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Nascar and Racing

NASCAR Off-Week Check-Up

Posted Mar 13, 2009 8:00PM By Holly Cain (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, Joey Logano

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During one of only four off-weeks all season, it's a good time to breathe and check out the early-season statistics. It's way to early to come to any conclusions, but it's been an interesting few weeks of haves and have-nots.

Here's a look at who's getting the thumbs-up or thumbs-down as we prepare for one of the best shows NASCAR has to offer -- 500 laps at the half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway next Sunday afternoon.

Jeff Gordon: Thumbs Up
This is an obvious and, let's face it, sentimental selection for the points leader. Gordon never fell off the championship wagon, but his first winless season last year convinced the non-believers that he was somehow on his way out. Come on, this is Jeff Gordon.

The four-time champ has returned to form with two runner-up finishes in the last three races -- and his 13th place in the roll-of-the-dice Daytona 500 is his only effort worse than sixth. Get used to seeing his name atop the leaderboard and soon his car in victory lane over and over.

Clint Bowyer: Thumbs Up
This is not only because Bowyer is ranked second, only 43 points behind Gordon, but because of the fact that Bowyer is the best-performing driver most of the country still doesn't know about. The quiet, personable Kansas native is proving you don't have to have a household name to consistently better the household names. Last year he qualified for the Chase and won the Nationwide Series title. This year he's right back in the thick of the Sprint Cup Series championship -- with three top-six finishes -- even after having his former car, sponsor, and crew uprooted at Richard Childress Racing. That's C-L-I-N-T B-O-W-Y-E-R.

Mark Martin: Thumbs Down
This is not of his own doing, unless you count that dark cloud of so-close that has followed Martin throughout his career. After coming out of retirement for a fulltime ride with NASCAR's most dominant Hendrick Motorsports team, even the typically cautious Martin got caught up in high expectations. That's what makes his 34th place ranking so disheartening. He's started from the front row twice -- won the pole last week at Atlanta -- but had two DNFs (engine failures). The 50-year-old's only finish higher than 30th came in the Daytona 500. Even Martin admitted last week, "I do have a history of not being the luckiest guy in the world."

Latest NASCAR Images

    In a photo provided by the NHRA through Auto Imagery Inc., NHRA Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta is seen in an undated photo. Much like NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt's racing death in February of 2001, the deaths of the 33-year-old Eric Medlen and the 46-year-old Kalitta have been a catalyst for major safety changes in the sport. (AP Photo/NHRA, via Auto Imagery Inc.) ** NO SALES **

    AP

    In this Oct. 15, 2006 photo provided by RacersEdgePhotography, Eric Medlen celebrates winning a Funny Car race at the TORCO RACING FUELS NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va. Much like NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt's racing death in February of 2001, the deaths of the 33-year-old Medlen and 46-year-old Scott Kalitta have been a catalyst for major safety changes in the sport. (AP Photo/RacersEdgePhotography, Ken Sklute) ** NO SALES **

    AP

    ** FILE ** This is a Feb. 5, 2009, file photo showing NASCAR driver David Reutimann at media day at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Reutimann is proving that nice guys don't always finish last. The polite-almost-to-a-fault driver for Michael Waltrip Racing is off to a decent start in 2009, good news for his boss' struggling franchise. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay, File)

    AP

    ** FILE ** This is a Feb. 5, 2009 file photo showing NASCAR driver Mark Martin at media day at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. This was supposed to be Mark Martin's best shot at a championship. Instead, two motors and a tire failed him the past three weeks, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports driver 34th in the Sprint Cup Series standings. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

    AP

    ** FILE ** This is a March 8, 2009, file photo showing Mark Martin sliding across the infield grass during the NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500 auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. This was supposed to be Mark Martin's best shot at a championship. Instead, two motors and a tire failed him the past three weeks, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports driver 34th in the Sprint Cup Series standings. (AP Photo/Mark Young, File)

    AP

    Kurt Busch (2) leads a pack of cars into Turn One during the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, March 8, 2009. (Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)

