Well, he doesn’t have 7 wins in the Sprint Cup Series this season, and it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be attempting to break any of NASCAR’s overall win records at the moment, but if you ask Jimmie Johnson, dubbing Kyle Busch as your 2008 Sprint Cup champion at this point is very premature.

Johnson currently sits 4th in the points standings, but has been methodically working his way up the ladder these past few weeks after getting off to a rather slow start to the season by his standards. After winning 10 races last year and 5 in the year before, the no. 48 team had only one win and no poles to their credit through the first 19 races of the season, and that lone win (Phoenix) was won on fuel mileage no less. Still, with one of the best teams in the sport behind him, spearheaded by Crew Chief, Chad Knaus, the team kept plugging away week after week, taking advantage of any testing opportunity that presented itself, and it’s paid off.

Jimmie dashed his way to the pole for last week’s Allstate 400 and then dominated the ensuing race to pickup his 2nd career victory at the Brickyard, and his second win of the season. And, whether his motivation was to clear any doubt that it may have been a one-off deal or if it was just for good measure, he’s followed last week’s performance up by also taking the pole award for today’s running of the Pennsylvania 500 in Pocono.

While it’s obvious that the team’s on a roll right now, if you have any doubt as to just how far this kind of momentum can carry them, just take a look back at last year’s archives. The scary thing is that at this time last year Johnson was 9th in the standings, but managed to rattle off 6 wins in the final 16 races of the season, finishing outside of the top-ten only three times in that span, and never finishing worse that 21st. He went onto capture his second consecutive Sprint Cup title that year, and if he can pull of a repeat of last Fall’s performance again, then he would match Cale Yarbrough’s record as the only drivers in the modern era to win the Cup three years in a row.

Image details: Daytona 500 served by picapp.com

This week, NASCAR returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, one of the biggest races of the year on the Sprint Cup schedule. With Daytona being one of NASCAR’s two restrictor plate courses, the track has fallen under quite a bit of scrutiny over the years. While it’s still loved by many, there are still those that feel as though things tend to get a bit overhyped whenever the series heads down to Florida. But, whether you love it or you hate it, one thing cannot be denied, and that is that the 50th running of the Daytona 500 held here this past February was one that brought plenty of excitement. In fact, some believe that race was actually one of the Car of Tomorrow’s shining moments to date.

Recent Winners:
2008 - Ryan Newman
2007 - Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick
2006 - Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson
2005 - Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon

Recent Pole Winners:
2008 - Jimmie Johnson
2007 - “Cancelled Qualifying”, David Gilliland
2006 - Boris Said, Jeff Burton
2005 - Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett

the Usual Suspects:
Despite the fact that he hasn’t won a Cup race all season long and that he’s been under the microscope this season in regards to his contract situation, Tony Stewart remains one of the favorites to win this Saturday. Along with boasting the highest driver rating over the last 7 races at the track, Tony has also won this race twice before (’05 & ‘06), and also holds the track record for most laps led in a 400-mile race when he led 151 circuits back in 2005. Additionally, Smoke leads all active drivers in the series with wins between June through August since 2003 with 12 of them to his credit. He also led the most laps at this year’s 500, only to lose the lead on the final lap of the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is certainly considered the fan favorite to win the race this weekend, and rightfully so. Dale owns two Cup victories at Daytona himself, and has recorded 10 top-ten finishes over 17 starts. He ran very well during the Daytona 500 in February and at times appeared as though he might grab a victory in his very first start with Hendrick Motorsports, but eventually faded away near the end. Now that he’s finally broken his winless streak by taking the checkered flag at Michigan, perhaps the no. 88 team’s been able to relieve themselves of enough pressure to regain Jr’s status as the master of restrictor plate racing.

Both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have seen their share of dominant days at Daytona. Gordon leads all active drivers with 6 wins here, and Johnson had a stretch of five consecutive Daytona races with a finish of 6th or better, which also included a win at the 2006 Daytona 500. Since that win, however, Johnson has recorded only one top-ten finish in the four races since, and he finished 27th here in February. Gordon’s last Daytona victory came at the 500 the year before.

