Worth Repeating: A Look Back at the 2007 Nextel Cup Season

No less than NASCAR sage Mark Martin once said you should enjoy every victory as though it were your last, for it just might be. In today’s competitive climate, winning a NASCAR race is tough enough, let alone 4 in a row like Jimmie Johnson did. Now throw into that mix repeating as NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, and you get an idea of what the driver of the Lowe’s #48 Chevrolet has just accomplished.

The 32-year-old El Cajon, California native became the first repeat winner of the Cup since his friend and mentor Jeff Gordon did it in 1997 & 1998. Johnson blew away the pack with 4 consecutive victories down the Chase stretch, the first to win 4 consecutive since, you guessed it, Gordon did in 1998. “J.J.”’s 10 wins blew away the pack, with Gordon sitting back in second with 6.

Congratulations are due Johnson for his brilliant season. His achievements were overshadowed by one big NASCAR news explosion that triggered off others. The biggest news in 2007?

NASCAR’s Favorite Son Leaves The Farm- Dale Earnhardt Jr. stole the 2007 show with his announcement that he’d be leaving the company his late father founded at the end of the 2007 season. Junior’s attempts to muscle out step-mother Teresa Earnhardt as majority owner fell short, so Junior will move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.

Dale’s move has drawn mixed reviews from Junior Nation. Many rejoice at the notion that Earnhardt will be joining the New York Yankees of auto racing, making available to him the best equipment and deepest pockets in the business. For others, the switch represents a move to the dark side, as Junior will be joining forces with the likes of his dad’s last great arch-rival Jeff Gordon.

The Domino Effect- Junior’s defection set off a domino effect of driver moves. Earnhardt’s move left HMS driver Kyle Busch looking for a new ride in 2008. Joe Gibbs Racing, home to the prodigous Tony Stewart, will be Busch’s new NASCAR hangout, forcing former open wheel stud J.J. Yeley out of the JGR picture. Late in the season, Hall of Fame Racing announced they were signing on Yeley, leaving journeyman Tony Raines without employment for 2008. Raines is still on the free agent market.

The Foreign Invasion- With apologies to Ohio native Sam Hornish Jr., that’s what I’ll call the mass move of former Indy Car and other open wheel drivers to NASCAR. While Hornish took the wheel of the #06 car for Roger Penske, he was joined by other faces familiar to him. IRL Champ Dario Franchitti of Scotland made the move to drive for Chip Ganassi and Canda’s own Jacques Villanueve took the #27 for Bill Davis. Patrick Carpentier, also from Canada, took over the #10 Dodge from Scott Riggs.

No doubt the success of former Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya played a part. JPM hovered around 20th in the standings most of the year, and though he ruffled more than a few feathers with his agressive style, Montoya was a winner at Sonoma and put together a string of solid runs down the stretch.

So far, the other have shown it is not as easy as it looks.

Speaking of foreigners……Toyota’s maiden voyage was a bumpy ride. A number of Toyota drivers had great difficulty qualifying their cars and no Toyota made the trip to Victory Lane in 2007 at the Cup level. Super Speedway specialist Michael Waltrip did take the pole at the second Talladega race of 2007, but otherwise, it was a season of frustration Michael Waltrip Racing, Red Bull, and Bill Davis Racing as they attempted to establish the Japanese founded auto maker- much to the chagrin of the red-blooded, traditionalist NASCAR fan base.

Given their struggles, you can imagine what a conversation J.D. Gibbs started when he announced that Joe Gibbs’ team was moving to Toyota in 2008. For many old school fans, it’s hard for them to imagine Tony Stewart cruising around the oval in a Camry. With contract renewal negotiations around the corner, some expect a possible defection of Stewart to a Chevy team.

Friendly, and not-so-friendly fire- Fighting and rivalries are a part of the game- we just don’t expect to see teammates going at it. Joe Gibbs found himself putting out a fire between his top two drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin after a wreck between the two in the Pepsi 400. Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth stirred up rumblings in the Roush garage, after Edwards engaged in some not-so-gentle shoving with Kenseth. Edwards cites a feeling of being undersupported and underappreciated by his teammates. Edwards and Kenseth also engaged in a fair amount of paint trading at Martinsville as well.

