Preseason Driver Rankings: #20 Jamie McMurray

02/14/2012 By Leave a Comment

Jamie McMurray
No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/McDonald’s Chevy
Team: Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing
Crew Chief: Kevin Manion

2011 Stats
Wins: 0
Top-5s: 2
Top-10s: 4
Poles: 1
DNF: 5
Average Start: 17.8
Average Finish: 22.2
Races Led: 11
Laps Led: 106
% Laps Completed: 90.0%
Points Finish: 27th

2011 in a Nutshell
After a season in which he tasted victory on three occasions, including the sport’s two biggest races, 2011 was supposed to more of the same. But a season which included zero wins and more DNFs than top-10’s, Jamie McMurray came crashing back to earth. When the dust settled, he was a frustrating, disappointing and embarrassing 27th in the final standings and it easily went down as the worst season in McMurray’s nine-year career.

Reasons to Believe
This is the same team which won three races in 2010, and you don’t win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season by just being lucky … His revamped organization is eager to rebound from a season team owner Chip Ganassi deemed “pathetic” … McMurray is a well-rounded driver who runs well on just about every kind of track – superspeedway, short tracks, intermediates and road courses … An overhaul in the ranks of the EGR upper management was long overdue and should help inject some new blood into the two-car team … Crew chief Kevin Manion is one of the more underrated head wrenches in the garage … Everything that could go wrong last year for the No. 1 team did go wrong and you have to think that their luck has to at least improve slightly … At Daytona and Talladega McMurray is as good as they come.

Reasons to Doubt
There may be no streakier driver than Jamie McMurray, and that can be both good and bad … This team dramatically overachieved in 2010 and the feeling is what we saw last year is closer to their true mean … The team has never finished top-10 in points and has never qualified for the Chase … If this team is slow out of the gate, it would surprise no one if there is a change atop the pit box … As for McMurray, if he struggles all year, there’s reason to think he won’t be invited back next year to drive the 1 car … Five DNFs and 12 finishes of 25th or worse can’t be ignored … While the organizational changes were needed, it could be a while before the desired impact takes affect … He didn’t post one single top-10 finish in the final 12 races … Last year’s collapse had more to do with EGR as a whole than anything McMurray did or didn’t do.

Area of Strength: The Brickyard
If you were to rank the races in order of where you wanted to shine, the Brickyard 400 would certainly be place second on most everyone’s list. The good news for Jamie McMurray is it’s a track and a race where he runs well. In nine starts in NASCAR’s second most prestigious race, the Joplin, Missouri driver has scored one victory, posted three top-fives, five top-10s and has an average finish of 13.1 which is tops among the Cup tracks McMurray has competed.

Area of Weakness: Consistency
Even when he was winning all those races in 2010, the one thing that hampered Jamie McMurray more than anything and kept him out of the Chase, was consistency. Or should I say lack thereof. That issue again plagued him last season as he completed only 31 of 36 races, fourth worst among drivers who took the green flag in every event.

Best-case Scenario For 2012
A replay of two years ago when McMurray won multiple times, with the notable exception this time around he makes the Chase for the first time in his career.

Worst-case Scenario For 2012
An exact duplicate of last season – no wins, an inordinate amount of races where he sees the checkered flag from the garage and a points finish in the high 20s.

In Their Words
“Really our season [2011] started out OK and just slowly got worse. Chip made a lot of good changes and brought a lot of new people in. I think our excitement comes from the changes we made.”
–Jamie McMurray

Predicted Number of Wins: 1

The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
If you’re looking for a driver to make a dramatic leap in points and surprise everyone by racing their way into the Chase, Jamie McMurray might be your driver. Then again, he’s just as likely to lay the same rotten egg he did a year ago.

Filed Under: 2012, McMurray, NASCAR, Preseason Rankings, Sub-Feature

Preseason Driver Rankings: #21 Joey Logano

02/11/2012 By Leave a Comment

Joey Logano
No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff

2011 Stats
Wins: 0
Top-5s: 4
Top-10s: 6
Poles: 2
DNF: 3
Average Start: 17.9
Average Finish: 19.1
Races Led: 5
Laps Led: 58
% Laps Completed: 96.7%
Points Finish: 24th

2011 in a Nutshell
Another year, another subpar season for a driver who has yet to fulfill the massive expectations that marked his arrival three years ago. Unlike previous years when Joey Logano would occasionally flash the talent that earned him a ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, there was little of that in 2011. Instead, the 21-year-old struggled with consistency, was continually hampered by faulty JGR engines and overall was pretty much a nonfactor throughout the season, finishing a rather disappointing 24th in points.

Reasons to Believe
He drives for one of the top teams in all of NASCAR … Logano is driving the exact same cars as his two teammates, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, who won a combined five races last year and both made the Chase … The Logano- Zipadelli pairing wasn’t working and both driver and crew chief needed a change of scenery … As a follow-up to the previous statement, Logano has excellent rapport with new crew chief Jason Ratcliff … Motivation shouldn’t be a problem for Logano as he knows he’ll be racing for his job in 2012 … Increased synergy between the three JGR teams should pay dividends for an organization that often resembled three separate cars working separate from one another … A revamped engine department which saw JGR merge with Toyota should hopefully quell the numerous motor issues that plagued the organization last year … With this being his fourth full season, there are no more excuses for Logano – he knows the tracks and he knows the cars.

Reasons to Doubt
Despite the aforementioned flashes where it looks like he’s maturing into his nickname “Sliced Bread,” Logano has yet to put a full season together and at this point there’s little hope he ever actually will … Entering a contract year, the pressure to perform will be ratcheted up significantly and it’s no secret Logano won’t be back at JGR unless he does exactly that… Until proven otherwise there will be concerns regarding the reliability of the JGR-Toyota motors … He never led more than 60 laps in a single season … Logano has just one victory in 111 starts and that came in a rain-shortened race at Loudon … The loss of former crew chief Greg Zipadelli is a huge blow despite the lack of chemistry he had with Logano.