Amongst the other favorites to win this weekend is Kevin Harvick, winner of the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick has struggled at the track since then, finishing 34th last July and 14th earlier this year. He’s also had his struggles over the last few weeks of the season, but also known as one of the best night racers in the series, a return to Daytona could be just what the doctor ordered … Kyle Busch’s over all numbers at Daytona seem to be about middle of the road, but you can pretty much chalk that up to a few bad runs earlier on in his career. He’s finished inside the top-five in 3 of the last 4 trips to Daytona, to include a pair of runner-up finishes, and he finally picked up his first restrictor plate win earlier this year at Talladega … Kurt Busch may have gotten the monkey off his back with his win last weekend at New Hampshire, and it could’ve come at just the right time. With the number 2 time finding themselves in a much deeper hole than they could’ve ever expected to have to climb out of this late in the season, there might not be a track they’d rather visit more than Daytona. He has still yet to add a Daytona victory to his championship resume’, but he’s always considered a favorite here with 7 top-five finishes over 15 races. He has finished as the runner-up here on three occassions.

the Unusual Suspects:
When you start to think about sleeper picks at Daytona, probably the first name that jumps out to you is the guy that beat Kyle Busch to the line in this race last year, Jamie McMurray. The 2007 victory was only Jamie’s second top-five finish at the track in his career, but don’t let the numbers fool you. McMurray’s been a solid performer here ever since he started running full-time in the Cup Series, but as has been the case so many times throughout his career, he has been the unfortunate victim of bad luck more often than not.

Elliott Sadler has run well here at times, especially as of late. He has finished 6th in three of the last four Daytona races, and also scored a pair of top-five’s here back in 2001 … Brian Vickers has had a great run for his Red Bull Racing team over the past couple of months, and Vickers is especially known for his restrictor plate prowess. Though he typically runs stronger at Talladega, he does have a pair of top-ten’s at Daytona, and finished 12th here in February … Robby Gordon typically isn’t associated with many tracks other than road course races, but you may be surprised to learn that he is currently working on a string of five consecutive top-15 finishes at Daytona.

the Unusual Slackers:
It’s not very often that folks will make it a point to drop Denny Hamlin from there fantasy rosters for an upcoming race, but a trip to Daytona could call for such action. Not only has Denny failed to record a single top-15 finish in his five trips to Daytona, but his average finish of 27.0 actually matches that of JJ Yeley … Carl Edwards has been one of the top performers of the season, and is heavily considered to be amongst the true championship contenders this year. That does not mean, however, that he’s necessarily solid at every track on the schedule. Carl has only one top-ten finish in 7 Daytona races, which was a 4th place run here last July. He was unable to use that for any kind of momentum, however, as he then finished 19th here in February … Carl’s teammate, Matt Kenseth, hasn’t had much better luck taming Daytona, either. With only one top-five to his credit and an average finish here of 22.9 over 17 races, Daytona ranks amongst Matt’s worst tracks … Martin Truex Jr. is in dire need of a good run if he wants to return to the Chase for the Cup field this year, but if you ask him, Daytona’s not the best place to be given the current situation. Martin’s 13th place run here last July ranks as his best finish over six races at Daytona.

