be Steve Addington, who for the last two years served as the crew chief for Kurt Busch. How will he do taking the reigns of the now three-time Sprint Cup titlist? Will be able to lead Tony Stewart to back-to-back championships? What happens if this team struggles throughout the course of the year?

• As preposterous as it may seem, will Dale Earnhardt Jr. ever win another Sprint Cup race? And if so, when and where?

• After a successful first season together which included three trips to the winner’s circle, can Jeff Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson follow-up it up with a bonafide run at Gordon’s fifth Sprint Cup championship?

• Will Richard Childress Racing ever find sustained stability? Once again this now three-car team is in a bit of a flux. The No. 33 team has been disbanded, Clint Bowyer has departed for Michael Waltrip Racing, Kevin Harvick, despite finishing third in points in consecutive years, is being bestowed with a new crew chief (Shane Wilson), and Drew Blickensderfer has been signed away from Roush Fenway Racing to call the shots for Jeff Burton. Either way, you can never accuse Childress of not doing everything it takes to try and put his organization over the proverbial hump. Even if sometimes he appears a little too eager to make change.

• How will defending Truck Series champion Austin Dillon do in his first full season in Nationwide? In limited starts the 21-year-old grandson of Richard Childress has been impressive, but with expectations high the pressure will be on Dillon to perform from the onset.

• Squarely to due to his boorish and immature antics, Penske Racing and Kurt Bush “mutually” parted ways. In an effort to reinvigorate both his image and his career, the 2004 champion latched on with Phoenix Racing. Though the single-car team owned by James Finch may be small, they do receive cars and engines from Hendrick Motorsports and with the right driver have the outside chance to contend for wins and perhaps a berth in the Chase. As such, this will give Busch the opportunity to show he’s a reformed man. But the onus is now on him to in fact show he deserves a second chance with one of NASCAR’s top organizations.

• Busch’s replacement at Penske is AJ Allmendinger, who will be given every opportunity to show he deserves this ride past this year. In five full seasons in Cup, the former Champ Car pilot has progressively improved each year, going from finishing 43rd in points in his rookie campaign to 15th one year ago. If The ‘Dinger fulfills the expectations laid out before him by winning at least once and contending for a spot in the Chase, there’s little question he will be back behind the wheel of the No. 22 Dodge Charger in 2013. If not, who fills this seat long-term will be the most asked question of ’12.

• On the subject of Penske Racing, can Brad Keselowski follow-up his breakthrough 2011 season with a return trip to the Chase. Until proven otherwise, it’s hard not to think last season was him just catching lightning in a bottle. No different than Jamie McMurray did in 2010 when he won three races, including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. For Keselowski’s sake, let’s hope he avoids crashing back to earth with a resounding thud like McMurray did last year.

• Will Brian Vickers take a ride with a Cup backmarker in an effort to stay in NASCAR’s top series? Or, will he take a step back and find a competitive fulltime ride in the Nationwide Series to rejuvenate his career?

• Will David Ragan take a ride with a Cup backmarker in an effort to stay in NASCAR’s top series? Or, will he take a step back and find a competitive fulltime ride in the Nationwide Series to rejuvenate his career?

• After a herculean effort in his only season with Red Bull Racing which included a win, 8 top-fives, 15 top-10s and a 14th-place point’s finish, how will Kasey Kahne do in his first season at Hendrick Motorsports? On paper, it seems like a perfect fit. But how many times have we seen a ballyhooed driver join the four-car juggernaut only to fall flat on his face (Mears, Craven, Schrader, Earnhardt)?

• Prior to last year, Greg Biffle had made the Chase three straight times and won a total of four races. But while all three of his Roush Fenway teammates were scoring wins, and two of his teammates were battling for the championship, Biffle was immersed in a sea of mediocrity and never really seriously contended for a spot in the Chase. With a contract extension in hand, can the 16-time winner in Cup resume his winning ways and bounce back?

• Richard Childress Racing and Clint Bowyer seemed like a perfect fit. But a squabble over money and lack of sponsorship soured the relationship to the point Bowyer has left the only NASCAR team he’s ever known to join Michael Waltrip Racing. Will Bowyer be the one to tap into the potential MWR has always shown but never delivered upon and put a Michael Waltrip owned car in the Chase for the first time ever?

• Bowyer’s stablemate at MWR in 2012 will be Martin Truex Jr. In what will be his third year with the Toyota team and four-plus years since his last and to date only Cup victory, Truex is entering what can be viewed as the make-or-break portion of his career. Another subpar season and the former two-time Nationwide Series champion could find himself challenging for his third series title in 2013 if he doesn’t soon light the wick. Does Truex live up to the promise he showed early in his career or will he continue to be consistently inconsistent?

• Last year, Marcos Ambrose, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, David Ragan and Trevor Bayne found Victory Lane for the first time. Were their respective victories a mere onetime thing that will end up being nothing more than a footnote in the annuals of NASCAR, or the start of something bigger?