Area of Strength: Charlotte
There are a few tracks on the schedule where Joey Logano runs well, but with two top-fives, four top-10s and an average finish of 8.2, it’s Charlotte where he seems to be at his best.

Area of Weakness: Atlanta
With the 20 team’s main sponsor Home Depot located nearby, you would think the 1.5-mile speed plant known as Atlanta Motor Speedway would be a point of emphasis for both driver and team. While that may be the case, the tepid results say otherwise. Not once in five races has Logano finished better than 22nd, not to mention his 32nd-place average finish is worst among the 23 tracks on the Cup circuit.

Best-case Scenario For 2012
Year four is the breakout season everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing has been waiting for and sees the young driver rewarding the patience of Joe and J.D. Gibbs by winning multiple races and cumulating with him making the Chase for the first time.

Worst-case Scenario For 2012
More of what we’ve seen for the last three seasons. Some good runs mixed in with a lot of so-so runs with the end result of Logano finding himself outside of the Chase cutoff and looking for new ride for 2013.

In Their Words
“Me and Jason [Ratcliff, crew chief], we’ve worked together for two races over in the Nationwide side and I felt like we connected really quick. I felt like the two of us, the communication at the race track, at the shop — it really accelerated at a really quick rate. I think he’s the perfect match for me. I think even in practice, we come in, sit down and talk to each other and try to make the best decision with the race car we possibly can. I feel like we’ve done a really good job for those first two races. I always felt like, ‘Man, I need to work with him more.’ I think we can do good things with it.”
–Joey Logano

Predicted Number of Wins: 0

The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Joey Logano’s chances in 2012. On the other hand, there are just as many reasons to doubt that the youngster will finally live up to the lofty expectations that accompanied his appointment as Tony Stewart’s successor. My belief is until proven otherwise, it’s best to keep your expectations for Logano to a minimum.

Filed Under: 2012, Logano, NASCAR, Preseason Rankings, Sub-Feature

Preseason Driver Rankings: #22 Kurt Busch

02/11/2012 By Leave a Comment

Kurt Busch
No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevy
Team: Phoenix Racing
Crew Chief: Nick Harrison

2011 Stats
Wins: 2
Top-5s: 8
Top-10s: 16
Poles: 3
DNF: 3
Average Start: 12.0
Average Finish: 14.6
Races Led: 20
Laps Led: 770
% Laps Completed: 98.8%
Points Finish: 11th

2011 in a Nutshell
There were times in 2011 when Kurt Busch looked poised to win his second Sprint Cup championship. There were also times in ’11 when Busch and his team looked on the verge of imploding. In a sport where consistency matters more than anything else, the end result saw the driver finish far below expectations and ultimately lose his job due to his volatile personality.

Reasons to Believe
Since 2001 – Busch’s rookie year – only three drivers (Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon) have won more races … He runs well on just about every kind of track, and in the right equipment, is capable of winning any week … Busch is never lacking in the confidence department … With the exception of his rookie season, Busch has won at least one race every year … No matter who’s driving, Phoenix Racing has a history of running exceptionally well on the plate tracks … Team owner James Finch is all-in knowing that this may be his one and only opportunity to contend for wins regularly and put a driver in the Chase … The quality of equipment shouldn’t be an issue, as the team is getting its cars and engines from Hendrick Motorsports … If you believe in what he’s said thus far, Busch is far more relaxed than at any point in his NASCAR career … As a follow-up to the previous point, one has to assume the former champ will be on his best behavior throughout the year knowing that one slipup could mean the end of his days in NASCAR’s top series.

Reasons to Doubt
A single-car team has never made the Chase … Busch has a long history of second-guessing and feuding with his crew chiefs … James Finch is on record saying he won’t tolerate any of Busch’s uncouth behavior … No matter how much fun Busch says he’s having now, lets see what happens the first time adversity strikes … Despite what everyone is saying publically, this to me doesn’t have the makings of a partnership that’s going to last the entire season … Busch’s focus inside the cockpit can sometimes wane.

Area of Strength: Daytona and Talladega
Although Kurt Busch has never won a points-paying race at either Daytona or Talladega, he’s rightfully regarded as one of the best restrictor-plate racers in the garage. When you take into account that Phoenix Racing through the years continually fielded fast plate cars, – the team’s only victory came at Talladega in 2009 – it would surprise no one if Busch drove to Victory Lane in one or more of the four plate races this year.

Area of Weakness: Being a lone wolf
Picking on Kurt Busch and his issues with anger management is too easy, so instead allow me to call attention to the fact that in the Chase Era, no driver has ever made NASCAR’s version of the playoffs driving for a single-car team. Despite Busch being immensely talented, and despite having a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, being a one car team is simply too big of a hurdle to overcome.

Best-case Scenario For 2012
A rejuvenated and highly motivated Kurt Busch finds Victory Lane a couple of times and wills his team into the Chase.

Worst-case Scenario For 2012
Kurt Busch continues to be his own worst enemy and as a result, he finds himself once again unemployed.

In Their Words
“Just a ton of excitement. The way the guys are together on this, they’re looking at me to grow and to learn, and I’m looking at them to grow and to learn. So it’s going to be a lot of fun this year. This is exactly what I needed.”
–Kurt Busch

Predicted Number of Wins: 0

The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
One way or another this is going to be a fascinating story to watch unfold. Either Kurt Busch is going to keep his temper in check and let his talent do the talking, all of which should lead to solid results on the track. Or, we’re going to get more of what we’ve seen the last couple of years – more blowups, frayed nerves and Busch finding himself on the sidelines without a ride.

