Burhead
God-Emperor of Politics
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- Jan 3, 2009
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Aside from the delays this has probably been the best 500 in a long time. As a Mark Martin fan I was disappointed that he didn't pull out the victory because he doesn't have that many more attempts to do so but placing 12th is respectable. Unlike in football I have a couple of additional favorite drivers and one of those is Dale Jr, man what a heck of a run he put on at the end. I was pulling for him to win his first 500 but I guess Jamie Mac was another deserving driver as well. I think this is the year Jr. turns it around and makes the Chase while securing 2-3 victories.
I'll try and break down what I saw tonight:
Richard Petty Motorsports really impressed me today as well, the merger with Yates Racing and the switch to Fords really seem to have helped them. While the final results didn't show it but when the RPM cars were running the #9 Kahne, #19 Sadler, #43 Allmendinger, and even the #98 Menard really impressed me. The Fords seem to have some nice speed and power this year. I won't be surprised to see Kahne end up with more then a couple of victories. On a side note Allmendinger really showed me something tonight and could be a force to reckon with.
Not sure what was up with Smoke and Newman tonight but it wasn't overly impressive, terrible way to start the sophomore season for Stewart-Haas Racing with a 22nd place finish for Smoke and a DNF for the #39. Is SHR in for a second season slump?
Next is Michael Waltrip Racing with the #00 David Reutimann and the #56 Martin Truex Jr. I actually believe once Mikey steps away from "racing" for good MWR will really take off. Signing both Truex and Pat Tryson to run the #56 was a real smart decision by Mikey. Both the #56 and #00 were running strong all day and finished with a nice 5th and 6th place. Don't be surprised to see Truex consistently run up front and win a race or two along with Reutimann.
RCR seems to have fixed last year's problems, Harvick and would have won the race IMO. All three RCR cars finished within the top 15 and look set to visit winners circle again in '10.
To be honest the Hendrick cars did not impress me at all outside of the #88. Johnson was running good for awhile but multiple mishaps eventually cost him a 35th place finish and Gordon wrecked on the last lap I believe. Martin started strong by winning the pole and seems to have picked up where he left off last season, I expect a top 5 or 10 finish next week from the #5. Gordon and Johnson really need to rebound strong next week and I want to see if Dale follows up his 2nd place in the 500 with another good showing. This is my own opinion but I don't see the #48 winning another championship this year.
Outside of Kurt Busch Penske Racing doesn't have much firepower this year. I don't see Keselowski making any noise till maybe the second half of the season and I don't see Hornish having a strong year. Kurt ran strong but pitting tonight was extremely stupid move. I expect an average year from the #2 car.
Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin looked good from what I saw of them today, these two guys will be two to watch later in the season as the Chase nears. The jury is still out on Joey Logano but going into his second full season I expect him to make some noise as the season progresses.
What to say about Earnhardt Ganassi Racing? If you would have told me Jamie Mac would have won the Daytona 500 I would have laughed at you personally. Was this a fluke by Mac or a sign of things to come? I'm going to expect big things out of JPM even though I don't like him. I expect him to not only make the Chase but make a serious run at the title this year.
I really didn't see anything out of Brain Vickers at all tonight, might be because I wasn't paying much attention to him or what but his overall performance was weak in my book. Scott Speed made a bold gamble to not pit and was hanging with the leaders till his old tires eventually gave way. I'm going to say that Team Red Bull Racing won't make the Chase this year.
I'm expecting some big things out of Marcos Ambrose this year, late last season I starting coming around to his camp he impressed me with some strong runs late in the season. He did not get off to a great start in the 500 and needs to rebound strong next week. I expect him to win maybe race or two this season and perhaps even make the Chase.
Well that's about all the major teams but I gotta say I hope to see Bobby Labonte do well this season. He is another one of those racers, like Martin, who does their talking on the track and such. Since leaving Gibbs he really has made the most he could with substandard equipment. He still has the talent to be a good driver but needs a decent ride. The #71 TRG Motorsports team has formed an alliance with RCR to provide cars, chassis repairs and testing resources and has an agreement with Stewart-Haas Racing to provide pit crew support and coordination. The team also uses Earnhardt-Childress engines which seem to be faster this year. I'm hoping these upgrades will help improve Labonte and the #71's 2010 season. Finished a decent 21.
