10. Matt Kenseth – 22 races – Last Win: Homestead-Miami Speedway, Fall 2007
9. Jeff Gordon – 27 races – Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Fall 2007
8. Greg Biffle – 29 races – Kansas Speedway, Fall 2007
7. Tony Stewart – 36 races – Watkins Glen International, Summer 2007
6. Jamie McMurray – 40 races – Daytona International Speedway, Summer 2007

5. Martin Truex Jr. – 45 races – Dover International Speedway, Spring 2007
4. Kevin Harvick – 57 races – Daytona International Speedway, Spring 2007
3. David Ragan – 60 races – No NSCS wins
2. Brian Vickers – 68 races – Talladega Superspeedway, Fall 2006
1. Elliott Sadler – 141 races – Auto Club Speedway, Fall 2004

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Longest Winless Streaks Inside the Top 20

With the cutoff for the Chase quickly approaching, a mere 5 races now separates us from the beginning of NASCAR’s playoff season. Yet, still, there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the air as to whom will be competing for a championship in the final 10 races and who will be racing to build momentum for the 2009 season. Only 80 points separates 7th place Kasey Kahne from 12th place Clint Bowyer, and only 46 points from Bowyer back to 14th place David Ragan. Even Brian Vickers all the way back in 16th still has a shot at this thing as he lingers 203 points out from the final Chase cutoff spot.

So, with 8 drivers still caught up in a tight race for those final 6 positions in the Chase, and 2 others still holding out hope, this week’s “List of the Week” is a look at each of the ten drivers’ average finish throughout races 22 to 26 on the Schedule – or, the final 5 races leading into the Chase, rather – since the inception of the Chase back in 2004. It should be noted, however, that of these 10 drivers, three of them – Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, and David Ragan – have not been full-time drivers through all four seasons that carried the Chase format, and these numbers reflect only race results from which the drivers were competing full-time.

10. Brian Vickers – 16th in pts – 21.5
9. David Ragan – 14th in pts – 21.2
8. Ryan Newman – 15th in pts – 17.9
7. Clint Bowyer – 12th in pts – 16.8
6. Greg Biffle – 8th in pts – 16.6

5. Kevin Harvick – 11th in pts – 15.6
4. Kasey Kahne – 7th in pts – 14.4
3. Denny Hamlin – 10th in pts – 12.1
2. Matt Kenseth – 13th in pts – 11.1
1. Tony Stewart – 9th in pts – 8.8

Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart also lead these drivers with the most wins during those races with 3 apiece; Harvick has 2 wins in the final 5 races leading to the Chase since 2004; and Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle each have a win to their credit as well.

Best Single Season Average Run Through Final 5 Races Leading to the Chase:
5. Kevin Harvick – 7.8 (2006)
4. Matt Kenseth – 7.6 (2006)
3. Matt Kenseth – 6.2 (2005)
2. Tony Stewart – 6.0 (2007)
1. Tony Stewart – 5.2 (2005)

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Bubble Drivers Race to the Chase

Coming off the heels of a very disappointing race this weekend at Indianapolis, it got me thinking of what some of the biggest factors can be to ruining a race for us – the fans. Of course, we’re always unhappy when our driver finishes outside of the top-ten, or even worse, when the driver that we adamently root against wins the race … but, I’m thinking of things beyond that. I’m talking about the actual elements that help give the race a lackluster feel to it. Here goes …

5. Multiple Cautions for Debris – These are obviously a part of racing that is more often than not well out of the control of NASCAR or anyone else. You get one or two of these, fine, no biggie – let’s move on. But, when you start getting 3, 4, or even 5 of these things, then you’re just left with an unwanted lull in the action.

4. Red Flags – I don’t really care what it’s for. Whether it’s for rain, a huge wreck, or a portion of the track coming unsurfaced, an extended period under red can take the wind right out of the race’s sails.

3. Rain – There’s obviously nothing you can do to ward it off, but when Mother Nature strikes the NASCAR track, she pretty much dictates the entire event. Teams have to start working different strategies based on when they thing the rain will come, and if it does, all too often we’re left with a guy standing in Victory Lane that really didn’t deserve it.

