Tale of the Last 12 Months
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Bill Marx recently wrote an article called Who Turned the Standings Upside Down over at sportingnews.com, and to be quite honest, I just plain ol’ found it rather interesting. All Bill did was simply compare the standings this year as they sit now to what they looked like at this point last season, and highlighted some of the top comers and goers along the way. As I stated, the article peaked my interest, so I wanted to go ahead and touch up on it here as well.
Comers:
Not to be confused with rookies such as Sam Hornish Jr, or drivers who were without a ride in the Cup Series last year like Travis Kvapil, here are some of the drivers that have shown the most improvement from a purely statistical standpoint between the first portions of 2007 and 2008.
- Brian Vickers tops the list by jumping up 27 spots in the standings over the past year. After wrecking out of the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington in 2007, Vickers sat 43rd in points, and was well on his way to dismal season finishing outside of the top-35 in points. Now, with a new look to the Toyota-powered Camry’s, Brian has accumlated four top-15 finishes throughout the first 11 races of the season and now sits in 17th place, still holding out hope to be able to make a charge towards the Chase field.
- Kasey Kahne struggled through a nightmarish 2007 campaign. Following last year’s race at Darlington, Kahne sat 30th in points with his only top-ten finish coming in the season opening Daytona 500. This year, Kahne’s got a new sponsor and has been driving with a more patient look. It seems to have paid off, as he now five top-10’s already - nearly matching his total from last season - and sits 14th in points, trailing the 12th place cutoff spot by a mere two points.
- David Ragan may very well top the list of surprises in 2008 by the time all is said and done. David came into the season completely under almost everyone’s radar, and was widely expected to be competing with teammate, Jamie McMurray, to maintain the fourth spot with Roush-Fenway Racing following 2009. At this point last year, Ragan was 26th in points and eventually finished 23rd. Now, he is the envy of several drivers behind him in the standings, as he sits in 12th and has the looks of a kid on the verge of attaining his first Cup victory.
Go’ers:
- Matt Kenseth has to be as much of a surprise to the average NASCAR fan as anything else that’s happened this year. Matt has made the Chase field ever since the format’s inception into NASCAR, but could very well be on the verge of missing out this year. At this time in 2007, Kenseth was third in points with a win, five top-5’s, and eight top-ten’s under his belt. After a losing crew chief, Robbie Reiser, for “the sake of the team”, he’s a lowly 20th in points with only one top-5 and five top-10’s to his credit, and he trails the Chase cutoff by 153 points.
- Kurt Busch was in 7th place at this point last year, but started to struggle shortly after. Things appeared to be back on track, though, after adding crew chief, Pat Tryson, to the mix late in the season and making some strong runs to close the year out. Kurt came into ‘08 with high expectations, but so far, it’s been all younger brother, Kyle, as far as the Busch family’s concerned. He is now 22nd in the standings - a distant 194 points from the Chase cutoff - and, his only top-ten finish came in the season opener at Daytona.
Season’s Biggest Points Movers:
Brian Vickers (+17) - 2008 Rank: 17th / 2007 Rank: 43rd
Michael Waltrip (+24) - 2008 Rank: 32nd / 2007 Rank: 56th
Kasey Kane (+16) - 2008 Rank: 14th / 2007 Rank: 30th
David Ragan (+14) - 2008 Rank: 12th / 2007 Rank: 26th
Paul Menard (+14) - 2008 Rank: 24th / 2007 Rank: 38th
Season’s Biggest Points Losers:
Matt Kenseth (-17) - 2008 Rank: 20th / 2007 Rank: 3rd
JJ Yeley (-16) - 2008 Rank: 36th / 2007 Rank: 20th
Kurt Busch (-15) - 2008 Rank: 22nd / 2007 Rank: 7th
Jamie McMurray (-11) - 2008 Rank: 23rd / 2007 Rank: 12th
Elliott Sadler (-11) - 2008 Rank: 28th / 2007 Rank: 17th
DYN Imposes:
This week, Do You NASCAR also asks its readers …
1. Will David Ragan be able to maintain his current streak and make the 2008 Chase field?
2. Can either Kurt Busch and/or Matt Kenseth rebound in time to make this year’s Chase?
3. What driver has had the most pleasantly surprising turnaround between this season and last?
4. What driver has been the biggest disappointment in 2008?
In a related article, please visit Trouble in Turn 2 to read Mike Muraska’s article, Elevators and Imitators, where he distinguishes between some of the drivers’ current position in the points standings and their actual driver ratings.
Tags: brian vickers, darlington raceway, david ragan, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, dodge avenger 500, elliott sadler, Jamie McMurray, JJ Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, NASCAR, pat tryson, paul menard, robbie reiser, Roush Racing, sam hornish jr, Sprint Cup Series, travis kvapilRelated Stories
POSTED IN: NASCAR
6 opinions for Tale of the Last 12 Months
RevJim
May 15, 2008 at 1:36 am
1. I don’t think so. He still needs more experience toward getting a handle on all the different types and surfaces of tracks, in races still to come. He has done well on the short tracks and the restrictor-plate tracks, and he did so last year, as well. He still has to get a handle on the intermediate tracks.
2. They can. Kurt Busch’s comeback toward the end of the season made headlines, and Matt has come back from worse before. The question is, will they?
3. Brian Vickers gets my vote. He has to keep pushing though, and they can’t be making the mistakes they have. He has dropped from nineth to seventeenth in the last four races.
4. Not so much a driver as the team. For me the biggest disappointment so far is the #17 team.
roc
May 15, 2008 at 9:38 am
1. it would be nice to see a new face in there but i think he’ll stay in top fifteen but probaly not the chase.
2.i think it pretty early in the yaer to put ethier of them to out but they need to get on a roll fast are hope someonre has a lot of problems.
3. I agree with rev on this one.
4.ya i think the 17 would have to win this one.
Ron Ripple
May 15, 2008 at 10:38 am
Tim,
Great article…
For #2, I would have to say both Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth can rebound… both drivers are insanely talented. I’m just shocked they have started the season so poorly.
Also #4… I have to go with Kurt Busch being the biggest disappointment.
Amy
May 15, 2008 at 10:47 am
1. I am saying no.
2. If I could only pick one I would say Kenseth. However- I agree with Roc…its still way too early.
3.If you would have asked me this a couple weeks ago I would have probably said Kasey Kahne, but he seems to be suddenly fading.
4. The number 88.
Tim Zaegel
May 15, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Thanks for the compliment, Ron … always much appreciated!
Tim Zaegel
May 15, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Okay, let’s see here …
1. I’ve gotta agree with the Rev and Roc on this one. I think David’s a helluva talent with a very bright future in the sport, but to me, the competition’s jus way too thick this year. He’ll eventually start to get lost in the shuffle and finish somewhere back around 15th, maybe even as low as 17th or 18th.
2. It’s gonna be tough. I think all ten of the drivers that are currently 1-10 in points will make the Chase, leaving only two open spots, which will be contended by Biffle, Newman, Kahne, Truex, Kenseth, and Kurt Busch. I think they both miss out this year.
3. The stats would tell you Vickers, sure, but when I go through and look at him race-by-race, it becomes obvious to me that he needs at least two miles of racetrack to be able to do anything. I like Biffle for this question. The last couple of seasons have been awful for Greg, but he’s put together some strong runs in ‘08, and has the looks of a Chase contender written all over him this year.
4. It’s gotta be Kenseth … and, I don’t think it requires an explanation.
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