• As noted above, there were five gentlemen who experienced winning for the first time in 2011. Although there are not a lot of viable candidates to do so in ‘12, which driver will be the next first time winner in Sprint Cup? AJ Allmendinger?

• After a rollercoaster season which can nicely be described as disappointing, can Denny Hamlin regain the form he flashed at the end of the 2009 and all throughout 2010 and once again become a title contender?

• Will last year’s one race suspension be the wakeup call Kyle Busch needed, and with his newfound maturity will this be the year he finally puts everything together and becomes a factor in the Chase for the first time in his career?

• With a new crew chief in Jason Ratcliff, will this finally be the year Joey Logano fulfills the potential that landed him a coveted ride with one of the sports premiere teams?

• If not, will Joe Gibbs Racing finally cut the cord and admit the “Sliced Bread Experiment” was a failure and replace him with another driver? One perhaps who can actually deliver the results that we’ve come to expect out of the famed No. 20 Home Depot machine. If so, who will that driver be?

• Every year there is one notable driver who for whatever reason (usually money) decides to change teams. Last year was Clint Bowyer, the year before that was Kasey Kahne. Which name driver will be on the move after the 2012 season and what will the ripple effect be on the garage?

• For the first time since 2005, Jimmie Johnson enters the offseason without the Sprint Cup championship. A usual proposition for a driver who’s grown accustomed to having a bull’s-eye on his back. How will Johnson respond to being the hunter instead of the hunted? Will not winning the title make him even hungrier? If that is the case, the rest of the garage could be in a world of hurt come 2012.

• Can Jack Roush find some money to keep all his teams and drivers afloat? No team has a wealth of riches like Roush Fenway Racing. On the Cup side of things, The Cat In The Hat has two genuine contenders in Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth. Not to mention Greg Biffle, who if everything breaks right, could mount a dark horse bid to win the title. Things are just as good in Nationwide, where Roush employs the services of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne. The only thing Roush doesn’t have enough of is sponsorship dollars. As of now, Kenseth, Stenhouse and Bayne either don’t have funding for the whole year or just partial backing. A situation that very well could at some point next year force Roush to bench one of his two promising youngsters unless the situation is resolved favorably.

• In her first full season running the Nationwide Series, how will Danica Patrick do? Can she win race? Can she finish in the top-10 in the yearend standings?

• As a follow-up, how will Patrick fare when she makes her Sprint Cup debut this coming February in the Daytona 500?

• Finally, after an improbable, spirited drive to his first Sprint Cup title as an owner-driver, and his third overall, what will Tony Stewart do for an encore in 2012?

 

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Filed Under: NASCAR, Questions, Sub-Feature

Questions Abound Heading Into Indy

07/26/2011 By 1 Comment

No other sport has as long a season as NASCAR. The 36-race schedule begins in mid-February and doesn’t end until the third week of November. An absolute grind on drivers, teams, media, and, yes, even fans.

With this grueling schedule, it’s no surprise drivers took to various means of recharging their batteries during what was the final off week of the year. Jimmie Johnson took in the Tour de France, Jeff Gordon went on a humanitarian mission to the Congo, Kyle Busch raced and won a prestigious Super Late Model race in Maine, Kasey Kahne took a terrifying tumble in a World of Outlaws race in Pennsylvania, while Denny Hamlin went on a holiday to an undisclosed location with some friends.

To each of the above drivers, as well as everyone else in the garage, the next 17 weeks will include a cavalcade of emotions, so it’s best to get one’s mind off of what will be an exhausting run to the finish. In that time, expect to see everything from frustration to elation and everything in between.

More interesting than feelings however, is how the myriad of questions that have cropped up over the first 19 races will be answered. The following questions are pressing and need to be asked.

• It’s been 10 years since Jeff Gordon last tasted championship glory. But the soon to be 40-year-old driver has shown renewed vigor this season, winning twice and flashing the consistency that could propel him to his fifth Sprint Cup Series crown. Does the driver once referred to as “Wonder Boy” have one last magical championship run left in him?

• It’s not a question of “Is Danica Patrick coming to NASCAR fulltime in 2012?,” but more of a question of “Which team will Danica Patrick sign with and when will she make her Sprint Cup debut?”

• Dating back to last year, the 14 team has the feeling of a team that’s kind of stagnant. If Tony Stewart doesn’t make the Chase – a distinct possibility considering he’s 11th in points and has yet to win a race this year – it’s reasonable to think some personnel changes would be in the works for the owner-driver. If that happens, what will those changes entail, and will they include replacing Darrian Grubb as crew chief for the two-time Sprint Cup champion? Does Stewart’s old crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing magically find his way over to Stewart-Haas Racing?