2. Over-Abundance of Commercial Breaks – We all know that the networks make the bulk of their money off advertising, and personally, I’m okay with that. But, at some point you’ve just got to draw the line. Take this past weekend for example. ESPN knew that NASCAR was going to continually run their competition caution periods, and even if they didn’t, there were going to be enough tire issues to fill the caution quota anyway. But, as if 11 caution periods weren’t enough to get in all the advertising they could hope for, the network still decided to cut to commercial at least once during every green flag run. I wasn’t counting, but I’d imagine that there were AT LEAST 20 commercial breaks … in  a 160 lap race. Do the math.

1. Bringing the Wrong Tire Package – This past weekend at Indy was obviously about as bad as it could possibly get, and kudos to NASCAR for doing their best to work around Goodyear’s blunder. But, even when it’s not the absolute worst, the wrong tire package can absolutely destroy a race. Whether it results in a race filled with competition cautions (Indy) or it results in multiple cars blowing tires for no real reason (Las Vegas) or it hinders on-the-track passing to the point of sheer boredom (Atlanta), the tires themselves play a major role in determining what the cars look like out there on the track.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Elements that Can Ruin a Race

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There’s only 6 races to go before we make it to Richmond, and then, after that 7th race is over, we’ll know once and for all who’s in and who’s out of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Historically speaking – since they first turned to the Chase format a few years ago – those who were in at this point in the season have typically stayed in, and those who were out have typically stayed out ….. but, this season could be one that breaks all the rules. While I think it’s safe to assume that Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon – the top-six in points – are all in, I can’t speak of spots 7 through 12 with the same level of certainty. Only 133 points separates 7th place Greg Biffle from 15th place David Ragan, and only 245 points separates 12th place Denny Hamlin to 18th place Kurt Busch.

That means that there’s six teams currently sitting outside of the Chase that I still believe it’s too early to count out of it, and that gives you 12 teams vying for those final 6 spots. That, of course, is the inspiration for this week’s “List of the Week”. Here’s who I say makes in 7th through 12th by the end of Richmond:

(*Note – I’m not going to move anyone out of the top-six any higher than sixth heading into the Chase, though I think they will be)

7th – Matt Kenseth
8th – Tony Stewart
9th – Greg Biffle
10th – Kevin Harvick
11th – Brian Vickers
12th – Clint Bowyer

This puts both Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin out of the top-12 where both currently sit, and also shuts the door on David Ragan, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr, and Kurt Busch.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Bottom Half Chasers

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With all of the shakeup that’s taken place here within the last few weeks – between Hendrick Motorsports announcing the release of Casey Mears and the addition of Mark Martin to their stable next season, and then Tony Stewart leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to venture into the car ownership business – I believe that enough “dominoes” have fallen now for everything else to start to follow suit. And, with that, I offer you my top-five predictions for how the rest of this will all sort itself out leading into the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

5. If they are unable to lock on long-term sponsorship, Chip Ganassi will replace Reed Sorenson with Dario Franchitti inside the no. 40 car. Sorenson will then be relegated to a lower-tier team, or possibly find himself out of a Cup ride altogether next season.

4. Penske Racing will promote their current test driver, David Stremme, back up to the Cup Series to drive the no. 12 car once Ryan Newman announces his departure from the team.

3. Casey Mears will sign with Richard Childress Racing to drive for the newly formed #33 team in 2009.

2. Joe Gibbs Racing will scrap their plans to field a fourth Cup car in 2009 and promote the young Joey Logano up to the Cup Series to fill the void left in the #20 team.

1. Ryan Newman will leave Penske Racing and sign with Stewart Haas Racing in 2009 to drive the car opposite of Tony Stewart.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: 5 Predictions for NASCAR’s Silly Season

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In the face of all of the scrutiny that has overcome NASCAR’s recent development, the Car of Tomorrow, there have also been quite a few tracks that have seen improved racing this year, largely attributed to the new car. Based on what we’ve seen this season and in the limited number of COT races in 2007, here are the tracks that have seen the most improvement:

5. Phoenix International Raceway – Though the racing was never terrible at Phoenix, it wasn’t great, either. The Subway Fresh Fit 500, however, ranks amongst my favorite races of the first half of the season, and that’s even with the outcome being determined by fuel mileage (which is something I can easily get tired of).