NASCAR hot heads Kevin Harvick and J.P. Montoya gave us an interesting show after a wreck at Watkins Glen. The normally calm Kyle Petty went after Denny Hamlin after a late season “get together.”

In other news- Richard Petty announced his team will be moving to the Charlotte area from Level Cross, North Carolina. The King’s organization has also announced the move of former Jeff Gordon Car Chief Jeff Meendering to become Crew Chief for Petty driver Bobby Labonte.

The only Crew Chief Matt Kenseth ever had at the Cup level is also moving on. Citing the desire to be home more, Robbie Reiser will be moving upstairs to manage operations at the Roush- Fenway organization. 

With Junior’s move to HMS, we will see Budweiser’s brand on a new car in 2008. The Budweiser logo will be seen going forward on the #9 car of NASCAR heartthrob Kasey Kahne in a slightly odd pairing, given Kahne’s youthful and clean cut appearance.

Sponsorship changes for NASCAR were also announced. The Nextel Cup will be known as the Sprint Cup in 2008. The Busch Series will also bear a new monicker in 2008- Nationwide Insurance will become the signature sponsor at NASCAR’s second level.

I hope you caught all that. It’s enough to make your head spin- very quickly.

   

Jimmie Johnson wins the Nascar Nextel Cup!

Just finished watching the final race of the Nascar Nextel Cup series race, and its not official that Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motosports has won the Nextel Cup for the second year in a row. Hendrick Motorsports did well with the top two drivers in the chase being Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his race winning chances early with a wreck, I dont think thats how he envisioned his final ride for the DEI team, but definitely looking forward to seeing how he will perform next year with a cup winning organization.

Surrender or Psyche Job?

We all heard Jeff state after the race yesterday that the 2007 Chase for the Cup was officially over after his Phoenix foray.  Was he just paying an early compliment to his Hendrick teammate or does he truly believe it is over?  Is there any gamesmanship here?

I’m not quite sure.  Stranger things have certainly happenned and a 18 or 20 spot difference between the Hendrick stablemates could certainly happen.  Just ask Carl Edward; the way he was running early a 42nd place finish did not seem in the cards.

The way Jimmie Johnson has been running it does not seem as if an outside top ten finish can happen.  We’ll see how it plays out, but Jeff will run hard in Homestead and let the rest take care of itself.  You never know if an overzealous Greg Biffle or Kevin Harvick will play a part in the final outcome.  Johnson seems dialed in and will not take the early congratulations to heart or the possible psyche job.

Is it Junior or DEI?

Week after week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has seemed to find trouble on the race track. In 10 of the 35 races of the 2007 Nascar Nextel Cup season, Dale Jr. has found trouble. Granted only a handful of those were accident related, the rest of them were hardware related - mostly engine issues. But what about all the other races? He has had 0 wins this year, 12 Top 10, and 7 Top 5 finishes, giving him an average finish of 18.1. Junior’s reputation should put him much higher and more successful that that. 

Will the better hardware (cars and engines) at Hendrick Motorsports next year will drive him into Victory Lane more often as its done for Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon? Or will Junior suffer a similar fate as this year has produced for him. Only time will tell at this point.

Hendrick Motorsports Cup Domination

Last year, Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Nextel Cup series and this year we could see him win again. The two top drivers in the chase for the cup are currently Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch has also made it into the Chase for the Cup but doesn’t have a chance at winning this year. Hendrick Motorsports is like the Yankees of NASCAR, they have great drivers and lots of wins. Best of all, they are adding Dale Earnhardt Jr., the biggest superstar of NASCAR to their garage next year. I’m really looking forward to seeing how next year’s Hendrick Motorsports line up performs. Its an exciting time for Hendrick Motorsports, they are at the top of their game.