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

Image details: Best Buy 400 Qualifying served by picapp.com

Earlier this week, the Charlotte Observer reported that Jamie McMurray would be parting ways with Roush-Fenway Racing at the conclusion of the 2008 season, but McMurray has denied such allegations. McMurray, who is in the midst of his third full season with Roush-Fenway, stated that those rumors are false and that he plans to remain with the organization at least until the end of 2009, when the team will be forced to shut down one of its five operating teams, though many people feel strongly that the team that team owner, Jack Roush, lets go will simply be handed over to their Ford Racing partners over at Yates Racing.

Despite earning his second top-ten finish of the season this past weekend at Dover and moving up to 22nd in points, Jim Utter from the Charlotte Observer states that McMurray has contacted other teams about racing opportunities for next season, and that his agents have put his name out there as an available driver for 2009. They also stated that Roush has been in several negotiations with sponsor, Crown Royal, in a deal that with pair them up with the no. 16 car of Greg Biffle.

Should the story be true, then adding McMurray’s name to the list of silly season spectacles could add yet another twist to this ongoing saga. Roush has already locked up Carl Edwards to another multi-year deal and appears to be only a few minor details away from re-signing Greg Biffle to his current contract. So, with Bobby LaBonte, Martin Truex Jr, and Elliott Sadler all already being reported as being re-signed with their teams for 2009, and Joe Gibbs Racing going on record by stating that they would not allow Tony Stewart to exit his contract obligations early, that would leave McMurray and Ryan Newman as the two biggest names on the market assuming that Roush’s deal with Biffle does in fact go through.

Richard Childress Racing has already stated that they are in search of a driver to field their fourth Cup car for next season, and the lineup at Penske Racing remains uncertain with Ryan Newman yet to be re-signed and the future of Sam Hornish Jr. with the team potentiall in question. There have also been a few reports that a release from Hendrick Motorsports for Casey Mears might not be out of question, and nobody appears to be safe over at Chip Ganassi Racing, so a potential return for McMurray there could even be in play. So, there could definitely be some opportunities for McMurray should the rumors of his departure from Roush hold true. As stated earlier, however, McMurray told reporters on Monday that as of right now the rumors are false.

“I spoke to Geoff Smith (Roush-Fenway president) this morning … You never know what’s going to happen, but as of today, there’s no truth to that,” says Jamie McMurray.

McMurray first broke onto the Cup scene in 2002 while substituting for an injured Sterling Marlin over at Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the Fall race at Lowe’s that season in only his second career start. He drove the next three seasons full-time for Ganassi, finishing between 11th and 13th in points in each of those seasons. Since moving to Roush in 2006, McMurray has won only one more race (the Pepsi 400 last year at Daytona), and finished 25th in points in ‘06 and 17th in points last year. Jamie fell outside of the top-35 in points following the fifth race of 2008, but has since been able to climb his way back to 22nd thanks to seven top-20 finishes in the past nine races.

DYN Imposes:
This week, Do You NASCAR also asks its readers …

1. Will Jamie McMurray be back with Roush-Fenway Racing in 2009? If not, where will he go?
2. If McMurray is not with the organization, will Roush field a fifth car next season, and who will it be?
3. If McMurray does stay with Roush, which driver will be dropped from the 2010 roster?
4. How long before we can expect to see Jamie Mac back in Victory Lane?

Image details: Aaron’s 499 served by picapp.com

5. “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity!” - It was pretty catchy at first, and then it just became tolerable for awhile. Let’s face it, though, at this point it’s just redundant and played out, and it brings serious question to the vocabulary range of Darrell Waltrip. Let’s find something new, shall we?

4. Retired Drivers Not Retiring - These days, I just don’t know anymore what it means when a driver says they’re retiring, because for a large handful of these guys it really just means that they’re moving to a part-time schedule. Mark Martin had a farewell tour two years in a row due to his highly publicized retirement, though two years later he’s still running a 24-race schedule. Bill Elliott has made 51 starts in the five years he’s been “retired”. And, now, Terry LaBonte and Sterling Marlin appear to be following the same trend as well. What’s going on?

3. Ticket Scalping - I’ve never had a problem with folks standing outside the stadium or the race venue trying to turn a quick buck on the tickets that they no longer need, but it’s become nearly impossible to get tickets for certain races because they’ve all been bought up by companies that will then turn around and sell them on E-Bay. Suddenly you’ve watched the price for tickets go from $85 to $250.