Filed Under: 2012, Busch, NASCAR, Phoenix Racing, Preseason Rankings, Sub-Feature

Preseason Driver Rankings: #23 Paul Menard

02/08/2012 By Leave a Comment

Paul Menard
No. 27 Menards Chevy
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Crew Chief: Slugger Labbe

2011 Stats
Wins: 1
Top-5s: 4
Top-10s: 8
Poles: 0
DNF: 2
Average Start: 12.0
Average Finish: 18.0
Races Led: 8
Laps Led: 82
% Laps Completed: 96.5%
Points Finish: 17th

2011 in a Nutshell
In his first year driving for car owner Richard Childress, Paul Menard did something few thought he would ever do – win a race. That his first career Sprint Cup victory came at Indianapolis, a track that holds a special place in the hearts of the Menard family, made the accomplishment all that much sweeter. But Menard’s 2011 season was more than just celebrating what was undoubtedly the high-water mark of his career. It was also about putting together the most consistent campaign of his career, which saw the much-maligned driver score career-highs in top-fives, top-10s, average finish and finish a career-best 17th in points.

Reasons to Believe
On the Cup side of things, Richard Childress Racing is more streamlined which should strengthen a team in which all its key personnel are returning … At a time when many a team is facing uncertainty due to a lack of capital (i.e. sponsorship), a shortage of funding is something the No. 27 doesn’t have to concern itself with as Menard’s multi-millionaire father, John, is gladly footing the bill … Coming off a career-year, confidence is sky-high … When you drive for RCR, being competitive at Daytona and Talladega is never an issue … Contrary to popular belief, Menard does indeed take care of his equipment and has shown the ability to avoid problems on the track … Smooth driver who generally does well on the wide, mile-and-a-half tracks which make up most of the schedule.

Reasons to Doubt
In 183 starts, he has just one win and only six finishes inside the top-five … Even with one less team, Menard is still going to take a backseat to teammate Kevin Harvick in the RCR hierarchy, not to mention RCR has expanded it’s presence in the Nationwide Series … After a strong start to 2011, which at one time saw Menard as high as fifth in the standings, his performance in the second-half of the season dropped off considerably … Runs strong at the beginning of races, but tends to slide backwards as the laps click by … Struggles on short tracks, with just one combined top-10 at Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond.

Area of Strength: Chemistry between driver and crew chief
Entering their third year together, the relationship between Paul Menard and crew chief Slugger Labbe is as strong as they come in the garage. Under Labbe’s tutelage, Menard has quietly matured into an above-average driver, and it’s not a coincidence Menard’s two best seasons have come with Labbe sitting atop his pit box.

Area of Weakness: Richmond
There are a lot of tracks where Paul Menard struggles at, but none more so than Richmond, where in his last nine starts on the .75-mile D-shaped track, he hasn’t finished better than 26th.

Best-case Scenario For 2012
Like Brad Keselowski last year, Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009 and Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer in 2007, Paul Menard comes out of nowhere and surprises everyone by making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Worst-case Scenario For 2012
Paul Menard stumbles early on and any chance he had of making the Chase is gone before the calendar turns to May. This is followed by RCR spending the rest of the year focusing the majority of its attention and resources on championship contender Kevin Harvick and the burgeoning career of up-and-comer Austin Dillon.

In Their Words
“It was a big improvement over the previous year. Obviously, winning at Indianapolis was something that’s hard to top, period. It was a great year. We’re working hard right now to do even better next year. We’re a lot further ahead than we were a year ago. We’re preparing and getting everything ready.”
— Paul Menard

Predicted Number of Wins: 0

The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
If he can get a little better on the short tracks and finish races as strong as he typically starts them, there’s no reason to think Paul Menard can’t compete for a spot in this year’s Chase. But that’s not what I think happens in 2012. I expect there will be weeks where the No. 27 Chevrolet is running in the top-10 and, possibly, if everything goes right, contending for a win. More often than not though, I see this team struggling to match the success they had a year ago and ultimately falling short in doing so.

Filed Under: 2012, Menard, NASCAR, Preseason Rankings, Sub-Feature

Preseason Driver Rankings: #24 Aric Almirola

02/04/2012 By Leave a Comment

Aric Almirola
No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford
Team: Richard Petty Motorsports
Crew Chief: Greg Erwin

2011 Stats (Nationwide)
Wins: 0
Top-5s: 7
Top-10s: 18
Poles: 2
DNF: 2
Average Start: 11.9
Average Finish: 12.1
Races Led: 9
Laps Led: 101
% Laps Completed: 98.6%
Points Finish: 4th

2011 in a Nutshell
Driving for JR Motorsports in what was his first full season in the Nationwide Series, Aric Almirola posted solid – albeit unspectacular –results. Those same results however were good enough to catch the attention of Richard Petty Motorsports, who tabbed him as AJ Allmendinger’s replacement after ‘Dinger was let go when sponsorship couldn’t be found.

Reasons to Believe
In limited appearances in Cup, Almirola has shown the ability to be competitive, including an impressive 5th-place run two years ago filling in for Kasey Kahne … The pair of RPM Fords were fairly stout a year ago on the intermediate tracks, regularly running and finishing in the top-10… After years of ownership being in a constant state of flux, things seems to be on much more solid footing … Almirola is joining a team which finished 15th in points last year and contended for a couple of victories … With only a one-year contract in hand and many a proven driver still on the market, Almirola will be hard-pressed to prove that he deserves this ride.

Reasons to Doubt
Lack of sponsorship dollars means there is concern whether the No. 43 team will take the green flag in all 36 races … While not technically a rookie, Almirola has yet to run a full slate of races in NASCAR’s top series … The departure of CEO Robbie Loomis two weeks ago is an ominous sign for an organization lacking leadership and stability … Drivers trying too hard tend to overdrive and tear-up equipment, the antithesis of what an underfunded team needs right now.

Area of Strength: Mile-and-a-half tracks
Not so much a strength of Almirola, who has yet to really distinguish himself on the Cup side of things, but more so a strong point of the team he’s with. If RPM along with Ford can carryover the success they had in 2011 on the intermediate tracks, this should make Almirola’s transition a tad easier.