• On the subject of the guy sitting atop the pit box, which head wrench will be on the move next? In the last two weeks three crew chiefs have been given their walking papers. With the pressure to win greater now than ever before, thanks to NASCAR’s sage decision to put a bigger emphasis on winning by adding two wildcard spots in the Chase, expect that number to grow exponentially in the weeks leading up to the start of the playoffs. Not to mention afterwards, when struggling teams accept their fate and start the overhauling process in order to get a head start on 2012.

• Is Carl Edwards really going to leave the only team he’s ever been associated with for the supposedly greener pastures of Joe Gibbs Racing?

• What happens to Joey Logano if Edwards does join up with the team owned by the three-time Super Bowl winning head coach? Does JGR find sponsorship and startup a fourth team for the precocious, yet underachieving, 21-year-old? Or is Logano going to find himself on the outside looking in when the game of musical chairs stops?

• Say Edwards does leave Roush Fenway. What does this do to his chances of winning this year’s title? History says his odds go down considerably, as a lame duck driver has never won the Sprint Cup championship. It’s hard to imagine Jack Roush putting the necessary resources behind his soon-to-be departing driver.

• One more question about Edwards and his supposed move to Joe Gibbs Racing. How well does he fit in with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin? Two drivers with their own considerable egos who aren’t always the easiest of teammates to get along with?

• If a sponsorship can’t be found or scraped up, is Richard Childress really going to let Clint Bowyer get away? We’re talking about a driver who’s made the Chase three of the last four years and has proven to be a consistent winner in Sprint Cup. Austin Dillon may be a future star in this sport, but another year of seasoning in either the Nationwide or Truck Series would do him a world of good.

• If Bowyer does leave RCR due to lack of sponsorship, which team will employ his services for 2012? He sure would make a nice replacement for Carl Edwards at Roush Fenway.

• What happens with David Ragan, Roush Fenway and UPS? Although Ragan notched his first Cup victory at Daytona, there’s no guarantee he’ll be back behind the wheel of the No. 6 car next year unless UPS, whose contract is up at the end of the year, returns or another suitable replacement is found. Let’s say the Georgia native is forced out of his ride; does this open the door for one of Roush’s youngsters, Trevor Bayne or Ricky Stenhouse Jr., to make the move up to Sprint Cup fulltime?

• How is it that despite being the series’ most consistent driver and having led the points for 13 of 19 weeks, Carl Edwards has just a lone victory this season? Will his near misses – runner-up finishes at Daytona, Bristol and Darlington – and the valuable bonus points that go with them be the difference between him winning his first championship or playing the role of bridesmaid once again?

• Will Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s recent tailspin – he hasn’t finished better than 15th since mid-June – drop him out of what once seemed a guaranteed spot in the Chase?

• Who’s the real Trevor Bayne? At one point this season the 21-year-old looked like the next big thing. But a collection of wrecked racecars along with a lengthy absence due to Lyme’s disease has taken away the glow of that stirring Daytona 500 win six months ago.

• What becomes of Team Red Bull? Will they continue to exist under new ownership, perhaps with Mark Martin involved either as a driver, owner or both? Or will the two-car team cease to exist completely?

• Can Kyle Busch maintain his new calm persona through the meat grinder known as the Chase for the Sprint Cup? If so, he has a more than an excellent shot to win his first Sprint Cup crown. If not, and he returns to his petulant ways, it will be more disappointment for NASCAR’s most talented driver.

• If Red Bull does shutter its doors in the offseason, what does this mean for Brian Vickers? Does the two-time Cup race winner and 2009 Chase participant find another ride in Cup, maybe with Michael Waltrip Racing? Or, is he forced to do what Elliott Sadler did this year and move down to the Nationwide Series to jumpstart his floundering career? Either way, Vickers’ decision to leave Hendrick Motorsports five years ago looks more and more imprudent with each passing day.

• Will Chad Knaus ever get a handle on his much-maligned pit crew, which continually has buckled under the pressure and looks ill-prepared to help their driver win his sixth straight title? Either this problem gets resolved before the Chase starts, or Johnson will be looking at another driver holding the championship hardware come Homestead.

• Can Denny Hamlin firmly put behind him the heartbreaking way his otherwise phenomenal 2010 season ended? Not to mention, is the sluggish way he started 2011, which saw him average a 20th-place finish through the first eight races, a thing of the past?

• Finally, 19 races into the year, we still don’t have one clear-cut championship favorite. At different points this season Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and to a lesser degree Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon all have been labeled as the title favorite. Will one of these drivers ever step up and make themselves the prohibitive choice to win the title?

 

 

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Filed Under: Indianapolis, NASCAR, Questions, Sub-Feature

Pressing Questions and Who Wins What

02/20/2011 By 1 Comment

Let’s start off with the question everyone is asking, will Dale Earnhardt Jr. make a trip to victory lane for the first time since 2008?
On top of the energy new crew chief Steve Letarte has injected into Dale Earnhardt Jr., he’s also doing a great job of rebuilding the sagging confidence of his driver. If Letarte can continue to do this, and if Earnhardt can regain the swagger that marked the early part of his career, yes, the 88 car will make a trip to victory lane at some point this season.