4. Infineon Raceway – While road course racing has never been my favorite, I always had a particularly bad perception of Infineon out in Sonoma, CA. While I still didn’t think the Toyota Save/Mart 350 in June was great by any means, I did think that the track had found significant improvement from where it was in years past.

3. New Hampshire Motor Speedway – While the Car of Tomorrow setup doesn’t seem to agree with the 1.5 mile “cookie cutter” tracks thus far, it seems to have done wonders for the action at the 1.0 speedway in Loudon, NH. While I would typically dread the very thought of NASCAR’s visit to New Hampshire, I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased with the action in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 just a couple of weeks ago.

2. Daytona International Speedway – Despite it being the most hyped and celebrated of all tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule, more often than not, the hype seemed to out perform that actual races themselves. That no longer seems to be the case, however, as both the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 rank amongst the best and most exciting races through the first half of 2008.

1. Talladega Superspeedway – There was quite a bit of uncertainty when the teams unloaded the COT at Talladega for the first time earlier this Spring, but in the end, the Aaron’s 499 resembled something along the lines of an actual race instead of just the crapshoot that it normally is (or was).

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: 5 Tracks Improved by the COT

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With the Sprint Cup Series now just one week away from reaching the official halfway marker of 2008, DYN is going to take a look at the 5 most disappointing teams and drivers in the series so far this year:

5. Ryan Newman – no. 12 car – Penske Racing – After missing out on the Chase for the Cup playoffs in each of the past two seasons, Newman came into 2008 – his contract year with Penske – with high hopes of finding some of the magic that he and the no. 12 team had a little earlier in his career. Things got off to a great start when Ryan gave Roger Penske his first-ever restrictor plate win when he won the season-opening Daytona 500, but the season’s been downhill ever since. Newman’s finished inside the top-five only once more since then, and has slipped down to 15th in the standings.

4. Dario Franchitti – no. 40 car – Chip Ganassi Racing – Nobody should have been expecting this team to tally any marks in the win column in Dario’s rookie campaign in the Sprint Cup Series, but sharing a team with Juan Pablo Montoya, many believed that he would be able to use a lot of the second-hand information from JPM’s transition into stock cars last year to his advantage. That has not been the case thus far, however, as Dario has failed to finish inside of the top-20 in any of the ten races he’s competed in this year. Even more disappointing is the fact that he failed to qualify for the road course race in Sonoma, the place where Montoya picked up his first NASCAR win and many felt that Dario would get his best finish to-date. 

3. Elliott Sadler – no. 19 car – Gillette-Evernham Motorsports – Once considered a perrenial Chase contender while racing for Yates Racing, Sadler came to Evernham Motorsports with high hopes when he relieved Jeremy Mayfield of his driving duties in the no. 19 car. Things haven’t really panned out so far, though, as Elliott just recently picked up his first top-five of the season last weekend at Loudon. They have also been unable to improve on their points position from last year. In 2007 he finished 25th in the standings, which is also where he currently sits 17 races into 2008.

2. Jamie McMurray – no. 26 car – Roush-Fenway Racing: In a NASCAR season that’s been dominated with Silly Season headlines, McMurray is one of the remaining drivers that still finds his name on the potential chopping block. Even if he survives 2008 with a job in-hand, he can pretty count on ‘09 being his last year with the organization unless he performs anything short of a miracle. 17 races into the season, McMurray finds himself with only 3 top-ten finishes, and no top-five efforts to show. 2006 – McMurray’s first season with Roush – marked the worst points season of Jamie’s career when he finished 25th. After climbing up to 17th last season, many people felt that he and the no. 26 team were finally beginning to develop some chemistry, but that has not been the case. He dropped as low as 36th in the standings earlier in the year following Bristol. They’ve been able to find a level of consistency since then, but they still find themselves down in 24th in the points, with very little hope of making the Chase.