2. Composure During the National Anthem - It’s an issue that doesn’t get addressed nearly as often as it should, and it’s gone overlooked for far too long now. As patriotic as NASCAR is, it’s amazing that some of the drivers and teams can be caught on camera week after week talking and joking during the singing of the National Anthem. It’s also sad that folks such as Delana Harvick still haven’t figured out that they’re supposed to remove their hats during the ceremony.

1. Trash Getting Thrown on the Track - I love this sport, and I defend it nearly everywhere I go, but there are certain times that I find myself truly ashamed to call myself a fan. There’s no room in NASCAR - or, any sport, for that matter - for fans to be throwing trash such as full beer cans out on the track just because they didn’t like the driver that won the race. The most notorious of these incidents was in 2007 when Jeff Gordon won the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, but that wasn’t the only incident. Once is too many times, anyway.

Image details: NASCAR Testing Day 1 served by picapp.com

Dario Franchitti, driver of the no. 40 Target car for Chip Ganassi Racing, returned to the track on Tuesday for the first time since incurring his ankle injury a month ago at Talladega. Dario was on-hand for NASCAR’s test session at Pocono Raceway in preparation for the upcoming Pocono 500 two weeks from now which the husband of movie star, Ashley Judd, plans to participate in.

Since the injury to Franchitti back on April 26th in the Nationwide’s Aaron’s 312, car owner, Chip Ganassi, has used an extended list of contacts to keep the seat of the no. 40 car filled for the interim. Ganassi turned to Penske Racing’s test driver, David Stremme, for the Cup race at Talladega, and then Ken Schrader for Richmond, and then most recently, former Ganassi driver, Sterling Marlin, at Darlington and last weekend at Lowe’s. The team failed to qualify for the Dan Lowry 400 in Richmond, and posted an average finish of just 31.0 in the other three events.

Though Franchitti is considering possibly competing in this weekend’s Nationwide race at Dover, the Heluva Good! 200, Ganassi plans to run Jeremy Mayfield in the car for Sunday’s Cup race. Mayfield has been out of a ride since his release from Haas CNC Racing earlier in the season, and many people feel that he has just about run out of anymore good potential opportunities for the future. After touring with the soldiers in Iraq for 12 days earlier in the month, Mayfield now must concentrate on putting together a solid run this weekend if he hopes to have a shot at landing a solid ride for 2009.

Image details: Dale Earnhardt Jr celebrates the win served by picapp.com

It’s another week off from points racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but this week brings us something a little different … NASCAR’s annual All-Star weekend from Lowe’s Motor Speedway. For those of you unfamiliar with the format of this great race, it’s very different from what you’ll find in Major League Baseball, or the National Football League, or the National Baskeball Association. Instead of the fans voting in the best of the best, here in NASCAR, the fans will vote in only one entry. The rest of the field will be made up of race winners of any Cup Series points race from either last year or this year, Cup Series champions and All-Star race winners from the past decade, and the top two finishers in the Sprint Cup Showdown (formerly known as “the Open”). If anything, I think the best comparison for the race would be to the Bass Elite Series of fishing. Go to nascar.com now to Vote For Your Favorite Driver that’s not already eligible for the All-Star Challenge itself.

The All-Star Race format itself (click on the link to see NASCAR’s own description of the entire race format) is rather unique as well. The race is divided up into four portions, or segments. The first segment consists of a 20-lap run, after which teams have the option to forefeit their track position in favor of a four-tire pit stop under caution. Segment 2 is another 20-lap run, but after this segment, NASCAR mandates a ten-minute stop for the teams, and the cars will return to the track in the same order that they ran at the end of the segment. Cars running at the back of the pack will be eliminated prior to the ensuing 20 laps that make up segment three, and then again prior to the fourth and final segment. Another mandatory pit stop will occur prior to the final segment, with the order of the field for the restart being determined by the order in which they exit pit road.

What’s At Stake?
So, if they’re not racing for points, why even bother, right? Wrong. Along with bragging rights, the winner of the All-Star Challenge will pocket $1 million. Second place … goes home with nothing but a used up car.

The Field
The following 21 drivers are already locked into the event: Martin Truex Jr, Kurt Busch, Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bobby LaBonte, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Carl Edwards.

