Elliott Sadler
NASCAR Season Midway Review
Well, Kyle Busch capped off the season’s midway point at Daytona with his 10th career win and his sixth this season.
NASCAR’s premier series is in their first full year with the Car of Today, and it has undergone some criticism. It actually got so out of hand that NASCAR President Mike Helton called a mandatory meeting to tell drivers to basically, “Shut up and drive.”
The first half of the Sprint Cup Series season has provided NASCAR fans with some good, bad, and very ugly races.
On paper, for the most part, this is a record breaking season for competition. The California race had a record 33 lead changes, the Coca-Cola 600 had 2,580 green flag passes, that was up almost 900 from the 2007 Coca-Cola 600. The Michigan race tied a track-best 3,204 green flag passes.
NASCAR is getting more coverage than ever. TV Ratings are up for the most part from last year. Although some tracks are struggling with attendance, tracks are still selling out.
NASCAR is also going through some economic hardships. Sponsors willing to fork out millions of dollars a year are few and far between. Teams are shutting down, Petty Enterprises sold 50% of their company to Boston Ventures.
The competiton is also even, all four manufacturer’s have won at least three races. All four manufacturer’s are represented in the top 12 in driver points. There has been 10 different race winners, 11 different pole winners, 74 drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one Sprint Cup Series race, and 46 driver had led at least one lap. All evidence that NASCAR has accomplished one goal — make competitors and manufacturer’s even. Chevy no longer has a stangle hold on the field. In fact, the first Chevy in the top last week at Daytona will Dale Earnhardt Jr. who finished 8th.
Also, Hendrick Motorsports is apparently struggling. Despite the fact that they only have two wins, and have three of their drivers in the top six in points. At this point in the season, Hendrick Motorsports drivers had 10 wins.
Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Ryan Newman all led the points standings for the first time in their careers this year. And, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle are back! They are both back in the top 12, and Kahne has two wins so far.
And don’t forget. The most-popular driver is showing that he indeeds deserves the attention. He ended a two year winless streak with a win at Michigan, he has matched his 2007 numbers already, which is answering the question on how Dale Jr. would perform in 2008 after leaving DEI in 2007. The answer — Great!
Speaking of DEI, recently, sources close to DEI are reporting that DEI could be sold to Max Siegel for as much as $130 million, which would take Teresa out of the picture. This is still developing, but could get very interesting.
And, you can’t talk about the 2008 season without talking about Silly Season — 2009 edition.
Rumors have been circulating and some are very tasteful.
Sources yesterday confirmed that Joe Gibbs Racing will go to four teams, and Juan Pablo Montoya would be the driver. Now, wouldn’t that be a combination. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Juan Pablo Montoya. Add Joey Logano in the 20 after Stewart leaves to buy into Haas CNC Racing with Ryan Newman as a teammate, and you get headlines for the rest of the year.
Sources close to Tony Stewart say that he is expected to announce his future plans as soon as Indianapolis in two weeks.
As Silly Season continues to unfold, and the season heats up for the chase — stay tuned to NASCAR FanZone for all your NASCAR updates.
NASCAR Stocks (Power Rankings): Sadler Shakes It Up
I’m quite sure this is notoriety that Elliott Sadler would rather live without. Without meaning to, the driver for Gillett Evernham has muddled our “Top 10″ by initiating a crash at Dover that wadded up 6 of the top 12 point getters in the 2008.
For my part, it will be hard to hold that against the drivers involved. However, there’s no denying that the race to some degree altered the outcome and opened the door for the likes of Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon to move up.
Here’s how things shake out today:
#10- Kasey Kahne- (unchanged from last week)- of all the top runners collected in the lap 18 wreck, Kahne had the best finish at 31st. I guess he can take comfort that in the old car, his day would have likely been done. I don’t think this is the follow up that Kasey had in mind to his win at Lowe’s.
#9- Denny Hamlin- (down 3 from 6th)- Denny came darn close to falling out with his last place finish, the result of the “big one” at the “Monster Mile.” What helps Hamlin is 9th place standing in terms of average finish with a 15.2 for the season. Weird to think he was the “hot one” just a few weeks back.
#8- Jimmie Johnson- (unranked last week)- Good “comeback week” for Jimmie. The defending champ never really challenged for the win, yet a 7th place finish cannot be ignored.
#7- Clint Bowyer- (down 2 spots from 5th)- It’s been a rough “go” for Bowyer since his win at Richmond. What helps his standing now is that win, as well as his 3 tops 5’s, and 7 top 10’s.
#6- Greg Biffle- (unranked last week)- What a run for Biffle! Not only did he dominate the front end of the race at Dover, he also had a strong effort at Lowe’s, leading us to believe is he is the “real deal” for breaking into the Chase this year, after an up-and-down 2007.
#5- Jeff Gordon- (up 2 spots from 7th)- He may not have broke into the win column yet for 2008, but let there be no doubt that the “Rainbow Warrior” has it going in the right direction as of late with an average finish of 8.0 over his last 5 races- 2nd among our top 10.
#4- Dale Earnhardt Jr.- (down 2 from 2nd)- Like his teammate Gordon, Earnhardt is one of the top drivers without a win. Junebug’s 9 top 10’s ties him for second with Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards. Junebug’s 5 top 5’s puts him 4th behind Kyle Busch, Edwards and Gordon. The naysayers are silenced, let it be known that Junior belongs!