No matter what though, as we’ve seen throughout Speedweeks, Earnhardt is a formidable foe whenever the series makes a stop at a restrictor-plate track.

Can Jimmie Johnson repeat?
Silly question considering Johnson’s won the last five titles and rewritten the NASCAR record book in the process. Therefore, yes, I certainly think he can make it six in a row.

Every year someone comes out of nowhere and surprises us; who will be this year’s biggest surprise?
Guys to keep an eye on this season include Martin Truex Jr., who is entering his second season with Michael Waltrip, Brad Keselowski, who has seen his Nationwide Series crew chief Paul Wolfe, who won the title last season, get promoted to the Cup side of things, and of course, the aforementioned Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Out of these three candidates, I would lean towards Truex, who’s working with a very good crew chief in Pat Tryson and drives for an organization which has a good infrastructure in place, and continues to make gains each season. Whether that adds up to a Chase berth remains to be seen.

Just as there are surprises every season, there are always those who fall short of their goals; who will be this year’s biggest disappointment?
Because every driver and team has different expectations, this is a category that’s somewhat relative to the driver in question. But among those who are going to have a tough time fulfilling their respective expectations are Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano.

Personally, I would go with Hamlin, just because of everything he’s going to have to deal with this season. Not only does he have to overcome the frustrating and disappointing way his 2010 season ended, but he also has to find a way to come close to matching the results he put together a year ago, which saw him win eight races and finish runner-up to Jimmie Johnson.

What will the biggest story in 2011 be?
Last season, it was television ratings and ticket sales. This year’s top story will be the pending free agency of some of the sports bigger names. The partial list includes Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton and maybe Danica Patrick.

One could make a very good argument that this could be the most talented and deepest free agent class NASCAR has ever seen.

Although a majority of the above drivers will likely reup with their current organizations – Biffle and Montoya already said as much – it’s going to be an ongoing saga throughout 2011 as to how the driver dominoes fall into place. And it’s already started, as stories have started popping up, including here, here and here.

As a follow-up to the question above, what, if any, big name will we see switch teams after the year?
While the list of drivers with contracts up at the end of the year is impressive, the truth is almost none of them will hit the open-market.

Greg Biffle made it known during Media Day that he expected to have a long-term contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing done by the end of the first quarter.

Juan Pablo Montoya has absolutely zero interest in driving for someone not named Chip Ganassi.

Brian Vickers and Red Bull Racing go together like Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Clint Bowyer is a perfect fit at RCR, and Richard Childress would be out of his mind, which he’s not, to let him walk.

Who knows with Jeff Burton, but one gets the sense he’s welcome to stay at RCR as long as he wants.

And Danica understands that if she wants to race at NASCAR’s highest-level, there’s no better team to be aligned with, than a team that’s won 10 Sprint Cup titles.

All of which leaves Carl Edwards as our only prospect to switch rides.

Will it happen? Heh, probably not.

But I’ll tell you what, Edwards has made no secret of the fact that he wants to be with whichever team gives him the best chance to win races and championships. If Roush struggles this season, it certainly could be a catalyst for Edwards to leave the only team he’s ever been associated with.

Explain what the impact of the new points system.
It was long assumed that when NASCAR decided to revamp the points system that had been in place since the 1975 season, they would put a greater emphasis on winning. Well, that didn’t quite happen. The sanctioning body, with their 43-1 point structure, actually made consistency matter more than ever before.

What effect that will have on the season has yet to be determined, but its likely drivers who have a lot to lose points-wise, will tend to be more conservative than ever before. Especially if a driver is on the Chase bubble or come the Chase, in the thick of the championship fight.

The biggest impact that NASCAR’s new point system will ultimately have is in granting the final two spots in the Chase to the two drivers with the most wins 11-20th in points.

For example, say Juan Pablo Montoya or Marcos Ambrose were to sweep the road courses, both would likely make the Chase as long as they were in the top-20. The same theory would apply if a driver, say Dale Earnhardt Jr., were to either win two of the three restrictor-plate races or all three.

If a driver knows they can’t make the playoffs on points and their only way to get in is to win a couple of races, it’s going to be a free-for-all and sure as heck will make for some entertaining racing down the stretch.

It’s always fun to see a fresh face in victory lane, but last year we didn’t see one newbie win a Sprint Cup race. Will we see a first time winner in 2011 or will it be more of the same?
The problem with trying to deduce who might be a first time Sprint Cup victor is the lack of viable candidates.

With a different team, AJ Allmendinger would certainly be my pick. The problem is because he’s with a restructured Richard Petty Motorsports team, no one’s sure how competitive the two-car team will be.