Another 29 drivers will be vying for either a ticket in via the fan vote, or by finishing in the top two spots in the All-Star Showdown. Follow the link for the complete Entry List for the All-Star Showdown.

What Else?
Pit selection for the teams will be determined by their finishing order in the annual Pit Crew Challenge. The Pit Crew Challenge will test teams’ speed, strength, agility, endurance, and accuracy to the limits. Last year’s competition was won by the Ryan Newman’s no. 12 crew for Penske Racing.

NASCAR will also putting on their first Burnout Contest. Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Greg Biffle will all hop into identically prepared Petty Enterprises cars to perform a full drag-style burnout throughout the course that NASCAR has setup. The contest will air prior to the Showdown race.

Broadcast
Coverage for the race itself begins at 7 pm eastern time on Saturday, May 17th live on Speed with Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond, and Krista Voda bringing you the coverage. Please visit nascar.com for a complete schedule of All-Star coverage.

All-Star Race Stats & Fun Facts
- Most All-Star Wins:  Tie - Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt (3 apiece)
- First All-Star Race Winner:  Darrell Waltrip (1984)
- Most All-Star Showdown / Open Wins:  Sterling Marlin (4)
- Best Average All-Star Finish (Drivers Locked into the Race):  Jimmie Johnson (5.2), Jeff Gordon (6.3), Matt Kenseth (7.6), Ryan Newman (7.8), Bobby LaBonte (8.4)
- Number of Drivers to Qualify Via the Showdown / Open & Go Onto Win the All-Star Race:  2 - Michael Waltrip (1996), Ryan Newman (2002)
- Most All-Star Appearances: 19 - Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin (counting this year)
- Former All-Star Winners in the Field:  7 - Kevin Harvick (2007), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2003), Mark Martin (2005, 1998), Matt Kenseth (2004), Ryan Newman (2002), Jeff Gordon (2001, 1997, 1995), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000)
- Former Cup Series Champions in the Field:  7 - Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Bobby LaBonte, Dale Jarrett
- First time entrants: Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya
- Number of Rookies to Win the All-Star Race:  2 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000), Ryan Newman (2002)
- Humpy Wheeler, President of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, has predicted a win from Carl Edwards. Humpy has been successful with his picks 8 times out of his 20 tries, and only twice in the last 8 years.

TZ’s Six-Pack Challenge (Bonus Round):
Fan Vote (worth 5 bonus points) - David Ragan
Showdown Winners (worth 10 bonus points each) - Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil
All-Star Race Winer (worth 25 bonus points) - Tony Stewart

For related articles, please visit RevJim’s NASCAR Ranting ‘n’ Raving as he runs through the NASCAR All-Stars and also go to Racing for the Win for Cesar’s predictions on Who Will Dominate the 2008 Sprint Showdown.

Image details: Aaron’s 499 Qualifying served by picapp.com
 

It’s admittedly WAAAY too early in the season for NASCAR’s silly season to already have gotten as it deep as it has, that’s for sure … but, alas, I must do my small part in life to contribute to this nonsense, because - well, quite frankly it intrigues me.It all started just a few weeks into the ‘08 season when Richard Childress Racing announced the addition of a fourth team to their arsenal next year, and immediately everyone started pointing towards Bobby LaBonte to fill the seat in that ride due to his ties with RCR and Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. While nothing has come of that since then, RCR has gone ahead and already secured the current #1 sponsor over at Petty Enterprises in General Mills.

RCR got the ball rolling with contract talks, and then a small focus within the media shifted over to Roush-Fenway Racing. Roush will be forced to part ways with one of their team cars after 2009 due to a new rule that will be implemented in NASCAR that will limit to teams limiting no more than four cars. However, two of their five current Cup Series drivers - Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle - have contracts that currently run only through the end of this year. While there’s not really much speculation that Edwards has any plans of leaving the organization - and, may in fact actually nab one of NASCAR’s largest sponsors next season in UPS - Biffle was earlier reported to be about “90% done with his contract renewal.” Talks since then appear to have slowed a bit, and now there’s some minor speculation lingering out there that the Biff may be headed in a new direction. Of course, then you also have the notion that Roush may work out a deal with Yates Racing that would send one of their cars over to that organization in somewhat of a partnership deal, in which case Roush could essentially really wind up not losing anyone after next year.