Thoughts? Remarks?
I'll try and break down what I saw tonight:
Richard Petty Motorsports really impressed me today as well, the merger with Yates Racing and the switch to Fords really seem to have helped them. While the final results didn't show it but when the RPM cars were running the #9 Kahne, #19 Sadler, #43 Allmendinger, and even the #98 Menard really impressed me. The Fords seem to have some nice speed and power this year. I won't be surprised to see Kahne end up with more then a couple of victories. On a side note Allmendinger really showed me something tonight and could be a force to reckon with.
Not sure what was up with Smoke and Newman tonight but it wasn't overly impressive, terrible way to start the sophomore season for Stewart-Haas Racing with a 22nd place finish for Smoke and a DNF for the #39. Is SHR in for a second season slump?
Next is Michael Waltrip Racing with the #00 David Reutimann and the #56 Martin Truex Jr. I actually believe once Mikey steps away from "racing" for good MWR will really take off. Signing both Truex and Pat Tryson to run the #56 was a real smart decision by Mikey. Both the #56 and #00 were running strong all day and finished with a nice 5th and 6th place. Don't be surprised to see Truex consistently run up front and win a race or two along with Reutimann.
RCR seems to have fixed last year's problems, Harvick and would have won the race IMO. All three RCR cars finished within the top 15 and look set to visit winners circle again in '10.
To be honest the Hendrick cars did not impress me at all outside of the #88. Johnson was running good for awhile but multiple mishaps eventually cost him a 35th place finish and Gordon wrecked on the last lap I believe. Martin started strong by winning the pole and seems to have picked up where he left off last season, I expect a top 5 or 10 finish next week from the #5. Gordon and Johnson really need to rebound strong next week and I want to see if Dale follows up his 2nd place in the 500 with another good showing. This is my own opinion but I don't see the #48 winning another championship this year.
Outside of Kurt Busch Penske Racing doesn't have much firepower this year. I don't see Keselowski making any noise till maybe the second half of the season and I don't see Hornish having a strong year. Kurt ran strong but pitting tonight was extremely stupid move. I expect an average year from the #2 car.
Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin looked good from what I saw of them today, these two guys will be two to watch later in the season as the Chase nears. The jury is still out on Joey Logano but going into his second full season I expect him to make some noise as the season progresses.
What to say about Earnhardt Ganassi Racing? If you would have told me Jamie Mac would have won the Daytona 500 I would have laughed at you personally. Was this a fluke by Mac or a sign of things to come? I'm going to expect big things out of JPM even though I don't like him. I expect him to not only make the Chase but make a serious run at the title this year.
I really didn't see anything out of Brain Vickers at all tonight, might be because I wasn't paying much attention to him or what but his overall performance was weak in my book. Scott Speed made a bold gamble to not pit and was hanging with the leaders till his old tires eventually gave way. I'm going to say that Team Red Bull Racing won't make the Chase this year.
I'm expecting some big things out of Marcos Ambrose this year, late last season I starting coming around to his camp he impressed me with some strong runs late in the season. He did not get off to a great start in the 500 and needs to rebound strong next week. I expect him to win maybe race or two this season and perhaps even make the Chase.
Well that's about all the major teams but I gotta say I hope to see Bobby Labonte do well this season. He is another one of those racers, like Martin, who does their talking on the track and such. Since leaving Gibbs he really has made the most he could with substandard equipment. He still has the talent to be a good driver but needs a decent ride. The #71 TRG Motorsports team has formed an alliance with RCR to provide cars, chassis repairs and testing resources and has an agreement with Stewart-Haas Racing to provide pit crew support and coordination. The team also uses Earnhardt-Childress engines which seem to be faster this year. I'm hoping these upgrades will help improve Labonte and the #71's 2010 season. Finished a decent 21.
Thoughts? Remarks?