As for some of the other names on the list, there’s no way, barring a miracle or an act of God, David Ragan is going to win. Marcos Ambrose is always good on the road courses, and should have won last year at Infineon, but like his RPM teammate Allmendinger, the competitiveness of Richard Petty Motorsports has yet to be determined.

However, there is one guy to keep an eye on. Let me say this first – I’m in no way saying I think it’s going to happen – but pay attention to Paul Menard whenever the series races at either Daytona or Talladega. With him driving a fourth car for Richard Childress Racing this season, and having proven to be capable on the plate tracks, it’s a combination that could payoff in Menard winning his first Sprint Cup race.

Like there is every season there will be a handful of marquee drivers who get shutout of victory lane. Which big-name driver won’t win in 2011?
In their careers, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne have won a combined 190 Sprint Cup races. However last season, none of the above drivers won a single event.

When I put together my yearly projections regarding who wins what (which you’ll see below) I had Gordon, Earnhardt, Kenseth and Kahne all returning to the winner’s circle after prolonged absences.

Among the bigger names being shut out, were Martin, Burton, Jamie McMurray and David Reutimann.

As a follow-up, which big-name driver won’t make the Chase?
Like clockwork, every year a driver who was supposed to easily make the Chase for the Sprint, not only doesn’t make the Chase easily, they don’t make it at all. To date, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are the only two drivers to have qualified for the Chase every year in which they’ve been eligible.

This season if there is a big-name driver who won’t be racing for the championship when the Chase starts at Chicagoland, it will be none other than Tony Stewart.

I get the sense that this team has hit a wall and with the talent-pool in NASCAR deeper than ever, plateauing is the equivalent of going in reverse. Not to mention, what happens if Stewart has to fly back to Australia at some point this season to deal with the ramifications from his fight with a track promoter last month?

All right smart guy, your 12 drivers to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, are who?
I have written Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle’s names in ink. After that, I have used pencil to write the names of Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth.

My belief is everyone with the exception of Newman and Montoya makes it via being in the top-10 in points. While Newman and Montoya claim the two wildcard spots based on the number of wins they’ve accumulated during the regular season.

Which rookie will have the distinction of trying to fill the large shoes of last year’s Rookie of the Year recipient, Kevin Conway?
The 2011 rookie class is about as impressive as last year’s, and I’m being facetious. This certainly isn’t the best class of rookies we’ve ever seen. Regardless, despite their merit, much like Kevin Conway last year, we’re going to have another undeserving driver accepting the award at the banquet in Las Vegas.

The two drivers who are competing for the hardware this season are noted sports car ace Andy Lally, and Brian Keselowski, the older brother of Brad. Neither is with a well-funded team, but in Lally’s case, at least his TRG Motorsports team has a little bit of financial backing and is planning on running the full schedule. Keselowski can’t say the same thing.

At the end of the year who will be holding the Sprint Cup trophy?
Out of respect for what he’s done, it would be foolish of me to say anyone other than Jimmie Johnson.

But let’s assume for a minute Johnson stubs his toe a bit and can’t mount a charge in the 10-race Chase. If that were to happen, my pick to win the championship would be Kyle Busch.

After an offseason which saw him get married, I think this is the year where Busch puts everything together, on and off the track. My thinking is after last year’s meltdown at Texas, the Joe Gibbs driver realizes his immature ways and frequent tirades need to come to an end.

Again, all this is assuming Johnson takes a step back – how’s that for hedging one’s bet? – Busch will be in perfect position to capitalize and win his first Sprint Cup crown, and Joe Gibbs’ fourth.

###

As has become customary, it’s now time for my annual exercise in futility, as I try and project who wins what Sprint Cup race in 2011. For the record, my accuracy rate over the years is about the equivalent of a weatherman. Which means I’m wrong almost all the time. So don’t say you weren’t warned.

2/20 Daytona 500
Daytona International Speedway
Kevin Harvick

2/27 Subway Fresh Fit 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Jimmie Johnson

3/6 Kobalt Tools 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Carl Edwards

3/20 Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
Kyle Busch

3/27 Auto Club 400
Auto Club Speedway
Carl Edwards

4/3 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
Kyle Busch

4/9 Samsung Mobile 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Greg Biffle

4/17 Aaron’s 499
Talladega Superspeedway
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4/30 Crown Royal 400
Richmond International Raceway
Clint Bowyer

5/7 Showtime Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Jeff Gordon

5/15 Dover 400
Dover International Speedway
Jimmie Johnson

5/21 Sprint All-Star Race *Non-points*
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Carl Edwards

5/29 Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Jimmie Johnson

6/5 Kansas Speedway 400
Kansas Speedway
Carl Edwards

6/12 Pocono 500
Pocono Raceway
Carl Edwards

6/19 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400
Michigan International Speedway
Carl Edwards