Fast forward a bit, and then you’ve got Tony Stewart reportedly looking into all sorts of offers, though his contract doesn’t officially end at Joe Gibbs Racing until after the 2009 season. The most widely known offer that seems to be on the table right now for Stewart is a deal that would give up as much as 50% ownership at Haas CNC Racing, and would also return Smoke to his long-tenured relationship with General Motors. There’s been a lot of speculation that Tony has been trying to get out of his contract with JGR following this season, but both parties claim that no such talks have taken place. Additionally, Joe Gibbs himself has stated that their organization is pretty much set the way that it is in terms of ownership, but if that’s something that Tony was interested in, something could possibly be worked out that would set Stewart in the right direction for such a venture.

There was some question regarding Martin Truex Jr’s contract at Dale Earhardt, Inc, which only went through the end of this season. With the team struggling early on, there was a bit of doubt whether or not the organization would pick up the option they had on Martin for 2009, but they recently inked that deal earlier this week and our now working on a deal that would keep Truex at DEI beyond 2010.

Staying somewhat out of the public eye in terms of contract negotiations has been Ryan Newman, who has driven for Penske Racing since entering the Sprint Cup Series, but his contract also expires at the end of the year. Newman has stated that he hasn’t been talking to any other teams about potential options, but he also admitted that he has yet to sign a renewal with Penske and that they haven’t really talked about it. It’s also no huge secret that Newman hasn’t been happy with some of the engines that have been handed to him through the Penske garage, so who knows?

There are also some rumors that Casey Mears could be let go from his ride with Hendrick Motorsports, which would not only free up another driver for a potential signing, but would free up another seat for one of these other guys. And, let’s not forget the blowout that occurred within Chip Ganassi Racing not all that long ago. If Chip’s not happy with his race teams, then who knows who might be available for signing by the time we roll into 2009.There’s a lot of circumstantial talk within these rumors, and I’ll admit that this post is probably somewhat premature, but all the same - it looks like we’re going to have plenty to keep talking about as 2008 pushes forward.Current Rides Available:
#12 - Penske Racing (Ryan Newman)
#16 - Roush-Fenway Racing (Greg Biffle)
#21 - Wood Bros. (Bill Elliott / Jon Wood)
#33 - Richard Childress Racing (new team)
#43 - Petty Enterprises (Bobby LaBonte)
#70 - Haas CNC Racing (race-by-race)
#99 - Roush-Fenway Racing (Carl Edwards)

In 2007, as the Case for the [then] Nextel Cup dwindled down and was coming to a close, I pretty much berated Clint Bowyer at every possible opportunity. I just didn’t think that he belonged in the top tier with the Hendricks Motorsports duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, and I sure as hell didn’t think he was better than the majority of the other drivers in the Chase. In fact, a big part of me didn’t feel as though Bowyer belonged in the Chase to begin with – and, yet, there he sat third in points. Man, how much one offseason and a few races can change your view on things.

As Clint struggled through the first three events of 2008, I thought to myself, “Man, I was right on the money with this cat.” He finished 24th at Daytona, 19th at California, and 28th in Vegas, despite the fact that his Richard Childress Racing teammates remained very fast and consistent.

Since then, however, Bowyer has turned a massive corner and appears to be headed in the right direction. He’s currently riding the streak of (5) consecutive top-ten finishes Sprint Cup Series, and has (6) Nationwide Series top-ten’s overall in the 8 events held thus far. He even holds a 24 point lead in the Nationwide standings over last year’s champ, Carl Edwards.

Heading into Atlanta – the fourth race of the year – Bowyer sat 24th in points, but in the five races since then has managed to propel himself all the way into 8th, and continues to move steadily up the ladder.

As the Sprint Cup Series looks forward to Talladega Super Speedway following their off-week, Bowyer’s team feels that they have a ton of work to do. Bowyer sits only 43rd amongst all active drivers at the track, but they seem to have gotten a few things figured out when the Cup Series visited last Fall. After finishes of 40th and 35th in 2006, and then 35th again last Spring, the team got to work and nearly gave Clint his first top-ten at the track, but he went on to finish 11th.

When asked about his turnaround, Bowyer stated, “We’ve got to get better, but obviously we’ve come a long way. I’m very proud of everybody at RCR for putting together equipment that makes Jeff and Kevin and me look good. But, we’ve got a long ways to go. We’re not going to sit back and watch it happen, we’re going to make it happen!”