    MCT

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch action during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    HAMPTON, GA - MARCH 08: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    HAMPTON, GA - MARCH 08: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images


Rookie Class: Thumbs Down
Come on guys, even without the testing we expected more. And that's the irony. Australian Marcos Ambrose is schooling the marquee wonderkids Joey Logano and Scott Speed thus far. With three top-22 finishes, Ambrose was ranked 20th until a DNF at Atlanta Sunday dropped him to 28th. Still that's better than "Sliced Bread" Logano, who is 33rd in points without a single finish better than 32nd in the famously strong No. 20 Home Depot Toyota vacated by Tony Stewart. Former F1 driver Scott Speed is also looking for his first top-30 run and is ranked even worse -- 37th. We're not expecting a victory, but how about a glimpse of competitiveness.

Brian Vickers: Thumbs Up
If not for a melee in Daytona, Vickers would be ranked even higher than the 11th place position he finds himself in. That Daytona DNF -- on the frustrated bumper of Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- is his only finish outside of the top-10. Few people predicted this one-time Cup winner would be hanging with the big boys even this early on. And while Vickers infuriated the Junior Nation by calling Earnhardt out on national television for their Daytona dust-up, he's having the last laugh. For now. Earnhardt is ranked 24th -- 80 points behind.

The Rest of Hendrick Motorsports: Thumbs Down
Of course three-time defending Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson will make the Chase and so will his teammate Earnhardt. But if people are surprised that second-year driver David Reutimann and Vickers are ranked among the top-12, they are even more surprised that Johnson and Earnhardt aren't. It's way early and both have had their best results in the past two weeks, but it's time to go. Johnson has spotted Gordon 177 points already, but is less than 20 points behind 12th place Reutimann in the Chase cut-off position. He made up six positions last week alone. Earnhardt is 237 behind Gordon, but only 78 points out of 12th place.

The Busch Brothers: Two Thumbs Up
Older brother Kurt -- you know, the guy who won the 2004 Cup championship -- says he's beginning to hold up his end of the family bargain. His win Sunday at Atlanta moved him up four positions in the rankings to third -- right by younger brother Kyle -- and marked his third top-10 of the year. It was a big victory for Dodge, which has struggled in the past year, and a redemption for Kurt and the once perennial favorite Penske Racing team. Kyle, meanwhile, has a victory at hometown Las Vegas, is ranked seventh and has already earned a pair of Camping World Truck Series wins in his spare time. As NASCAR's winningest driver in 2008, everyone expected to see Kyle out front. It's his big brother's resurgence that has people talking and the rest of the garage on its toes.

Stewart-Haas Racing: Thumbs Up and Down, A Push
Team owner-driver Tony Stewart admitted to surprising himself with a tremendous outing right out of the box at Daytona. He's had three eighth-place finishes in four races and is ranked solidly among the early Chase contenders. All's well on the owner-driver double. It's the owner-only hat that's struggling. His teammate Ryan Newman is ranked 32nd and doesn't have a top-20 yet. He trails 12th place Reutimann by 151 points. Newman has only 48 points more than David Gilliland -- and Gilliland's only competed in three of the four races.

Drug Testing: Thumbs Up
Two crew members -- one from the Sprint Cup Series and one from the Nationwide Series -- have tested positive for illegal substances and have been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. It's a small percentage of the thousands who took the mandatory test in the preseason. But it makes you wonder. If two people have been suspended in as many months knowing that they were subject to testing, what was going on before NASCAR modified its policy for 2009? Random tests continue at every race venue (about a dozen per week) and hopefully that will be a successful deterrent. There's no gray area in a life-and-death sport.

Attendance: Thumbs Down
This is a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty situation. Attendance has been down, but the television ratings are up and the camera operators have taken creativity to new heights with their crowd shots.

Tires: Thumbs Down
We're tired of having to hear about them. Let's get it right.

Tags: brian+vickers, clint+bowyer, dale+earnhardt+jr, david+gilliland, david+reutimann, jeff+gordon, jimmie+johnson, joey+logano, marcos_ambrose, mark+martin, ryan+newman, scott+speed, tony+stewart

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