6/26 Toyota/Save Mart 350
Infineon Raceway
Tony Stewart

7/2 Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola
Daytona International Speedway
Kyle Busch

7/9 Kentucky 400
Kentucky Speedway
Kyle Busch

7/17 Lenox Industrial Tools 301
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Denny Hamlin

7/31 Brickyard 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Juan Pablo Montoya

8/7 Pennsylvania 500
Pocono Raceway
Denny Hamlin

8/14 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
Juan Pablo Montoya

8/21 Michigan 400
Michigan International Speedway
Tony Stewart

8/27 Irwin Tools Night Race
Bristol Motor Speedway
Kevin Harvick

9/4 Labor Day Classic 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Kurt Busch

9/10 One Last Race To Make The Chase 400
Richmond International Raceway
Joey Logano

9/18 Chicagoland 400
Chicagoland Speedway
Greg Biffle

9/25 Sylvania 300
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Ryan Newman

10/2 AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
Jeff Gordon

10/9 Kansas 400
Kansas Speedway
Kyle Busch

10/15 Bank of America 500
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Kasey Kahne

10/23 Talladega 500
Talladega Superspeedway
Kyle Busch

10/30 TUMS Fast Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
Denny Hamlin

11/6 AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Jeff Gordon

11/13 Kobalt Tools 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Jimmie Johnson

11/20 Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Matt Kenseth

If you would like to contact the author of this post, simply click here, and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Filed Under: 2011, NASCAR, Preview, Questions

Questions Galore

12/02/2010 By Leave a Comment


Since the checkered flag waved at Homestead on the 2010 season, the offseason has been anything but quiet. Two days following the season-ender, Rick Hendrick reorganized his four-car team by exchanging three of his four crew chiefs. This past Monday, Richard Petty Motorsports announced the restructuring of their ownership, with “The King” himself assuming day-to-day control of the fledgling two-car team that bears his name. While yesterday, via Twitter, Scott Speed confirmed what we already knew to be true, that he won’t be back with Team Red Bull Racing next season.

Although it’s been anything but quiet the past week and change, that doesn’t mean that everything has been settled. Some of outlying questions will be answered before Speedweeks, while others won’t be known until this time next year. So I present to you, the most pressing questions as head into December and before you know it, the 2011 season.

Why doesn’t Jeff Gordon, the owner of four series titles and 82 Sprint Cup winner’s trophies, no longer win with any sort of regularity?

How will he and new crew chief Alan Gustafson get along, and will Gustafson be the difference in Gordon returning to victory lane?

Will Dale Earnhardt Jr. ever become the driver who at one point won six races in a season and finished third in points again? Or will he continue to be a driver who runs and finishes mid-pack just about every week?

Is crew chief Steve Letarte the answer to Junior’s problems? And if Junior continues to struggle; will he be back with Hendrick Motorsports in 2012?

What affect, if any, will the crew chief shuffle that Rick Hendrick orchestrated Thanksgiving week have on a team that had just one car taste victory?

Will Jimmie Johnson be the only Hendrick car to win in ’11, or will one of his three teammates find their way to the winners circle?

Can Johnson complete what he dubbed the “six pack” and win his sixth consecutive championship?

Why is David Ragan still employed by Jack Roush and still driving Roush’s No. 6 Ford?

Do you think “The Cat in The Hat” regrets forcing Mark Martin out and subsequently tabbing Ragan as his replacement?

Speaking of Martin, will he retire at the end of ‘11, or will he continue to drive? And if he continues on as a driver, which team will employ his services in ‘12?

Will Martin win another Sprint Cup race before he calls it quits?

How will Kasey Kahne fare in what is supposed to be his only season with Team Red Bull?

After blood clots forced him out of the car just 11 races into the ’10 season, can Kahne’s Red Bull teammate, Brian Vickers, successfully make a comeback?

In her second season wheeling a stockcar, can Danica Patrick improve upon a season that saw her finish no better than 19th and finish on the lead lap just once?

Come April, how will the first female of NASCAR do when she makes her debut on the high-banks of Bristol?

With some more seat-time, will we see Danica make an appearance in the Sprint Cup Series at some point this season? And if so, when and where will it come? Perhaps Texas in the fall? Or maybe at Phoenix, a track she knows very well.

What will it be like at Daytona when the new surface is tested under race conditions for the first time? Will it become a clone of Talladega, or will Daytona hold onto some of its unique characteristics?

Have the television ratings hit rock bottom or will we continue to see them decrease by double-digits on a seemingly weekly basis?

Coming off of one of the most competitive seasons in NASCAR history and with almost every track slashing their ticket prices and offering fans more bang for their buck, will attendance go up or will we continue to see fans disguised as empty seats?

At age 25 and entering his seventh full season, is this the year Kyle Busch grows up and puts it all together, both on and off the track?

Is running an average of 47 races between the Nationwide and Truck Series’ too much of a distraction for young Mr. Busch? Shouldn’t he maybe focus more on winning his first Sprint Cup title?