Heading into the 50th running of NASCAR’s “Great American Race”, this year’s Daytona 500 has already proven to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that this track is not shy when it comes to both hype and the ability to produce storylines. The 2008 Sprint Cup season has been one of the most talked about seasons in professional sports history, and every bit of it has transcended itself to Daytona, which is set to kick off here in just a few short hours. As we gear up for the official kickoff of the most elite series in all of motorsports, let’s take a quick look at all the drama and news that has unfolded itself right before our very eyes during NASCAR’s speedweeks that has brought us to the drop of the green flag:

Right from the start of the practice sessions for the Budweiser Shootout, everyone in the garage area was talking about how loose the cars had felt on the track, as this was the first time that the COT would be run at Daytona. This no doubt played a small role in causing an accident during the Friday practice session that sent several teams to backup cars for the Shootout the following day. One has to believe that the loose feelings and the bump stops generated in the COT setup will no doubt play a vital role in today’s race, and many people believe that it’s inevitable that “the Big One” will occur at some point between mile one and mile five-hundred by the end of today.

Shortly after that accident that I was just talking about, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch made contact with one another, and as a result, decided to rekindle their feud that stemmed all the way back to last year’s Daytona 500. After a friendly visit on pit road by Busch, Stewart decided to admire Busch’s bodywork prior to entering the garage, and it’s since then been alleged that Stewart kindly introduced his fist to Kurt’s face. The result? Both drivers have been placed on a six-race probation by NASCAR, but one has to wonder if that will make any difference in the most prestigious race on the schedule.

Dale Earnhardt Jr then went onto win his very first race under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, albeit not a points race. That hasn’t stopped Junior Nation from going crazy with anticipation, though, as many of his fans now believe that the switch to HMS will reignite Junior’s on-track performance. After bringing home another checkered flag in the first Gatorade Duel and then finishing third in the Nationwide Series race, Earnhardt is a very heavy favorite to win today’s race and get his newly-found relationship with Hendrick off to an amazing start.

Also making headlines throughout the entire off-season was the move of Joe Gibbs Racing from racing for Chevrolet to joining the Toyota bunch. Most fans and critics thought Gibbs had gone off the deep end by even contemplating such a move, but the addition of Gibbs to the Toyota fold seems to be doing wonders for them already. After looking very impressive throughout the pre-season testing, Toyota has since gone onto finish 2nd in the Budweiser Shootout (Stewart), win the outside pole for the Daytona 500 (Waltrip), finish 1st & 2nd in the second Gatorade Duel (Hamlin, Stewart), finish 1st through 4th in the Craftsman Truck Series race (T. Bodine, Ky. Busch, J. Benson, D. Starr), and then finish 1st, 2nd, & 4th in the Nationwide Series race (Stewart, Ky. Busch, Vickers). The Toyota bunch is now being heavily viewed as the only potential threat to keep Hendrick Motorsports out of victory lane this afternoon.

The Gatorade Duels also made several other shocking revelations. Several cars expected to start in the Daytona 500 were left out in the cold thanks to NASCAR’s Daytona qualifying procedures, including the rides of Boris Said, AJ Allmendinger, Bill Elliott Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, and rookies Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve, amongst others. Elliott’s inability to make the race marked this year as the first time in 46 years that the Wood Bros organization failed to place a car in the Daytona 500. Villeneuve’s performance not only knocked him out of the 500, but also out of the no. 27 car for Bill Davis Racing altogether as a result of failing to produce financial backing from sponsors. He will be replaced by Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson beginning next week.  In an odd string of events, Kurt Busch transferred his car’s owner points over to Penske Racing rookie Sam Hornish Jr. to ensure he would get starts in the first five races of the season. Busch then suffered electrical problems during the first Gatorade Duel event, forcing him to rely on the “Past Champion’s Provisional” to earn his spot in the 500. This meant that the provisional was no longer available to Dale Jarrett, who failed to finish inside the top 35 in points last season and he would have to finish second amongst the “go or go-home” cars in the second Duel. The race started off rough for Jarrett as he sank to the back of the pack, but then car owner Michael Waltrip dropped from the front of the pack all the way to the back to give his teammate a boost. He pushed DJ all the way up to the third spot by the time a caution waved with only a few laps remaining. The push was enough, and despite finishing 9th in the race, DJ still qualified for his final run at the Daytona 500. The events leading up to such, however, has raised several questions surrounding the validity of the past champion’s provisional and the ability of a driver to transfer owner points to another car.

