Dale Jr's Best Start To A Season...

Prior to the start of the 2013 season, 2004 and 2008 stood out as the best seasons for Dale Jr. out of the gate.  Both seasons were important from different standpoints for Junior: 2004 was Junior's first real title challenge and 2008 was Dale Jr.'s first season with Rick Hendrick.

In '04, Junior started the season with wins at Daytona and Atlanta, a 5th place finish at Rockingham, and a 10th place finish at Darlington.  Although some may say Dale Jr. was better at being aggressive in his earlier seasons, he definitely wasn't as good at taking care of his equipment, which led to a few dissappointing finishes early and late in the season.

All in all, 2004 was a great year for Junior, but had he been able to finish the season the way he started we may all have been calling him a former champion.  His late season finishes of 33rd at Martinsville and Atlanta effectively removed him from the championship hunt.  Even a Phoenix win just before the end of the season couldn't bring him back.

With the 2004 season ending in "What might have been.." Dale Jr. lost his crew chief, Tony Eury Sr., to a "promotion" and began working with his cousing Tony Eury Jr.  Fifteen of Junior's nineteen Sprint Cup wins came with Tony Eury Sr., along with two Nationwide Series Championships.  Even though the '04 season began with promise, iit ended in a change that didn't go as well as many hoped.

The 2008 season, as in '04, began strong, with three top 5's and a top 10 finish.  Everyone was expecting Dale Jr. to show what he could do now that he was finally in Hendrick race cars and away from his stepmother.  The fan fare didn't last long, though, as frustration between he and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. grew from inconsistent finishes which gave way to poor finishes nearing season's end. 

Again, Dale Jr. was left frustrated and confused in the off season.  Soon after, he and cousin crew chief were separated again, and Junior began a long, cold era of his career.

This year, Dale Jr. has started out with 5 straight top 10 finishes, including 3 top 5's.  His average finish so far is 4.4, worlds better than any other season.  He has 47 laps led so far, 5 less than his season total for 2011, a season which he finished 7th in points. 

Dale Jr. is also the current point leader, a spot he has only held in 2 other seasons: 2004 and last year.  Only time will tell, however, if he can hold that spot nearing season's end.

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Great Restarts, For Vegas And Biffle

The 2012 Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas this weekend had some great racing.  Although there was not as much side by side racing in Vegas as there may have been in the past, the competitive restarts were enough to make up for it.  Seeing the Sprint Cup drivers slinging it three wide at the start finish line and having cars rubbing bumpers and fenders is the best way to see drivers easing into their 2012 season.

No, there were no jet driers exploding in flames, and the only fuel mileage issue was when Brad Keselowski had fuel pump issues after stretching his fuel.  I, for one, am glad not to see jet driers.  Although as a firefighter I did enjoy watching the flames at Daytona, whilst screaming "Put foam on it!!" while the fire crew extinguished the flames slowly, I think we have all seen enough rain delayed races to hold us until at least Darlington.  They did move it back to Labor Day weekend right??  No?  Well they should!!

This weekends race saw two drivers coming back from a rough 2012 start.  Tony Stewart, the winner of this weeks race, had a horrible week last week with a engineering issue relegating him to a 22nd place finish at Phoenix, and started the season with two finishes outside the top 15.  Although many people felt Stewart would cool off a bit, at least in the near term, with a crew chief change (he replaced Darian Grubb with Steve Addington in the offseason), two bad finishes to start the season after winning 3 of the final 4 races of 2011 would have been though a stretch.  Stewart dominated the end of Sunday's race at Las Vegas, however, so he and Addington may be warming up quicker than most thought.

Jimmie Johnson, after wrecking on the second lap of the Daytona 500 and finishing 42nd, found out a week later that he would probably be without his crew chief, Chad Knaus, for 6 races and down 25 more points to the field of Sprint Cup teams vying for this years Chase.  He did, however, get a great 4th place finish at Phoenix, but during final practice at Las Vegas, Johnson hit the wall and began warming up his backup car to start at the rear on Sunday.  Before half way through the 400 mile race, the 48 had made its way to the front and at the end of the race was just shy of Stewarts pace to the finish line. 

Probably the best restart going on in NASCAR at the moment is the restart occurring in the #16 garage.  Although Biffle is always a possible front runner on any given weekend, his end to the 2011 season was weak to say the least.  His 2011 season in general was out of character for the Vancouver, WA driver, as he posted only 3 top 5 finishes for the year and no wins.  During the offseason, no team has turned around as well as the RFR #16 bunch.  Although they have not posted a win in the first three races, they have already tied their top 5 mark from 2012 with 3, scoring a 3rd place finish in each race.  Biffle has also not started outside the top 10, which is great for a driver who is known for driving harder when he can see the leader.

Whatever the 3M RFR team is doing, it is working!

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A Date With The Old Lady...

This week the boys of NASCAR head to the “Lady In Black” for their annual reunion with her unforgiving walls and difficult track. Darlington Raceway is a cheese grater of a track that chews drivers up and spits them out, hence its other nickname “To Tough To Tame.”