After coming oh so close to unseating Jimmie Johnson, how will Denny Hamlin handle the disappointment of finishing second? Will he use it as motivation in ’11, or will it be something he won’t be able to overcome?

Will Richard Petty really revive the fortunes of the team which he regained control of earlier in the week?

After an impressive bounce back from a disappointing 2009 season, can Kevin Harvick follow-up on what was an impressive ’10 campaign?

Behind the wheel of topnotch equipment for the first-time in his career, how will Paul Menard do with Richard Childress Racing?

After failing to make a four-car team work the first time they tried it two years ago, how will RCR fare this time around running four cars?

Can Jamie McMurray come anywhere close to matching his breakthrough season? One in which he won two of the four NASCAR majors. Or, was last year a fluke and the Earnhardt-Ganassi driver will come back to earth with a resounding thud?

Can Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe, who led Keselowski to the Nationwide championship, have the same magic in Sprint Cup that they had in NASCAR’s junior series?

Entering his third full season in Sprint Cup, is this the year Joey Logano makes The Leap and lives up to his “Sliced Bread” nickname?

Who, if anyone, will be competing for the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year? To this point no driver has registered and it’s looking a lot like ’10 when Kevin Conway, of all people, won the award.

Will Roush Fenway Racing, and in particular Carl Edwards, be able to carryover the momentum they had from the just completed season into ’11?

Can Edwards handle being labeled a preseason championship favorite better than he did in years past? The two previous times he was highlighted as a possible titlist (2005 and 2009) he came nowhere close to meeting anyone’s expectations.

Can Matt Kenseth find a crew chief that he wants to keep around for a full season?

In closing, the biggest question of them all is whether can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus when it matters the most?

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Filed Under: 2011, NASCAR, Questions

A Field Full of Questions

07/21/2009 By 2 Comments

As we return from a week off and enter the homestretch to NASCAR’s version of the playoffs, each team still has questions that they still need to answer, and of course, there are a lot more questions than answers.

#00 David Reutimann
Michael Waltrip Racing has come a very long way in a very short amount of time, but is MWR capable of fielding a consistent enough car to make the Chase for the Championship or is team and organization still a year away from being a Chase team?

#07 Casey Mears
With Richard Childress possibly having to scale back his team for 2010, is Mears the odd man out? And really, how does Mears keep landing plum rides? Is it because of his famous last name or because he has incriminating photos on someone? Someone needs to explain this to me.

#1 Martin Truex Jr.
How committed is Truex to Earnhardt-Ganassi for the rest of this year, or is he already looking toward next year and a fresh start with Michael Waltrip Racing?

#2 Kurt Busch
Is this team a legitimate title contender? Despite being fourth in points, there is no denying that this team is a click behind the three teams above them in the standings. Can they close the gap or is Busch going to have to settle for being the best of the rest?

#5 Mark Martin
With four wins on the year this team obviously has the speed to deliver Martin his first Sprint Cup title. Will the team’s lack of consistency derail those hopes and prevent Martin from even making the Chase, or can they sort their issues before New Hampshire and become an authentic championship contender?

#6 David Ragan
Why has this team failed to live up to the expectations everyone had for it prior to the season? Is it because of Roush Fenway’s struggles? Is it chemistry between Ragan and crew chief Jimmy Fennig? Or is David Ragan the problem? And is Ragan the driver who we saw last year run consistently in the top-10 and who looked poised to breakout and win his first Cup race? Or is he closer to the driver who Tony Stewart referred to as a “dart without feathers?”

#7 Robby Gordon
How much longer in this economic environment can Gordon continue to forge alone as a single-car owner-driver? Is it time that Gordon takes the next step and looks seriously at adding a second-car, perhaps enticing Paul Menard to come aboard for 2010?

#9 Kasey Kahne
Can Kahne take advantage of how the schedule sets up, he’s won on four of the seven tracks left before the Chase for the Championship begins, and make the Chase for the second time in his career? And is Kahne serious about sticking with Richard Petty Motorsports long-term or are the rumors true that Kahne is looking at trying to move elsewhere for 2010?

#11 Denny Hamlin
What is preventing this team from winning a race? And why does it seem that this team constantly shoots themselves in the foot whenever it appears that victory is imminent?

#12 David Stremme
Is Stremme the right driver for this team? Can he do what his teammate Kurt Busch is doing, and win races and run consistently in the top-10? Or does Roger Penske need to go out and find a driver who can not only compete for races wins, but championships as well?

#14 Tony Stewart
This team hasn’t really hit a rough stretch so far in 2009, and it would be foolish to think that they’re going to be able to go the whole year without hitting some turbulence. Is this team prepared to handle adversity? And is the team owner going to be able to settle the driver down when bad things do occur?