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Tony Stewart - 108.1
2. Ryan Newman - 98.6
3. Jimmie Johnson - 95.5
4. Kyle Busch - 95.3
5. Kurt Busch - 93.0

Best Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Clint Bowyer - 13.0
2. Jimmie Johnson - 13.2
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 13.8
4. Sam Hornish Jr. - 15.0
5. David Gilliland - 15.7 

Daytona Facts:
- A Cup race at Daytona has gone without any lead changes on two different occassions, the last of which came back in 1963.
- The race has gone caution-free 12 times, most recently the Daytona 500 in 1971.
- The most drivers to ever finish on the lead lap at Daytona is 33. Eight races have seen only one driver finish on the lead lap, most recently in 1976.
- In 122 Cup Series races at Daytona, only 10 times has the winner come from outside of a top-15 starting position. 55% of the races have been won from the top-five, and 23 winners have started from the pole.
- Only four drivers have ever won both the Daytona 500 and the July race at Daytona in the same year: Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarbrough, LeRoy Yarbrough, and most recently, Bobby Allison in 1982. Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 this year, giving Penske Racing their first-ever restrictor plate victory. 

Storylines for the Weekend:
Hendrick Motorsports has recently announced the release of Casey Mears from the no. 5 car next season. They’re expected to make an announcement on Friday in regards to whom will fill the seat in 2009, and heavy speculation at this point is that the announcement will involve the legendary Mark Martin … Though he is not on this weekend’s driver entry list, DEI has named the young Aric Almirola as the full-time driver of their no. 8 car in ‘09 … In a surprise move, Chip Ganassi Racing announced earlier in the week that they would be forced to shut down operations on their no. 40 car, which until then had been driven by 2007 Indy 500 winner, Dario Franchitti, due to a lack of sponsorship opportunities … This weekend’s Cup entry list includes Boris Said (making his 2nd start of the season) and Sterling Marlin (making his 6th start). Marlin leads all drivers on the entry list with 589 laps led at Daytona - 57 more laps than Tony Stewart, and 78 more than Jeff Gordon … Kerry Earnhardt will run the no. 8 entry in the Nationwide Series this weekend, marking his first official start in a DEI car in a NASCAR event.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Tony Stewart
2nd Place - Jimmie Johnson
3rd Place - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4th Place - Kurt Busch
5th Place - Kyle Busch
6th Place - Greg Biffle

Lock of the Week - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sleeper Pick - Brian Vickers
Steer Clear of - Martin Truex Jr.

Video - Jamie McMurray wins the 2007 Pepsi 400

Through 55 years of racing at NASCAR’s top level, the Wood Brothers have established themselves amongst the all-time winningest teams in the sport’s history with an accumulated 97 wins amongst the organization. The organization has housed such legendary names as Cale Yarbrough, David Pearson, Davey Allison, AJ Foyt, Tiny Lund, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, and Dan Gurney. The team made history in the late 70’s when they were invited to the White House by former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter … Yet, Wood Brothers Racing has not visited Victory Lane since Elliott Sadler’s 2001 win at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the organization has been relegated to one of stock car racing’s proverbial laughing stocks in recent years.

With the team struggling, and the evolution of the NASCAR economy seeming to work against them and the Ford Racing program, team owner Glen Wood sought to keep the driving program afloat by signing veteran drivers Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader to drive the no. 21 Ford for the team in 2007. The end result, however, was less than desirable as the combination failed to net the Wood Bros. a single top-ten finish, and much hasn’t changed in 2008 with Elliott again behind the wheel this year, this time being complimented by Jon Wood on occassion.

So, what does a team do when they’ve fallen so far off of the mark of excellence that they themselves established so long ago? They go out and fetch themselves the 31-year-old Aussie that’s largely credited with the revival of Ford Racing in Australia - Marcos Ambrose. Adequately named the “Tasmanian Devil,” Ambrose, a former Formula Ford Euro Cup and 2x former V8 Supercar Championship Series champion, broke into the NASCAR scene in 2006 when the Wood Brothers / JTG Racing partnership signed Ambrose to compete in full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. Not being cleared by NASCAR to compete in the first three races of the season, Ambrose was limited to 22 races in which he garnered 4 top-ten finishes, including a pair of 3rd place runs at Nashville and Kansas.