#3- Jeff Burton- (up 1 spot from 4th)- “Mr. Consistency” comes through once again with his 8th place finish at Dover. Thi guy knows how to finish a race, even if his is not the best one out there. Finishing matters, and there’s no one better at it than Burton.
#2- Carl Edwards- (up 1 spot from 3rd)- He’d be in 2nd in the points, were it not for the penalty at Las Vegas. “Cousin Carl” solidifies his place near the top with his 2nd place run Sunday. Look for the Busch- Edwards rivalry to last for years to come. These guys ain’t going anywhere.
#1- Kyle Busch- (unchanged)- Busch is starting to get a little separation from the field. With his Dover victory, “Shrub” is the undisputed leader in wins and holds a 142 point lead over Burton in the Sprint Cup standings. What’s weird is to think that his Sprint Cup car was not as good last weekend as his Nationwide car or his truck. Busch gave credit to the shop and the crew, reminding us that even in this sport, where the driver gets all the glory, teamwork still matters.
Falling out: Tony Stewart becomes a hard-luck casualty after finishing 41st.
Knocking On The Door: David Ragan is still contending with an average finish of 10.6 over his last 5 races…For all the talk of bad luck, Matt Kenseth still has 7 top 10’s to his credit…Don’t discount Ryan Newman, especially if he can put a streak together…Kevin Harvick is a survivor. He could use a hot streak right about now.
Dark horses: If Brian Vickers could avoid the errors, and if Jamie McMurray and Dave Blaney can keep it up, they just might find their stock rising all the way into the top 10.
We’re heading down the straights coming out of the first turn, a lot can happen between now and the finish line.
Race Re-Cap: Muscle On The Monster Mile
I’m honestly not sure that big wreck on lap 18 really did much to affect the outcome of today’s race. Today’s real contenders were nowhere near this mess as it seemed that before we even got here, the race at Dover was about the Roush-Fenway Racing team, the old guard at Hendrick Motorsports, and the ever-present Kyle Busch. He wrestled the Monster Mile and made it cry “Uncle.”
Did you ever have a premonition? I swear when they went to Elliott Sadler’s on-board camera, I was thinking “Watch- he’s gonna wreck.” Sure enough, ol’ “Rabbit Release” moves down on David Gilliland, goes sideways on the track- and next thing you know, a collection of racers- including top runners like Kevin Harvick, Junior, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer are all wadded up. Could this change the outcome? Note the absence of Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Jamie Mc Murray from this mishap.
Did you catch Tony’s interview? Some fans were saying, “Wow, this is a different side of Tony. He’s taking responsibility for the mess. Why?” I think they missed the sarcasm. Basically, Tony was so much as saying that it’s his fault for being anywhere near Elliott Sadler. That’s the second time in the last few weeks the two have gotten together. I also got a kick out of Smoke’s “dune buggy” line. I appreciate his sense of humor about the whole thing.
By the time the smoke cleared, and Smoke was cleared, it was obvious that there was really only three serious contenders for the win at Dover. Greg Biffle put together another fine effort before mechanical problems set him back. Teammate Carl Edwards once again showed himself to be light on his wheels on concrete. The Roush Gang sure got it done today. Not only did Biffle and Edwards shine, but Matt Kenseth is becoming the 2008 edition of Lazarus as he seems to be bringing his Chase hopes back from the dead. Jamie Mc Murray is running like a guy who wants to stay with the team. But really, but late race, it was obvious that barring a catastrophe, there would be only one real serious contender.
Kyle Busch is just on one of those runs that drivers have from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, you have to be talented and have good equipment to do it, but it also helps to have Lady Luck in your corner. She’s got a real affinity for “Wild Thing” right now. But again, remember that “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
If you don’t like him, give him credit for this much: he spread the love around. Busch was quick to credit his crew for good stops, to Joe Gibbs for their top flight organization, and for all his fans and all NASCAR fans.
Maybe’s he’s learning something. Nobody likes a champion who is not gracious.
The way he’s going right now, I wouldn’t bet against him. All the ingredients are there to take it all in 2008. I still think Edwards, Junior, Jimmie and maybe even the old guard like Gordon, Smoke, JB or even Biffle may have something to say about that- right now, it’s “Rowdy’s World” and we’re living in it.
Other random thoughts…
Brian Vickers’ pit penalties sure screwed up a good opportunity to have an awesome finish….did you see Paul Menard weave through that big wreck? Dinging the inside barrier looked like a better altnernative than getting crumpled up in the middle of the crash….FOX reported their NASCAR ratings were up this year, so much for the death of NASCAR, huh?….Jeff Hammond made a good point and I must concede that I agree. Unlike free-agent-to-be Greg Biffle, who’s stated he’d prefer to stay at Roush, you don’t hear how Smoke want to stay at Gibbs. He may be gone- or he’s screwing with the media big-time…The speculation that Franchitti will give up NASCAR was something I foudn interesting. There seems to be a school of thought that this “stock car thing” is harder than it looks…According to Darrell Waltrip, even Sam Hornish is not sure a sure bet to stick around.
It’s all the drama that keeps us watching, and helps us endure a race like today.
