October 6th - October 10th, 2008
Wednesday: Did your driver survive the Talladega carnage, or did the Big One spell disaster for his spot in the Top 15? Find out where the Frontstretch Staff rates your favorite in this week's Power Rankings!
Thursday: Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off about whether a broadcaster's interest in a race team constitutes a conflict of interest when they're on the air.
Friday: Our John Potts tells it like it is in racing because he lived it - and he'll share it all with you in Driven to the Past.
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I love studying the point standings at the beginning of the season. The first five or six races are intriguing in that unheralded drivers often float to the top of the rankings by running steady — not necessarily great — and avoiding early pitfalls that can start a team in the hole, if not derail their season completely.
After only two races in the 2007 Nextel Cup campaign, I find myself amused already.
Who would have thought Mark Martin, in a part-time role no less, would be leading the standings and having to wrestle — whether he'll admit it or not — with the thought (once again) of doing an about face and seeing this season through? Come to think of it, who would have believed the No. 01 US Army Chevy would have been the vehicle in which Martin would ride to consecutive Top 5 finishes to start the year?
At the opposite end of the age spectrum, we have 21-year-old David Ragan as the year’s early rookie surprise. This youngster was rushed through the system and thrown into Martin's old No. 6 ride at Roush Fenway Racing. After hitting everything on the track in two events last season, the young man has amazed by keeping his nose clean en route to 5th and 16th-place runs. By simply not screwing up, Ragan finds himself fifth in the point standings.
Other oddities? How about Joe Nemechek driving for a brand new team at Ginn Motorsports that, until a few weeks ago, did not even have sponsorship. Joe slid through the last-lap carnage at Daytona and stayed smooth at California and now finds himself seventh in the standings. J.J. Yeley sits eighth at the moment by traveling the same road, putting him higher in points than both of his more famous Joe Gibbs Racing teammates. Can you imagine these two, along with Ragan, David Gilliland and David Stremme — who sit 10th and 11th in points, respectively — making the Chase while Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart sit mired in the teens, twenties and thirties?
While we all know this is not going to happen — admit it, Ragan, Stremme and Gilliland will slide — it makes for great water cooler talk. Better, it makes for more intense racing on Sundays. Busch is 19th in points; Stewart 21st; Carl Edwards 26th; Kahne 32nd; Earnhardt, Jr. 40th. While it's too early to panic, it's never too early to light a fire under some backsides and rebound from a miserable start.
Recall how Stewart missed the Chase last season by the slimmest of margins. After running a solid fifth in the Daytona 500, he bombed at California and Vegas to the tune of 43rd- and 21st-place finishes. Think he wouldn't have liked those two early-season stinkers back when Richmond rolled around?
Yes, it's early. Yes, studying the point standings after Race No. 2 is an exercise in futility. No, we should not put too much stock in a driver and his team based on two events, especially when one was a plate race. But mark my words: At least one of the drivers mentioned — Busch, Stewart, Edwards, Kahne, Earnhardt — will be on the bubble come Richmond. Think he won't look back on the season's first two races and cringe?
Still haven’t joined the Frontstretch Forums? Here’s a peek at what you’re
missing this week:
How do you feel about A.J. Allmendinger’s release from Red Bull Racing?
Are you surprised to see Paul Menard leaving DEI?
If you’d prefer to stay out of controversial NASCAR topics, feel free to join us in The Infield, where we talk about everything from politics to stick and ball sports to jokes and odd news from around the world.
And for those of you that might visit The Frontstretch Forums to kill time, feel free to join in our Games forum. It’s the perfect place to waste away countless hours playing word association, hangman, and much, much more.
Click here to join the forums and tell us what you think. Don’t miss out on a chance to share your opinion with a growing community of fans just like you!
Message Board Quote of the Week: “I don’t see how Rusty + DEI + COT = competitive on the racetrack in 2009. I do see how Rusty could hook a sponsor, though, which DEI needs more than ever with Paul Menard leaving and taking the Menards money with him.” Scott B on rumors that Rusty Wallace would be making a return to NASCAR behind the wheel of a DEI-owned machine
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