Area of Weakness: Money
Despite a 15-race sponsorship from Smithfield Foods along with U.S. Air Force signed on for a couple of races, there is concern whether there is enough money for RPM to field the 43 car for the full season. With an inexperienced driver trying to prove himself, a couple of wrecked racecars could easily put this team in a financial hole that they won’t be able to dig themselves out of.

Best-case Scenario For 2012
With some good results early on, Aric Almirola quickly proves that RPM made the right call in signing him. And the early success is enough to land a big-money sponsor, ensuring that the team will make it all the way to the season-ending race at Homestead.

Worst-case Scenario For 2012
Combined with Aric Almirola being in over his head and not producing the desired results, a lack of funding sees the 43 team shut down before summer turns to fall.

In Their Words
“It’s going to be my first year running fulltime in Cup, so there will be some growing pains. I realize that I’ve got a lot of learning to do. I don’t expect to just go out there and win six races and run for the championship, but I do expect to be competitive and to run really good on a regular basis. I feel like Greg Erwin is among the best in crew chiefs, so I don’t really see any major reasons on why we shouldn’t be competitive. I feel like on a regular basis we should run competitively and wherever that shakes out I’d love for it to be in the top-15 and have a shot at making the Chase.”
— Aric Almirola

Predicted Number of Wins: 0

The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
There are just too many question marks surrounding the driver and team. Until those questions are answered in a positive manner, it’s silly to think Aric Almirola is going to be much of a factor. Scoring a handful of top-10s is realistic, but expecting anything more is too much to fathom.

Filed Under: 2012, Almirola, NASCAR, Preseason Rankings, Sub-Feature

Preseason Driver Rankings: #25 Regan Smith

01/28/2012 By Leave a Comment

Regan Smith
No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet
Team: Furniture Row Racing
Crew Chief: Pete Rondeau

2011 Stats
Wins: 1
Top-5s: 2
Top-10s: 5
Poles: 0
DNF: 4
Average Start: 14.8
Average Finish: 21.5
Races Led: 6
Laps Led: 36
% Laps Completed: 92.6%
Points Finish: 26th

2011 in a Nutshell
With top-10 finishes in the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400, NASCAR’s favorite underdog driver took his turn in the spotlight in 2011. But it was in the Southern 500, the circuit’s oldest race, where Regan Smith showed he had the chops to compete with the sport’s best. On old tires, Smith fended off Carl Edwards, who had fresh rubber and a faster car, and scored he and his team’s first Sprint Cup victory.

Reasons to Believe
Technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing ensures the team isn’t lacking on the equipment side of things … Smith is a sneaky good qualifier with a better average starting position last year than a host of drivers including Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart … Has improved his average finishing position each year he’s been in Cup … The organization knows how to maximize its small budget to the fullest … Last year’s win wasn’t just them catching lightning in a bottle.

Reasons to Doubt
Over the course of a full season, single-car teams simply can’t compete with any regularity with the bigger, deeper and better financed teams … Smith in 131 Cup starts has just five finishes inside the top-10 … This team still has major issues with consistency … The 36 laps Smith led last year was the sixth fewest among drivers who started all 36 races … Although it’s impressive what this team has accomplished, you get the feeling that they’ve hit the proverbial ceiling on just how competitive they can be week in and week out … The team’s Denver location makes it hard to attract quality people.

Area of Strength: Restrictor-plate tracks
In large part due to their alliance with Richard Childress Racing which supplies the single-car effort with engines and chassis’, Furniture Row Racing has proven to be a player anytime the series rolls into Daytona or Talladega. In 2011, Smith nearly won the Daytona 500 before fading back to seventh and led laps in three of the four plate events. If this team is going to win again this coming season, the odds are high it will be on a track where NASCAR restricts the airflow to the engine.

Area of Weakness: Consistency
While 2011 may have had plenty of high-water marks for Regan Smith, the fact is there were simply too many weeks where he was a nonfactor. If the native of Cato, N.Y., is to take the next step in his career, he’s going to have to be more consistent and start stringing together more finishes inside the top-15. Not once last year did he have consecutive races where he finished 15th or better, and even more telling, is the 10 finishes he posted of 30th or worse. No matter how good you are, you’re not going to finish 20th in points, let alone contend for a spot in the Chase, by throwing that many points out the window 10 times a year.

Best-case Scenario For 2012
Using last year as a launching point, Regan Smith again finds Victory Lane, finds the consistency he’s been lacking, finishes top-20 in points and continues to show why he deserves a ride with a top team.

Worst-case Scenario For 2012
2011 proves to be nothing more than a fluke and this team takes a big step back from where they were a year ago. And at the end of the season, Regan Smith leaves for greener pastures.

In Their Words
“We sat here last year talking to everyone and I said I felt like this team could win a race. Some of you agreed with me and some of you looked at me like I had a third eye. But, at the end of day, I truly believed that. My win at Darlington helped elevate everyone’s confidence and we will continue to build on that success in 2012.”
–Regan Smith

Predicted Number of Wins: 0

The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
Regan Smith is as nice a guy as you’ll find in the garage, and what team owner Barney Visser has done in putting together Furniture Row Racing should be commended. That being said, it’s hard to fathom them being much better than they were last season.

What you can expect out of this bunch in 2012 is some weeks where they’re contenders, other weeks where they’re out to lunch, and a lot weeks where they’re just so-so. Add it all up and a 25th place finish in the yearend standings seems about right.

Filed Under: 2012, NASCAR, Preseason Rankings, Regan Smith, Sub-Feature

Preseason Thunder Day 1 Roundup

01/13/2012 By Leave a Comment

The NFL holds training camp, while Major League Baseball treks to Florida and Arizona for spring training, all in an effort to workout the kinks that accumulate over the offseason.