The team then set Ambrose’s sights on the Nationwide Series in 2007, where Marcos tallied 6 top-ten runs through 35 events and ultimately finished 8th in the overall points standings, and was the third highest ranked non-Cup regular in the standings. 2008 has gotten Marcos off to a bit of a slower start in the series, where he currently sits 13th in points, but a 2nd place run at the road course in Mexico earlier in the season prompted a callup from the Wood Brothers this past weekend at Infineon.

Slated to make his long-awaited Sprint Cup debut behind the wheel of the famed no. 21 Ford Fusion, Ambrose got the weekend off to a great start when he was the 7th fastest during qualifying, and then led the final practice session on Saturday. Looking to prove his road course prowess was no joke and that he belonged at NASCAR’s premier level, Ambrose then established himself as one of the top cars in the field and definitely one of the guys to beat on Sunday, though looking at the box score following the race, you’d have never known it unless you’d watched the race yourself.

Marcos ran with the leaders and stayed up around the top-five all day long, even when pit strategies shuffled several of the other race leaders back into the pack. Only some unprovoked contact from Elliott Sadler late in the race kept him from getting the finish he deserved, and yet, even after a 42nd place run, both Ambrose and the Wood Brothers organization were rather upbeat following the race.

“Just awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, passing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, racing with Earnhardt Jr, it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, what I dreamed it would be like. It’s certainly like that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a real shame we couldn’t finish the race.”

While most people probably find it tough to see the silver lining in a 42nd place finish, those that have followed the Wood Brothers throughout the years know that they’ve been far from competitive the last few years, and that even though the finish wasn’t indicative of the good run, it’s a huge morale booster for the organization to have a car run as well as Marcos did on Sunday. Ambrose is now scheduled to compete in seven more Cup events in the no. 21 car, including next weekend at New Hampshire and the August road course race at Watkins Glen.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Recent Winners:
2007 - Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards
2006 - Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne
2005 - Jeremy Mayfield, Greg Biffle

Recent Pole Winners:
2007 - Jeff Gordon, JJ Yeley
2006 - Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne
2005 - Joe Nemecheck, Ryan Newman

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Carl Edwards - 112.3
2. Kurt Busch - 106.8
3. Greg Biffle - 105.4
4. Jimmie Johnson - 104.7
5. Matt Kenseth - 104.1

Best Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Carl Edwards - 7.3
2. Matt Kenseth - 9.7
3. Denny Hamlin - 10.0
4. Jeff Gordon - 12.5
5. Martin Truex Jr - 12.5

Most Wins - David Pearson (9)
Most Wins (Active) - Bobby LaBonte (3)
Most Poles - David Pearson (10)
Most Poles (Active) - Jeff Gordon (5)
Most Top 5’s - Cale Yarbrough (21)
Most Top 10’s - Bill Elliott (29)
Most Manufacturer Wins - Ford (30)
Track Qualifying Record - Ryan Newman (37.069 seconds / 2005)

Odd Facts:
- David Pearson, Cale Yarbrough, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, and Mark Martin have combined to win 45 of the 77 Cup races at Michigan, or 58.4% of the races.
- The track record for a 400 mile race at Michigan is 173.997 mph, whereas the record for a 500 miler is only 139.254 mph. That’s an average 34 mph slower for that extra hundred miles! This weekend’s race is 400 miles.
- A Cup race at Michigan has gone caution free on three separate occassions, most recently in 1999. The most cautions at MIS? Only 10, which came in August of 2006.
- Five times has a Michigan race ended with only 2 drivers on the lead lap. The last time was in 1975.
- Roush-Fenway Racing has more wins at Michigan (10) than they do any other track.
- A driver has won from the pole position at Michigan 15 times. Last weekend at Pocono marked the first time this season such a feat had been accomplished.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Greg Biffle
2nd Place - Carl Edwards
3rd Place - Tony Stewart
4th Place - Kasey Kahne
5th Place - Matt Kenseth
6th Place - Jimmie Johnson

Lock of the Week - Carl Edwards
Sleeper Pick - Brian Vickers
Steer Clear of - Clint Bowyer