1. Kurt Busch – no. 2 car – Penske Racing: After the addition of Pat Tryson as the Crew Chief, the team made a late-summer charge in 2007 to get Kurt into the Chase for the Cup, and the they came into 2008 with high expectations across the board. Kurt just recently picked up his first victory of the season last weekend at New Hampshire, but the car still tremendously lacked the desired performance. Furthermore, the win gave Kurt only his third top-ten finish of the season. The team finished 8th in points in 2007, but currently sit 18th overall and find themselves 222 points behind 12th place, Kevin Harvick.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Most Disappointing Runs Through the First-Half of ‘08

David Gilliland almost got it done on Sunday at Sonoma, and we’ve seen a few impressive runs from unlikely candidates earlier in the year. But, following up on a 2007 that brought us a handful of first-time winners in the Cup Series, I find it surprising that we’ve yet to have even one this season. So, it got me to thinking, that’s led us to this week’s “List of the Week”, in which I will rank the five likeliest candidates currently driving in the Cup Series to become the next first-time winner:

5. David Reutimann – Running in his second full-time season for Michael Waltrip Racing, Reutimann still lacks the consistency that it takes to win in this sport. However, he does seem mature and poised enough to strike at any time. His best run to-date was 10th this past May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

4. David Gilliland – Gilliland took over the no. 38 car at Yates Racing with high expectations, but those have yet to come to fruition. In his third full season in the Cup Series, David has amassed only 2 top-five’s and 4 top-ten’s, but his unexpected 2nd place run last weekend at Infineon could re-energize this team.

3. AJ Allmendinger – In his two seasons in Cup, he’s failed to qualify for almost as many races as he’s run, and it was beginning to look as though the kid didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell for success at NASCAR’s premier level. But, when Team Red Bull replaced AJ with veteran Mike Skinner inside the no. 84 machine earlier this season, it seems to have paid dividends, and Allmendinger has since responded with some very stout runs, though the finishes haven’t necessarly been indicative of such good runs.

2. Travis Kvapil – He’s had a rough go of it in his quest to become a Cup Series regular, and things haven’t gotten much easier as he and Yates Racing struggle on a weekly basis to attain sponsorship for the no. 28 car. Yet, here they sit with 3 top-ten finishes on the season, and they’re 18th in points. Travis has handled himself well on a variety of tracks, and could be ready to strike at any moment.

1. David Ragan – Most people didn’t expect Ragan to improve as quickly as he has, but he’s been knocking on the doorsteps of the Chase field nearly all season long, and has run surprisingly well at many points during the season. He has 2 top-five’s and 4 top-ten’s on the season, but perhaps most impressive is his 9 top-15’s. His no. 6 team has helped him build a model of consistency week in and week out, and it will eventually payoff with some trips to Victory Lane.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Winless Cup Series Drivers

4. Kyle Busch’s ” Victory Bow”

3. Jimmie Johnson Burnout

2. Carl Edwards’ Backflip

1. Tony Stewart’s “Fence Climb”

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Best Current Victory Celebrations

10. Nicole Biffle (wife of Greg Biffle)

9. Katie Kenseth (wife of Matt Kenseth)

8. Lynne Allmendinger (wife of AJ Allmendinger)

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7. Buffy Waltrip (wife of Michael Waltrip)

6. Crystal Hornish (wife of Sam Hornish Jr.)


5. Krissie Newman (wife of Ryan Newman)

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4. Eva Busch (wife of Kurt Busch)

3. Ashley Judd (wife of Dario Franchitti)

2. Ingrid Vondebosch (wife of Jeff Gordon)

1. Chandra Johnson (wife of Jimmie Johnson)

And, another just for good measure …

And, she’s not a wife, but it wouldn’t be complete without her …
Athena Barber (ex-girlfriend of Clint Bowyer)

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*Credit photos of Nicole, Katie, Buffy, Crystal, Eva, Ashley, Ingrid, and Chandra to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: NASCAR’s Sexiest Divas