Note: I meant to post this story BEFORE the Texas race last Saturday. Fortunately, not much happened at that race so most of what you read would have been the same even if I had included Texas in this.
This past Easter weekend was the first time since mid-February that NASCAR drivers got some time to rest up and prepare for the remaining season. The week off also allows us fans to reflect on the first six weeks of the season and to look forward at the next 30 races.
The Daytona 500, NASCAR’s annual start to the season, introduced a return to “pack racing”. Gone was the tandem racing that has dominated the restrictor plate races the last two seasons. Roush Racing dominated that event and Matt Kenseth won the race. Kenneth’s teammates, Greg Bifle and Carl Edwards, finished second and eighth, respectively. “Roushketeer” Greg Bifle finished third in the next two races and jumped to 1st place in the 2012 Standings. Bifle is still currently the point’s leader, although he hasn’t finished in the Top 5 in any of the last three races.
Tony Stewart has continued his success from last season as he already has two wins in 2012 and is third in the standings. Brad Keselowski is also showing that he is a force to be reckoned with. Brad had a great run at Bristol that finished with him in Victory Lane. The big surprise of the season so far is the success of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale is sitting 2nd in the point’s standings. That’s as high as he has been in as long as I can remember. Jr. doesn’t have any wins, but he has really fast cars and has three Top 5’s. Jr. is also showing an emotion his fans have not seen in a long time, cheerfulness. He will get at least one win this season; guaranteed.
Here are the points standings through six races:
1: Greg Bifle 226
2: Dale Earnhardt Jr. -6*
3: Tony Stewart -12*
4: Matt Kenseth -12
5: Kevin Harvick -12*
6: Martin Truex Jr. -12
7: Denny Hamlin -16
8: Ryan Newman -24
9: Clint Bowyer -34
10: Jimmie Johnson -37*
11: Carl Edwards -47*
12: Brad Keselowski -51*
13: Joey Logano -59
14: Paul Menard -60
15: Jeff Burton -62
16: Kyle Busch -75
17: Juan Pablo Montoya-80
18: Regan Smith -80*
19: Aric Almirola -82
20: A.J. Allmendinger -83*
*- drivers I picked before the season to watch for this year
You’ve probably noticed there are some big name drivers that aren’t in the Top 20. Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne are two of those drivers. Both have put themselves in positions to win races but have had awful luck so far. In fact, Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t won a race since late last season. I wouldn’t worry yet, though. Johnson and Jr. are in great position to make the Chase and Gordon and Kahne are too talented to not run into some good luck.
You may also notice that two of the drivers that I picked to have great seasons aren’t in the Top 20; one of those I’ve already mentioned, Kahne. The other is Regan Smith. Smith has not made much progress since his one victory last season. Hopefully he can get back on track and get some Top 10’s.
Next 8 races
4/14- Texas (Samsung 500)
4/22- Kansas (STP 400)
4/28- Richmond (Richmond 400)
5/6- Talladega (Aaron’s 499)
5/12- Darlington (Bojangles’ Southern 500
5/19- All-Star Race (non-points event)
5/27- Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600)
6/3- Dover (FedEx 400)
A lot of exciting races to conclude Spring and head into the Summer tracks. Texas, Kansas, Charlotte are 1.5 mile, high-banked tracks. Talladega is a 2.66 mile beast that always produces great finishes. Darlington is 1.6 mile track that is considered NASCAR’s first superspeedway. It is also one of the hardest tracks to drive on and is one of my favorite races to watch. Dover, or the “Monster Mile”, is exciting, but 100 laps too long.
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