Folks, I’ve barely scratched the surface here with this post, as there’s been so, so much more that’s taken place in both the off-season and during the NASCAR speedweeks that has made this Daytona 500 the most highly anticipated that I can actually recall. This race is sure to live up to the expectations, and I’m extremely confident that it will give us plenty more to talk about come Monday morning!

After running runner-up for the NASCAR Cup championship on four occasions with Mark Martin from 1988 to 2002, Roush Racing finally won it all in 2003 with Matt Kenseth and then again the following year in ’04 with Kurt Busch. Additionally, the organization had runner-up finishes again in 2005 with Carl Edwards & Greg Biffle and again in ’06 with Kenseth, establishing Roush as one of the absolute elite forces to be reckoned with in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, second only to Hendrick Motorsports.

With 102 combined victories in the Cup Series, Roush Racing ranks fourth on NASCAR’s all-time list and second on the active-teams list, trailing Hendrick by 65 wins … adding further proof to the team’s dominance. After placing three of their five race teams in the Chase for the Cup field in the playoff system’s inaugural campaign in 2004 and then qualifying all five of their teams for the Chase in ’05, things have since started to go south. In 2006, only Kenseth and Mark Martin qualified, and after the Chase field expanded to allow for 12 drivers last year, they still were able to qualify two teams once again in ’07.

Much of the disappointment incurred by Roush Racing fans in 2006 has been chalked up to the inexperience of Carl Edwards and the adjustment period for Jamie McMurray to his new team. Last year’s performance has widely been accepted as a result of NASCAR’s inception of the “Car of Tomorrow” and Hendrick Motorsports going on an absolute tear. Still, many fans are not counting Roush out of the 2008 championship hunt with Kenseth and Edwards. Many fans also believe that McMurray has finally begun to get things going with Roush and that Biffle will be able to return to form sooner than later.

In an odd way, another positive that Roush fans can hold onto this season is the fact that 2009 will be the last year that Roush will be allowed to field five race teams in the Cup Series. With both Edwards and Biffle in their contract years this season, as well as many long-term sponsorship contracts that still linger out there for Roush, every driver on the team’s roster has all the incentive in the world to make both 2008 and 2009 successful campaigns, or they could soon find themselves looking for work. I’ll go on record by stating that I believe Roush Fenway Racing will be the primary force to throw a wrench into the HMS domination this season, and 2008 will be solid all around for the Roush camp.

Cup Series Roster:

6: David Ragan – After being thrown into Cup competition last season with Mark Martin’s retirement from full-time competition, Ragan’s rookie season campaign fell well-short of what many race fans had expected from him. Garnering only 2 top-five’s and 3 top-ten’s all season long, the youngster was the lowest finishing Roush car coming in 23rd in points for the season. I believe he’ll improve a bit this season in terms of consistency, but it’s going to be a tough year with the highly-touted rookie class coming in this year, the Toyota’s picking up steam, and the Hendrick boys still running strong. I don’t see him picking up any wins, and his improvement in the points standings will be limited to three or four spots.

16: Greg Biffle – Greg’s ultimate goal is to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win championships in all three of the main series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Truck). His start in the Cup Series sent him well on his way to accomplishing this feat, picking up 11 wins in his first four full-time seasons and finishing runner-up to the 2005 Cup Champion Tony Stewart, finishing only a mere 35 points shy in a season that saw him bring home six victories for Roush. He’s come up just shy of making the Chase field since then, though, finishing 13th in ’06 and 14th in ’07. Forget about the last two seasons, though. Biffle is a veteran driver at this point in his career, and still has plenty left in the tank. With his established desire to remain with Roush Racing, he has plenty of motivation to keep his ride well past 2009, and as he enters his contract year he appears to be well-focused. Look for Biffle to make the Chase this year and close it out around 8th in points.

17: Matt Kenseth – The 2003 Cup Series champion hasn’t finished outside of the top ten in points since 2001, and has been one of – if not the – most consistent drivers in NASCAR since then. After appearing very solid in the early parts of last season, the middle of the year saw Kenseth start to drop in the standings and he entered the Chase for the Cup in 8th place and the Chase itself didn’t start out much better. In fact, after Martinsville, Kenseth sat 12th in points – the very last spot in the Chase field – with only four races left to go. Refusing to go quietly, though, Kenseth went onto finish 4th at Atlanta, 2nd at Texas, 3rd at Phoenix, and won the season finale at Homestead to claw his way back up to a 4th place points finish. Despite heading into 2008 with a new crew chief for the first time in his career, I don’t see Matt encountering the same problems he ran into last season. He seems to have a firm handle on the COT now, so expect him to not only be extremely consistent and win four-to-five races, but he’s also my pick for the 2008 Sprint Cup Series Champion.