NASCAR’s version of training camp and spring training is titled “Preseason Thunder” and held on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Starting yesterday and running through Saturday, it gives drivers and teams an opportunity to get reacquainted with one another, and in some instances, to start the feeling out process that goes along with a driver, crew chief or another key crew member of an organization entering their first season with a new team.

However, thanks to a litany of new rules introduced by NASCAR, this year’s open test session is more than just shaking off the rust and gearing up for the season which is just alittle more than a month away.

Among the changes introduced:

• A smaller radiator, reduced from a capacity of five-gallons to two.

• A smaller overflow tank with a maximum capacity of a half-a-gallon.

• The restrictor-plate issued by NASCAR has been made 1/64th of an inch larger than the one used in last year’s Daytona 500.

• A smaller rear spoiler.

• Softer springs.

Combined together, the sanctioning body is hoping these changes will limit, and hopefully prevent altogether, the two-car tandem drafting which was so prevalent last year at Daytona and Talladega.

“It’s important for us to test down here, not only for the teams, but for us,” said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton. “We’ve had track tests at Daytona and Talladega and we’ve been in the wind tunnel several times. We think we’re making some great strides.

“The test is going pretty good for us. The teams are learning about their equipment and the limits they will be under with water temperatures and things like that. We’ve seen softer springs, a smaller spoiler and a reduction in downforce. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made so far.”

Judging by what we witnessed yesterday in the first day of practice, NASCAR has more work to do if they want to change style of racing in next month’s Daytona 500.

Throughout both the morning and afternoon sessions, cars again ran in pairs nose-to-tail. Reminiscent of the kind of racing we saw last year at both Daytona and Talladega, and the kind of racing fans decried in masses and that NASCAR vowed to fix.

Which explains why after yesterday’s on track activities had come to a halt, NASCAR again was issuing further changes to teams. Enlarging the restrictor-plate further by 15/16ths of an inch, trimming the front grille by an inch on each side and reducing the cooling pressure by five pounds. And that doesn’t include a ban on drivers communicating with one another via radio, which came down before the green flag waved on yesterday’s morning session.

The intention is that this will make the cars faster, harder to drive and when tucked in behind another car, more likely to overheat faster, thus severely limiting two cars working in tandem for a prolonged period of time. And will hopefully return pack racing to the high-banks of Daytona.

“At the end of the day NASCAR walks a fine line of making the cars hard enough to drive that they are not in a giant dangerous pack and that people aren’t super aggressive with them,” said Carl Edwards. “They have to make them hard enough to drive that we go into the corner and aren’t sure quite what is going to happen. It slides. And they don’t want to make it so hard that the race is one guy running away from the field and it isn’t exciting for the fans.

“Let’s face it, the fans come to Daytona to see an exciting, crazy race. They want a pack of cars or two cars teamed up. It seems to me that is what fans come to see. I am all for higher speeds, less grip and make the cars harder to drive. That is fine with me.”

Whether the collection of new rules will have any consequence is open for debate. 2004 500 champion, Dale Earnhardt Jr., doesn’t think much will change from what fans saw a year ago.

“If I had to guess, I’d guess it’s going to look like last year’s race,” said Earnhardt.

 

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Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Filed Under: NASCAR, Preseason Testing, Sub-Feature

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?

 

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: NASCAR, Questions, Sub-Feature

NASCAR Santa

12/23/2011 By Leave a Comment

Tis’ the season to be jolly, therefore regardless of whether you’ve been naughty (I’m looking at you, Kurt and Kyle) or nice, allow me to put on my formfitting Santa suit, my designer black boots and hop into my eco-friendly V8 reindeer powered sleigh and start dishing out presents to your favorite NASCAR drivers like an overenthusiastic mom on Christmas morning.

Marcos Ambrose
That the affable Tasmanian becomes as adapt at racing on ovals as he does on road courses. Along with that, more frequent trips to the winner’s circle, because NASCAR is better with off with people like Ambrose enjoying success.

AJ Allmendinger
An offseason where The ‘Dinger doesn’t have to worry about job security and a lack of sponsorship.

(Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, Christmas came early for Allmendinger, as Penske Racing named him the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger.)

Trevor Bayne
Sustained good health and more lasting memories like the one he gave us when he shocked the world and won the Daytona 500.

Greg Biffle
A flashback to the time not too long ago when Greg Biffle routinely won at least once a year and seemingly made the Chase with little effort.

Dave Blaney
That he and his upstart Tommy Baldwin Racing team continue to do the seemingly impossible and build a successful competitive single-car team from the ground up.

Clint Bowyer
He finds the same success with his newest team, Michael Waltrip Racing, as he did with his previous one, Richard Childress Racing.

Jeff Burton
There is no driver who is who more thoughtful, well-spoken and aware of the issues facing the sport, both in the short- and long-term than Jeff Burton. Therefore, whenever he decides to hang-up his helmet, Burton will receive the gift of being named the President of NASCAR. A position in which, the driver who has openly talked of running for Senate, will absolutely flourish in.

Kurt Busch
After having being booted from two of the top teams in the garage, some actual perspective that it’s time to modify his unruly behavior and start being kinder to those around him.

Kyle Busch
For the first time in his career, he puts together a respectable performance in the Chase that sees him in the thick of the championship battle all the way until Homestead. Also we’re going to stuff his stocking with a dose of maturity.

Austin Dillon
There is little question the grandson of Richard Childress has the tools to one day be successful in Cup. But we must keep in mind many a young career has been derailed by being rushed to the top before they’re ready. And as such, for a driver who is on the fast-track to Sprint Cup, there is no more fitting present than the gift of patience.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
A time machine so he can find whatever it was that once led him to winning 15 races and on three occasions finish fifth or better in points within a six-year span.