#16 Greg Biffle
What has happened to the Greg Biffle of 2005 who looked poised to become the third-straight Roush driver to win a championship? Why does Biffle have such a hard time being consistent, is it because of his hard driving-style, or because Ford is a step behind Chevy and Toyota? Is this team good enough to make this year’s Chase?

#17 Matt Kenseth
How can a team that won the first two races of 2009 appear to be so lost since? Is Drew Blickensderfer the right crew chief for Kenseth or is former crew chief Robbie Reiser the only pit boss who can maximize Kenseth’s potential? Can Kenseth make the Chase for the sixth-straight year?

#18 Kyle Busch
What has happened to the team that dominated most of 2008? Is it chemistry issues? Is Busch too hard of a driver to work with? Is it Busch’s lack of maturity? Is it crew chief Steve Addington, and his lack of experience? Or is it simply a combination of all the factors above? Whatever it is, there is no excuse for this team to be in the position that they currently find themselves in.

#19 Elliott Sadler
Why is this team content with finishing 20th in points every year? They have a big sponsor, and they have the resources, just witness what the 9 car is doing this year. Is Sadler and his lack of dedication and focus the problem? Is it time to simply pull the plug and send Sadler packing and bring in a young driver who might be able to make the most of what should be a good situation?

#20 Joey Logano
Can Logano continue to make progress and continue to get better each week like he has done through the first 19 races of 2009? Can he win a race without having to rely on Mother Nature and his crew having to do a rain dance?

#24 Jeff Gordon
Gordon may be second in points, but at times this year he has looked like a third-wheel on what looks to be a two-man championship fight. Can he continue to keep pace with the 14 and 48 and turn the two-man championship fight into a three-way battle?

#26 Jamie McMurray
Why did this team make a crew chief change in the offseason when they finished last season the way that they did with three-straight third-place finishes and four top-10s in the last five races? If new crew chief Donnie Wingo is supposed to bring out the best in McMurray, why hasn’t it happened yet and will it happen before the year is out?

#29 Kevin Harvick
Does Harvick want to commit long-term to RCR past 2010? If the answer is yes, then what can be done to return this onetime powerhouse back into a consistent winner? If the answer is no, then is it time to cut bait with Harvick and find someone better to build the team around?

#31 Jeff Burton
In the last five races Burton’s average finish is 28.8, what happened to the Jeff Burton whose trademark was his remarkable consistency?

#33 Clint Bowyer
This first year team was second in the points after six races; will they be able to recapture the magic that it had earlier in the year and rally to make the Chase? Or is this team at least a year away from being a bona fide contender?

#39 Ryan Newman
While he’s been close a few times this year, when will Newman finally seal the deal return to victory lane?

#42 Juan Pablo Montoya
Yes, I know he’s ninth in the points, but Montoya has yet to record a top-five finish so the question becomes, is Montoya and his team good enough to make this year’s Chase for the Championship?

#43 Reed Sorenson
Can Sorenson and his team, in their first year together, be able to grow and possibly build some momentum heading into next year?

#44 A.J. Allmendinger
With sponsorship not guaranteed past Richmond, will this team even be around come September?

#47 Marcos Ambrose
Will this team, one of the biggest surprises of 2009, be able to snag a win when the series heads to Watkins Glen in two weeks?

#48 Jimmie Johnson
There has been no letdown for the three-time defending champions, but when the Chase starts in September, can this team rise up and make it four-straight titles?

#55 Michael Waltrip
Will Waltrip have one last day in the sun before going into semi-retirement or will he go out with a whimper and just be all style and little substance, much like his entire career has been?

##77 Sam Hornish Jr.
Can Hornish c
ontinue improving on a week-to-week basis like he has done this year, and more importantly, can he take the next step in his development and start running consistently inside the top-20?

#82 Scott Speed
Can Speed show any semblance of the talent that almost won him the ARCA Series championship last year, or will he continue to look more like the guy who flamed out of Formula One?

#83 Brian Vickers
Why hasn’t this team been able to put it all together and finally win a race, and will they ever be able to get over the proverbial hump? Also, what manufacture will this team be racing for in 2010? Is switching to Chevy from Toyota the right move with all the uncertainty surrounding GM?

#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Is Junior capable of shedding all of his off-track distractions and focusing 100% on being a competent Sprint Cup driver? Who is the crew chief for this team next year? Is Lance McGrew really the answer?

#96 Bobby Labonte
Will Labonte be with this team in 2010, and if not who will be the 96 car and where will Labonte end up?

# 98 Paul Menard
What does the future hold for Paul Menard? Does he stick with Yates Racing for another year or does he take his family sponsorship with him to another team?

#99 Carl Edwards
A year after he won nine times, why hasn’t Edwards been able to win a race in 2009? Will Edwards and his team be able to find some of that mojo they last year in the Chase and use it propel themselves to the title this year?

Filed Under: NASCAR, Questions