Earnhardt Jr., Gibbs team appear to be strongest in early going
With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series taking a breather and the Nationwide Series in another nation this weekend, it's a good time to take a look at the good, bad and ugly of the NASCAR season so far.
The Good
Junior's renaissance: The change of scenery and equipment has done wonders for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Although he hasn't won a points race yet, Earhnardt is off to one of the best starts of his career. He's third in series points with three top-five and six top-10 finishes in eight starts. In 2007, he took until mid-June to reach six top 10s.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is off to a fast start, ranking third on the series points list with six top-10 finishes in eight starts while Tony Stewart appears to have adjusted to driving a Toyota with five top-10 finishes. He is seventh in the points race.
He has also finished outside the top 15 just once so far, something he did four times in the first eight races last year.
Toyota-JGR partnership: After Joe Gibbs Racing announced that it had signed on to race under the Toyota banner, it was widely assumed that the race team that features drivers Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and team newcomer Kyle Busch would take its lumps this season.
Instead, Gibbs drivers have been dishing out the lumps.
Busch has started the season like a madman. He's at or near the top of all three major NASCAR series and has five total wins (one Sprint win).
Hamlin is sixth in points, won at Martinsville and finished no worse than sixth in four straight races.
Stewart has been the straggler of the bunch, but he's still seventh in points with five top-10 finishes. Historically, Stewart really doesn't hit his stride until summer, so his best should be still to come.
Barring a collapse, all three of these drivers should easily make the Chase for the Championship, not too bad for a team that was projected to have to fight to get one team in.
Instead, Gibbs drivers have been dishing out the lumps.
Busch has started the season like a madman. He's at or near the top of all three major NASCAR series and has five total wins (one Sprint win).
Hamlin is sixth in points, won at Martinsville and finished no worse than sixth in four straight races.
Stewart has been the straggler of the bunch, but he's still seventh in points with five top-10 finishes. Historically, Stewart really doesn't hit his stride until summer, so his best should be still to come.
Barring a collapse, all three of these drivers should easily make the Chase for the Championship, not too bad for a team that was projected to have to fight to get one team in.
Roush Fenway chassis program: When NASCAR introduced its "Car of Tomorrow" chassis in a limited basis last season, the Roush Fenway Fords were behind the curve compared to the rest of the sport's power teams.
Roush has caught up in a big way with three drivers in the top 15, including three wins from Carl Edwards.
Roush has caught up in a big way with three drivers in the top 15, including three wins from Carl Edwards.
The Bad
Gordon's rocky start: Jeff Gordon was so dominant at the start of last year, it was expected he'd pick up last year where he started.
Not so fast -- literally.
The team that seemed to have aced the new car is struggling to find the handle now.
Last year, Gordon finished outside the top 10 just six times total. He's already done that five times this season, and he's just 13th in the points.
Rookie blues: It has not been an easy transition for the NASCAR rookies who have made the switch from the open-wheel ranks.
Former IndyCar champ Sam Hornish Jr. is the series' top rookie, but that's not saying a whole lot since he's 33rd in the standings.
Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier are further back and each has failed to qualify for a couple of races.
The Ugly
Dodge's drop: The season started with so much promise for the Dodge teams.
Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 to lead a 1-2 Penske finish. Dodge took seven of the top 14 spots in the race and seemed poised to be a major contender.
Since then, it has been pretty much nothing but misery for Dodge teams. Dodge has only two drivers in the all-important top 12 (Newman and Kasey Kahne) and only one Dodge driver has cracked the top five since Daytona.
An irked Chip Ganassi shuffled some crew chiefs in hopes of breathing some life into his team.
Gordon's rocky start: Jeff Gordon was so dominant at the start of last year, it was expected he'd pick up last year where he started.
Not so fast -- literally.
The team that seemed to have aced the new car is struggling to find the handle now.
Last year, Gordon finished outside the top 10 just six times total. He's already done that five times this season, and he's just 13th in the points.
Rookie blues: It has not been an easy transition for the NASCAR rookies who have made the switch from the open-wheel ranks.
Former IndyCar champ Sam Hornish Jr. is the series' top rookie, but that's not saying a whole lot since he's 33rd in the standings.
Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier are further back and each has failed to qualify for a couple of races.
The Ugly
Dodge's drop: The season started with so much promise for the Dodge teams.
Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 to lead a 1-2 Penske finish. Dodge took seven of the top 14 spots in the race and seemed poised to be a major contender.
Since then, it has been pretty much nothing but misery for Dodge teams. Dodge has only two drivers in the all-important top 12 (Newman and Kasey Kahne) and only one Dodge driver has cracked the top five since Daytona.
An irked Chip Ganassi shuffled some crew chiefs in hopes of breathing some life into his team.
Next week's Sprint Cup race is at another restrictor-plate track, Talladega, so maybe those flagging teams can get a boost they can sustain. By Craig Wack
Past success does not guarantee that future will bring the same. The same goes for past failures. When you finally hit on the right combination, you're unstoppable. If you fall on hard times, it's hard to dig yourself out of the ditch you've fallen into. Hopefully some things will stay the same, and as history proves, some things will change. Not all for the better and unfortunately, I don't get to choose either way. Silly Season has started early this year. Is that a good thing?
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