26: Jamie McMurray – After getting off to a great start to his Cup Series career with Chip Ganassi Racing, Jamie announced that he would depart from the team following the 2005 season to race for Jack Roush, and it’s been a rough, bumpy road ever since. In his two seasons with Roush, he’s finished 25th and 17th in points with a total of 6 top-five’s and 16 top-ten’s, though he did pick up a win at the July race in Daytona last year – his first win since filling in for an injured Sterling Marlin at Lowe’s in 2002. Still, McMurray’s proven that he’s a capable driver when he finished 11th through 13th in points from 2003 to 2005 while with Ganassi. He does appear to be getting a little more comfortable with the Roush organization, though, as he spent the majority of last season hovering around the 17th spot, which is where he ultimately finished. This season should be a little bit better, but I’m still not expecting him to make the Chase field. Look for him to head into Richmond this fall as one of the bubble drivers.

99: Carl Edwards – 2005 saw Edwards complete one of the most successful rookie campaigns ever seen – though his thirteen starts the previous year disqualified him from actually being considered as a rookie. That year Edwards won 4 races and tied for second in points in his quest for the Cup championship. Since then, he finished 12th in 2006 and 9th in 2007. His inconsistency last year may be a result of him running a full-time [then] Busch Series schedule as well en route to winning that championship. He says that he plans to run the series again this year in hopes of becoming the first driver to win both championships in the same season, but he has assured that his primary focus will be on the Sprint Cup Series, which could prove to be the difference. I’m expecting him to win a couple of races and finish around 7th or so, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him walk away with a top five points finish.

Driver Roster: A
Off-Season: B
2008 Outlook: A

Chip Ganassi Racing has been one of the most successful organizations in the racing world, and they demonstrated that yet again by becoming the first team to ever win three consecutive Rolex 24 events this past January. The struggle for the team, however, has been trying to find a way translate all of their success into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series where they’ve been just mediocre.

It wasn’t always that way, though. Back in 2001 when Ganassi was running only a single car full-time in the (then) Winston Cup Series, Sterling Marlin finished the season third in points, coming in 371 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon. The next year got off to another great start, and Chip decided to add a second team to the mix with the no. 41 car of Jimmy Spencer. Marlin continued his hot streak sitting atop the championship points standings through the first 26 races of the season. Three races later, however, he had dropped all the way to fifth and his season ended early due to an injury. He would be replaced by Jaime McMurray for the remainder of the season, and amazingly enough he picked up right where Sterling left off by winning the race at Lowe’s in only his second career Cup start. McMurray’s success closing out the 2002 campaign was so adequate that it caused Ganassi to form yet a third team with the veteran Sterling Marlin leading the charge in front of the high-hope rookies of McMurray and Casey Mears. McMurray took the series by storm by finishing 13th in points in his first full season in the Cup Series, but Marlin was never able to rebound. He finished the year 18th in points, and to this date hasn’t won a race since the 2002 season.

The Ganassi lineup remained the same until the completion of the 2005 season with McMurray finishing the highest in points between the trio, coming in 11th in 2004 and 12th in 2005. Recording consistent top ten finishes didn’t appear to be the problem, but getting the cars to victory lane did, as the team as a whole hadn’t won a race since McMurray’s win at Lowe’s in 2002. McMurray had remained consistent for Ganassi, but that was of little consolation since he signed a deal late in the 2005 season to drive for Roush Racing in ’06. Meanwhile, Marlin continued to slip further and further into obscurity and Mears wasn’t progressing quite as quickly as Chip may have hoped.