One definitely has to wonder what kind of fireworks we will see this weekend after the bent metal and hurt feelings that occurred last weekend at Richmond. If Richmond can be called a short track that races like a speedway, Darlington could definitely be referred to as a speedway that races like a short track. The odd shaped corners will definitely bring back some of the heat that was stirred up just seven days prior.

For instance, I am sure everyone will be watching should the 39 car of Ryan Newman come anywhere near the 42 of Juan Pablo Montoya after their back and forth last week. NASCAR no doubt will be doing the same. But Darlington does not need to borrow from last week to have some tension. This track has been the site of close races, post race shoving matches, and exhausted drivers for over sixty years.

This week, people will definitely be expecting strong showings from two drivers in particular. Denny Hamlin, after having a slow beginning of the season, is now heating up and trying to prove that he and his crew chief can perform the way they did last season. Hamlin finished second to his teammate Kyle Busch last week, is the last winner at Darlington, and no doubt is ready to return to victory lane.

Second, Jeff Gordon had quick success this season with his new crew chief, Alan Gustafson, but has since cooled with some aggravating finishes. Last week Gordon was probably the only HMS car that started the race with a chance to win, and after a disappointing wreck blew his shot, Gordon will be eager to return to victory lane at Darlington where he has won 7 times and is the active win leader.

A good dark horse pick for this week’s race would have to be Kasey Kahne. Coming off of a third place finish at Richmond, he may be hard to think of as a dark horse, however. He has never won at Darlington, yet has three poles there, so he knows how to get around the track. Also, even though his last five finishes there have all been 20th or worse, he still averages a 15th place finish.

A few facts for the race:

1. 11 of the past 25 races at Darlington have been won by Hendrick Motorsports. 7 of those were won by Jeff Gordon.

2. Only two Sprint cup races at Darlington have been won from the front row since 1996. Both of those races were won by Dale Jarrett.

3. Only 3 drivers have won multiple Darlington races from the pole: 4- David Pearson, 3-Bill Elliott, and 2-Dale Earnhardt. Jeff Gordon has never won from the pole at Darlington.


Follow Joseph Davis on Twitter @the_Bumpdrafter

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A New Spring In Dale Jr's Step? It's Christmas!!

While following all of the hubbub surrounding the Sprint Cup banquet, I could not help but read the comments by both Earnhardt Jr and his new crew chief.  I know, I know, I am a hopeless Jr fan that hangs on his every word.

It is hard, however, for anyone to dismiss the excited tone both he and Letarte have going into the offseason.  I know there is a long time between now and February, and the likelihood that this excitement would produce immediately is almost impossible, but giving the Jr faithful just a sliver of hope... well, it makes for a better Christmas!!  I would very much like to hear the same excitement after next weeks tire test at Daytona, I think that will hold more weight.

Well, in light of the new excitement, and with Christmas coming, here is my wish list for 2011...

• Mark Martin gets at least 1 win in 2011, with it hopefully coming at Daytona!
• Someone raises their game to compete with JJ, perhaps bringing some emotion out of him..
• NASCAR comes to their senses and moves the Labor Day race back to Darlington!
• Logano gaines 10 pounds to take him over the 150 lb mark..  Seriously, man, EAT!
• TV coverage improves, with at least 5 minutes of coverage between commercials...
• Dale Jr returns to victory lane, makes the Chase, and finishes top 7 in points....

Ok, so what are some of your NASCAR wishes for next year???

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Five Worst Changes To NASCAR

How many times in NASCAR's history has there been changes that the fans moaned and complained about. Well prepare for some moaning and complaining. Some past changes have proven to be for the better, but the following 5, I believe, were bad decisions.

#5. Using a wing on the COT. One of the main reason NASCAR went to the COT was for driver safety. However, the wing on the initial COT made the car "squirrely" and in several cases, led to the car going airborne due to lift. Another safety issue with the wing was that drivers could not see through to the driver in front of them, so hand signals drivers used to "whoa up" traffic for a wreck were made useless.

#4. Making all makes look the same. From the late 90's until now, the only difference between cars are the decal. There is no way to identify a car with a specific make. NASCAR fans are, for the most part, extremely brand loyal, which includes car makers. This has contributed to the blandness of the sport and has moved it further away from it's roots.

#3. Restrictor plates. Although restrictor plate racing led to the name of this blog and most of the success of my favorite driver, it has led to dangerous racing, some boring races, and the opposite of the object of the sport: speed. I know NASCAR wants to keep the speeds under 195 for safety reasons, but find a way that keeps the handling of the cars in play.

#2. Moving the Labor Day race from Darlington. NASCAR...come on!?!? The only races more "NASCAR" than Labor Day at Darlington were the Daytona 500 and maybe Charlotte. Besides, how has California worked out so far?

#1. Attempting to cater to too many audiences. Ahh. The blanding of NASCAR. Try to polish the sport too much and you buff away the grit and rubber. Then what is left??

Ok. So you have my best and worst 5. What are yours??

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