Carl Edwards
With primary sponsorship in 2012 from Fastenal, UPS, Best Buy, Kellogg’s, Cheez-It and who knows who else, the thing Carl Edwards needs the most for Christmas is a supersized driver’s suit. It also wouldn’t hurt matters if Edwards learned the lesson of sharing with those less fortunate during the holiday season. In this case, instead of hoarding the majority of sponsorship dollars at Roush Fenway, he would pass some those along to teammates Matt Kenseth and David Ragan; both of whom who are greatly lacking in the sponsorship department.

David Gilliland
A little recognition for turning in a rather solid year which saw him post a third-place finish in the Daytona 500 and qualify for all 36 races all the while driving for an underfunded team.

Jeff Gordon
One final championship so one of the NASCAR’s greatest wheelman can once again bask in the glory befitting his lofty accomplishments.

Denny Hamlin
Instant chemistry with new crew chief Darian Grubb which cumulates with Denny Hamlin returning to the form he flashed in 2010.

Kevin Harvick
After cycling through two crew chiefs in little over two-plus years, a crew chief who can lead Kevin Harvick to not only sustained success, but can handle the temperamental driver for a prolonged period of time seems about right.

Sam Hornish Jr.
A incredibly successful season in Nationwide, where the former Indy 500 winner can rehabilitate his stagnant career and silence his doubters in one fell swoop.

Jimmie Johnson
From the fans who despise him greatly, the owner of five Sprint Cup titles and 55 career wins finally gets the respect and admiration for all he’s accomplished and the class in which he’s done so.

Kasey Kahne
After years of having to deal with dysfunction, uncertainty, and false promises, the perfect gift for Kasey Kahne is a long and peaceful career at Hendrick.

Matt Kenseth
Despite taking the checkered flag on three different occasions and being a player in the Chase, Matt Kenseth is missing one thing heading into next year: A fulltime sponsor for 2012.

Brad Keselowski
Because we selfishly don’t ever want the personable and opinionated Brad Keselowski to stop speaking his mind, let’s bestow upon him an envelope full of money so that he doesn’t have to worry about the paying the fine that will surely be levied against him time and time again by NASCAR.

Bobby Labonte
Eight full years since his last win, one last trip to Victory Lane is an appropriate gesture for someone who very much looks to be on the backside of his career.

Joey Logano
Instead of just the occasional flashes he’s shown, Joey Logano receives a full season of success that will prove Joe Gibbs was more than justified in naming him as Tony Stewart’s heir apparent.

Mark Martin
After numerous close calls, near-misses and heartbreaking disappointment, one of the most respected guys in the garage finally wins the NASCAR championship that has always eluded him. After winning his first title, the venerable driver will immediately announce his permanent retirement.

Jamie McMurray
To quiet the talk that 2010 was nothing more than a fluke, a repeat of his magical year in which he won three races including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.

Paul Menard
Another Sprint Cup victory or two to further prove to his many critics he’s more than just the son of a billionaire and that what he’s accomplished, he’s done on merit and nothing else.

Juan Pablo Montoya
A full season from Daytona to Homestead where the former Formula One and IndyCar pilot puts everything together and truly showcases his world-class talent behind the wheel.

Ryan Newman
Never in his career has Ryan Newman, one of NASCAR’s most prolific qualifiers, won more races than he has scored poles. So this coming season, the Hoosier native will do just that.

Danica Patrick
In her first full season of NASCAR, there is nothing Danica Patrick needs more than a quiet year where her consistent positive results on the track says everything about the decision she made to abandon open-wheel racing.

David Ragan
A prominent team with a fulltime sponsor willing to pay him to race their Cup cars.

David Reutimann
A prominent team with a fulltime sponsor willing to pay him to race their Cup cars.

Regan Smith
An influx of cash so his Furniture Row team can better compete for a spot at the big boys table; something which they’ve admirably done for the last few seasons on a minuscule budget.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
A replay of 2011 would be nice, where the former USAC standout won multiple Nationwide Series races and became the first non-Sprint Cup driver since Martin Truex Jr. in 2005 to walk away with the series crown.

Tony Stewart
Despite the enormity of what he’s achieved in motorsports, there are two notable things still missing from Tony Stewart’s vast résumé. He’s yet to win either of the 500-mile races at Daytona and Indianapolis. Because giving him two sizable gifts would come across as greedy, we’ll let the defending Sprint Cup champ decide which race win he wants as a present this year.

Martin Truex Jr.
Because no one should have to endure having to be in a commercial with Michael Waltrip, a free pass from such an embarrassing act will certainly put a smile on Martin Truex Jr.’s face this Christmas.

Brian Vickers
A big do-over on what has turned out to be a very regrettable decision to leave to Hendrick Motorsports. Five years later, the 28-year-old is now out of a ride after the closing of Red Bull Racing and is staring squarely in the face of a future where he may be forced to drop down to NASCAR’s junior series to revive his floundering career.

 

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 Ornament Plus.com

Filed Under: Christmas Gifts, NASCAR, Sub-Feature

NASCAR Yearend Awards

12/20/2011 By Leave a Comment

NASCAR has their own awards ceremony and I have mine. While their year-end banquet is a bit drab and generally lacks spontaneity – Jimmie Johnson jokingly walking on stage in place of Tony Stewart aside – my version, called the Golden Geekers, does not.

My awards ceremony includes an open bar, crass jokes, a loosey-goosey approach which encourages individuality, and most importantly, actual categories with nominees.

So fire up the music, cue the intro and let’s start handing out some hardware.

Don’t Delete From the DVR Award (Best Race)
A. Ford 400
This wasn’t a race. This was a heavyweight fight featuring more twists and turns than a James Ellroy novel.

B. Daytona 500
A record number of leader changes and a surprising first-time victor who became the youngest winner in 500 history, made this year’s Daytona 500 a race no one will soon forget.

Award Goes To: In a year that was one of the most competitive in recent history, having just two nominees doesn’t seem quite fair. Except the two events in question are so head-and-shoulders above everything else, it would be a disservice to include any other race.

