Only four races into the 2009 season and it has definitely been a whirlwind of events for the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Being that the series had their first weekend off, now is a good chance to look back at the beginning of the season.
When the season opening Daytona 500 came in mid-February, many questions were surrounding the series, mainly whether the economy would effect the teams, the fans, and the tracks. That question was answered the day before the season started, when it was announced that the “Great American Race” had officially sold out. Selling out the 2009 event took two months longer than the previous year. Possibly it was because the year prior was the 50th running of the Daytona 500, but it was hard to judge being only one race into the season.
The weeks afterwards proved that the economy is having a very vast effect in attendance for the races. California had a walk-up crowd while the race was in progress, while Atlanta had very noticeable empty sections at their speedway. There are plenty of race fans in the country, but because of the struggling economy, the price of tickets, and the cost to travel to the track, it has been hard to bring in the fans. Tracks have lowered prices on certain seating areas to attempt to bring more fans in, but it is going to take a lot more than lower prices to bring them to the race.
Other questions focused on if some drivers would rebound after a subpar 2008 campaign. The most obvious driver in this category would be Jeff Gordon. After his 2007 season that saw him nearly win his fifth championship, his 2008 season was one that he wishes he could forget. Going winless for the first time since 1993, the entire DuPont team regrouped and started fresh for this season, starting with a new paint scheme and a renewed confidence that they didn’t have for the majority of last season. When he won his Daytona 500 qualifying race, everyone took notice of his team because it showed the entire cast of drivers that the DuPont team was back and prepared to make a run at the title. Through the first four races, Gordon has an average finish of sixth, compared to 20th last year. He currently leads the Sprint Cup Series by 43 points; all through least season he was no higher than fifth. The “Drive for Five” is definitely in full gear.
Two other drivers that have rebounded quite well from the 2008 season are Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. Kenseth, like Gordon, went winless in 2008 and also had high expectations heading into the season. His expectations were immediately met as he won both the Daytona 500 and the Auto Club 500. What impressed many is that he won the first two races of the season with a rookie crew chief who never called a Sprint Cup race in his career. Winning the first two races of the season, that is very impressive.
Kurt Busch had to spend much of the season watching his brother, Kyle, racking up the wins and points enroute to one of the most impressive seasons ever in NASCAR. Kurt, on the other hand, didn’t match his younger brother’s success. This year, he has turned things around. Through the first four races in 2008, Kurt only had led 9 laps. This year…he has been out front for 237 laps and took a dominant victory last weekend in Atlanta. Keep an eye on that Miller Lite Dodge for the entire season, it looks like both Busch brothers will be running up front a lot this year.
Next Sunday begins the short-track season for NASCAR, as the teams head to “Thunder Valley” in Bristol, Tennessee. This half-mile, 30-degree banked race track has provided some of the closest and most exciting racing over the last few years. This kind of racing is why 160,000 people surround the speedway every year. Concrete, high-banked, and close quarters will mean that every driver will be up on the wheel and quite possibly someone will be a bit angry after 500 laps.
If the trend continues from the last few weeks, expect to see Kurt still be up front in the Miller Lite Dodge as he has won at this track five times. Gordon is still looking to end a 47-race winless streak. In 2002, he ended his then-longest winless streak of 33 races at this track, so maybe this could be his week.
My dark-horse for this race is Dale Earnhardt Jr. I know that this may sound like a strange pick because he has won here before, but Junior has not lived up to the hype since he joined Hendrick Motorsports. Sure, he finished in the top 10 in points last year, ended his winless streak by winning at Michigan, and also took wins in the Budweiser Shootout and his Daytona 500 qualifying race. Despite all that, he just has not performed to the level that everyone has anticipated.
But, look for his Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet to perform well at this track. He has always run well at Bristol and it suits his style of driving. He’s got a shot a victory, so keep an eye on the 88 car.
The green flag for the Food City 500 is set to wave around 2:30 next Sunday on FOX.