The team’s 2006 lineup was completely revamped as Ganassi replaced McMurray and Marlin with rookies David Stremme and Reed Sorenson, and they moved Mears over to the number 42 car. The move appeared to work well for Casey as we completed the ’06 campaign 14th in points with 8 top ten finishes. Sorenson finished 24th with 5 top ten’s of his own, and Stremme was thankful just to remain inside the top 35 in owner points, finishing 33^rd. Mears’ progression in 2006 was unquestionable, but again, it was of little consolation to Chip since Mears decided to part ways with the team and head over to Hendrick Motorsports. That wasn’t the big news this time in the Ganassi camp, though. Ganassi made headlines across the world when he announced late in the 2006 season that former Indy Series Champion Juan Pablo Montoya was making the move to NASCAR and would compete full-time in 2007 behind the wheel of the no. 42 car. The move paid off as Montoya finished 20th in points and won Rookie of the Year honors. Oh, and he also won the race at Infineon, giving Ganassi their first Cup Series victory since 2002. Sorenson and Stremme also finished the year inside the top 25 in points, and it now appeared that Ganassi may have things back on track.

Heading into 2008, Chip Ganassi has made yet another bold move by relieving Stremme of his driving duties and replacing him with yet another former open-wheel champion in Dario Franchitti. Franchitti is already an early favorite to win the Rookie of the Year honors this year and will have Montoya there to coach him on just what exactly he needs to do to make sure that happens. With Sorenson  slowly progressing each year and Montoya now having a full season of seat time under his belt, the future of Chip Ganassi Racing now hinges on whether or not Ganassi leading the charge for the open-wheel drivers to make the jump over to NASCAR will pay off or not. Over the course of the next few seasons I think it will, and this year we just might see a few more wins come out of the Ganassi camp.

Cup Series Roster:

40: Dario Franchitti – In 2008, he will become the first ever European born driver to compete full-time in NASCAR’s Cup Series, and he comes into the season as the all-time winningest driver in US open-wheel history to hail from Great Brittain. In 2007 not only did he capture the Indianapolis 500 – arguably the most prestigious race in all of motorsports – but, he also closed the season out by bringing home the IndyCar Series Championship. He heads into this season as one of four rookie drivers that formerly competed in open-wheels, but he has the advantage over all but Sam Hornish in the fact that he will begin the season already ranked in the top 35 in owner points thanks to last year’s efforts of David Stremme. That means that Franchitti will have guaranteed starts in the first five races of the season while Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier will be forced to qualify each week based on time. While that’s definitely a huge plus for Franchitti, it also creates a lot of added pressure coming into the year knowing that you’re an early favorite for success and knowing that you have an advantage over most of the other rookies in your class. I think he’ll be able to handle the pressure. While he probably won’t win any races or record any top ten’s in those first five races, I believe he’ll finish well enough to maintain his status in the top 35 and ensure his starts throughout the course of the season. He’ll remain dangerous on both of the Cup Series visits to road courses, and I’d expect his season to finish out much like Montoya’s rookie year … perhaps slightly better.

41: Reed Sorenson – In his first two seasons in the Nextel Cup, Sorenson compiled a total of four top five’s and eleven top ten finishes, which is actually better than Casey Mears’ first two seasons in the series. His points finishes have been a very respectable 24th and 22nd, and he appears to be maturing on the track rather quickly. He’s really the least talked about driver in the Ganassi garage thanks to all the media hoopla surrounding the open-wheel surge into NASCAR, and that actually bodes well for Reed, giving him the opportunity to grow into this sport at his own pace without over-anticipation from the public. You should continue to see much more of the same from Reed in 2008, possibly competing for some wins here and there. He should be able to bring home about 7 or 8 top five’s on the season, and by the end of the year could possibly be competing for a top 15 spot in the points standings.

42: Juan Pablo Montoya – 2007’s Rookie of the Year recipient started the season off with a 19th place showing at the Daytona 500, and that’s about where he remained for the majority of the season. With the exception of his road course performances – particularly his win at Infineon – he very rarely looked spectacular on the track, but remained consistent enough to finish the year out ranked 20th in points. Now that the team knows that they’re able to translate Juan’s open wheel success into success at the road courses in a stock car, that’s one less item to mark off their list. They’re likely to be coming into this year with their primary focus centering around figuring out the intermediate tracks on the circuit, where they had an average finish last year of right around 22 over the span of 24 races. Attaining a certain degree of consistency at these tracks would enable Juan to not only compete for a top 15 points finish, but possibly even compete for a spot in this year’s Chase field. I think it’s a longshot at this point to look for that to happen, but I’d be willing to bet that he’ll crack that field at some point within the next three years.

Driver Roster: B-
Off-Season: B
2008 Outlook: B-