Every generation has a signature race. One they look back on with fondness. For some that’s the 1979 Daytona 500 when Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison slugged it out in Turn 3 before a national television audience. For others, it is the 1992 season finale at Atlanta when Alan Kulwicki pulled the upset of all upsets and beat Bill Elliott and Davey Allison for the title, while Richard Petty made his final start and Jeff Gordon his first.

With everything that transpired at Homestead, there is little doubt the Ford 400 is going to join the pantheon of races people always will bring up when discussing the best races in NASCAR history. It may not be the greatest, but it certainly is in the discussion. As such, the Ford 400 is the winner in a landslide.

Dale Inman Award (Best Crew Chief)
A. Bob Osborne
From Daytona to Homestead, no team was more consistent this year than the one led by Bob Osborne. All told, Carl Edwards led all drivers in top-fives, top-10s, average finish, poles, and was tied for first in lead lap finishes. He also led the points for 24 of 36 weeks. Add everything up and there is no doubt Osborne is a worthy nominee, even if his team failed to win the championship.

B. Kenny Francis
If you’re asking yourself why Kenny Francis made this list, allow me to explain. With his future plans already set in stone and with an organization crumbling around him, it would have been incredibly easy for Francis and driver Kasey Kahne to put a big postage stamp on the 2011 season. Instead, crew chief and driver approached the year with an attitude that should be commended. They approached every weekend as if they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Although the equipment they had to work with was clearly inferior, Francis guided Kahne to one win, eight top-fives and 15 top-10s. Further testament as to why big things are expected of the duo when they join Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

C. Darian Grubb
Darian Grubb’s story has been told countless times. Despite being told he was out of a job at the end of the year, he kept his focus and led Tony Stewart to the championship on the strength of a Chase-record five victories. That Grubb still refuses to badmouth his now previous employer says everything there is to say about him.

Award Goes To: Before we handout another Golden Geeker, let’s give a special nod to Steve Addington, a gentlemen who wasn’t nominated, but deserves recognition for putting up with the continued antics of Kurt Busch. Just about every week Addington was treated like a punching bag, all the while preparing cars for Busch that twice took him to Victory Lane and had him in the Chase for the third straight year. Not surprisingly, and certainly understandable, Addington submitted his resignation just one day removed from the season coming to an end.

With that out of the way, this award is a lot tougher to pick than maybe any other category. All three nominees are worthy in their own way, and to choose between the three isn’t easy. Do you value season-long consistency and dominance over a 10-week stretch unlike any other in NASCAR history? Do you place greater emphasis on a team doing what it was expected to do over a team doing the most with the least?

At the end of the day, this is a sport based on winning. No team won in 2011 like the one led by Darian Grubb. The team he put together won the most races and they won the championship. Because of that, it is Grubb who is the recipient of the Dale Inman Award.

Bobby Ginn Award (Organization That Laid the Biggest Egg)
A. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
From four wins in 2010 to zero victories in 2011 says just about everything you need to know about the kind of year of year Earnhardt Ganassi Racing experienced. Combined, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray finished in the top-five on just four occasions and collectively dropped 17 positions in the standings from where they were at the year before.

B. Michael Waltrip Racing
Once again the team headed by Michael Waltrip failed to place a driver in the Chase. In fact, they didn’t even come close to doing so with both Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann out of contention before the calendar had even turned to summer. Oh, let’s not forget, they also didn’t win a race for the third time in five years.

C. Joe Gibbs Racing
Kyle Busch won four races but again pulled a vanishing act in the Chase. A year after notching eight victories, Denny Hamlin won just once. While Joey Logano won nothing, missed the Chase and came this close to losing his ride.

Award Goes To: This is an award where we use a sliding scale to determine the winner. Yes, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing was coming off a year in 2010 when they won four races, but not many expected them to repeat that performance this past season. Whereas over at the flagship team for Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing, the expectations were higher entering ’11.

Significantly higher.

Both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were projected to win multiple races and be in contention for the championship, while their teammate, Joey Logano was supposed to at least contend for a spot in the Chase, if not make it altogether.

Alas, for a multitude of reasons Busch and Hamlin came nowhere close to fulfilling the preseason hype that accompanied both entering the year.

Busch continually reverted back to his immature ways, cumulating with him being sat for a race by NASCAR. On top of that, he again was a complete and utter non-factor in the Chase.

Hamlin was never able to put behind him the agonizing way he lost the title to Jimmie Johnson the year before, and with a few exceptions, was a virtual shell of his former self throughout the season.

Then there was Logano, who again came nowhere close to showing the talent which landed him a coveted ride with JGR, and was such a bust he was in danger of being replaced in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota by Carl Edwards.

Yes, the bar was incredibly high for everyone at Joe Gibbs. But the fact they fell so far short of reaching said bar, wins them this dubious award.

Derrick Cope Award (Biggest Surprise)
A. Trevor Bayne stuns the racing world and wins The Daytona 500
On the morning of February 20, Trevor Bayne was a highly-touted young driver getting ready to make his second career Sprint Cup start. Although everyone in the garage knew the 20-year-old possessed talent, it was outlandish to think a driver who thus far was winless in Nationwide, would be a factor in the sports marquee event. Yet, when the day was over, there he was standing tall in the Daytona 500 victory lane and holding the Harley J. Early trophy.

B. Regan Smith holds off Carl Edward to win The Southern 500
Like Bayne, Regan Smith was viewed as a driver who if in the right situation, could one day win at the Sprint Cup level. But to win on the circuit’s oldest speedway in the granddaddy of all races, and to do so by holding off Carl Edwards on old tires is something no one foresaw.

C. Jimmie Johnson being a virtual nonfactor in The Chase
Nothing lasts forever, and we knew that one day Jimmie Johnson’s five-year reign atop the Sprint Cup standings was going to come to an end. However to see it end with a series of self-inflicted mistakes – running out of fuel, poor strategy, driving too aggressively, and overall, just a simple lack of speed – was not the way I, or anyone for that matter, envisioned Johnson’s run ending.

D. Paul Menard wins The Brickyard 400
It’s okay to admit it, I promise you you’re not alone in thinking the way you did. You never thought Paul Menard would win a Cup race. Right or wrong, you viewed him as someone who had bought his way into NASCAR and thusly landed a ride with one of the top teams in the garage. But for one day, Menard showed he belonged and proved his many detractors wrong. He stretched his fuel to the utmost, outdueled Jeff Gordon, and at a place that holds many a fond memory for him and his family, scored his first Sprint Cup.

E. Brad Keselowski notches three victories and finishes fifth in points
Unlike Bayne, Smith and Menard, the surprise Brad Keselowski pulled off was one that culminated throughout the course of a full season. Three times he went to Victory Lane during the regular season, including a dramatic victory at Pocono. When the Chase started, not many thought he would be much of a factor. Yet, when the checkered flag waved at Homestead, there was Keselowski sitting fifth in points and ahead of the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt and Kyle Busch.

Award Goes To: 2011 could easily be classified as “The Year of The Surprise,” and there’s no shortage of worthy candidates to choose from. However, 20-year-old Trevor Bayne making just his second career start and winning the biggest race in North America, in a car fielded by the Wood Brothers to boot, easily takes the cake.

Richard Petty Award of Excellence (Driver of the Year)
A. Tony Stewart
Five victories and a come-from-behind rally to secure his third Sprint Cup title more than speaks for itself.

B. Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards was a popular preseason pick to unseat Jimmie Johnson. Unlike previous years when expectations were high, this time around Edwards actually delivered, both in the regular season and in the Chase. Were it not for Tony Stewart and his improbable performance in the Chase, Edwards would have handedly won his first series crown with a Chase record average finish of 4.9.

Award Goes To: In what was almost exclusively a two-man fight for the title, it’s not surprising there are only two candidates for the Richard Petty Award of Excellence.

Also not surprising, is the fact Stewart walks away with this honor after a scintillating Chase which saw him win five times (a Chase record) and by the slimmest of margins, win his third Sprint Cup championship over Carl Edwards.

Stop the Presses Award (Year’s Biggest Story)
A. NASCAR parking Kyle Busch for a race after he maliciously and deliberately wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution.

B. Richard Childress taking it to Kyle Busch in the driver’s lot at Kansas, which involved the term “Hold my watch” being added to our lexicon.

C. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards staging one of the more epic championship battles in NASCAR history.

D. The sluggish economy and the resulting lack of sponsorship which forced Red Bull Racing to shutter its doors after the season and Richard Childress and Jack Roush to trim their Cup organizations from four fulltime teams to three for 2012.

Award Goes To: Never before in the 62 years of NASCAR had there been a tie for the championship at the sports top level. In the not too distant future, there is a very good chance we’re going to look back on the mano-a-mano duel between Stewart and Edwards and realize how transcendent it was. What we saw this past year, very well could go down as a once in a lifetime moment.

Alan Kulwicki Award (Driver Who Did the Most with the Least)
A. Regan Smith
Driving for an underfunded, single-car team is the equivalent of being a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. No matter how hard you try, the results just won’t be there. Except for Regan Smith in 2011, the results were there. He not only scored his first career win – in the Southern 500 nonetheless – he also had five other top-10 finishes including a third-place finish in the Brickyard 400. He also has the distinction of being the only driver to post a top-10 result in the four biggest races of the year.

B. Kasey Kahne
In one year at Red Bull Racing, Kasey Kahne did more for the floundering two-car team than any other driver had done for them previously. In a season void of hope for the now-defunct organization, he provided it on almost a weekly basis. If you wanted to call Kahne a miracle worker, I wouldn’t object.

C. David Gilliland
With a dearth of candidates, let’s give a nod to David Gilliland who in 2011 qualified for all 36 races, kept his team in the top-35 in points and even posted two top-10 finishes, including a third-place run in the Daytona 500.

Award Goes To: For not only surviving but prospering in his only year at Team Dysfunctional, otherwise known as Red Bull Racing, Kasey Kahne more than deserves this honor.

On a side note, it will be strange next year actually seeing Kahne behind the wheel of equipment that actually matches his immense talent.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Award (Most Disappointing Driver)
A. Denny Hamlin
When you go from winning eight races, posting 14 top-fives and finishing runner-up to Jimmie Johnson to winning just once with a mere five top-fives and finishing a nondescript ninth in points, it’s a safe assumption you’re going to be on the list of most disappointing drivers of 2012.

B. Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray’s drop was expected. Nonetheless, when you go from winning the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and another points race at Charlotte, to being completely shutout in the win column, and on top of that, falling from 14th in points to 27th, it’s more than fair to be labeled a disappointment.

C. Greg Biffle
In a year when all three of his teammates managed to win at least one race, and two of them not only made the Chase, but were factor throughout, Greg Biffle neither won nor qualified for the playoffs.

D. Joey Logano
Not to beat a dead horse, but Joey Logano again failed to win, didn’t come anywhere close to making the Chase and generally just failed to live up to the potential he has on occasion flashed.

Award Goes To: Another category where we use a curve to guide us to the winner. And in this case, the curve points strictly towards Denny Hamlin.

Losing a title in the manner in which he did last year can be absolutely devastating to ones psyche. Just ask Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, all of whom went winless the year after finishing second to Jimmie Johnson.

While Joe Gibbs Racing may have had their issues on and off the track this season, it didn’t prevent Kyle Busch, Hamlin’s teammate, from winning four races and securing the number one seed in the Chase.

No matter how you slice it, there is no acceptable excuse for Hamlin to not produce more than he did this past season.

 

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Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

 

Filed Under: Awards, NASCAR, Sub-Feature
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