10 races do not a season make, but we’re far enough into the 2009 schedule to have some trends in place. We can now safely say Stewart- Haas is for real, Jeff Gordon is relevant once more and the new engine has paid dividends for Penske.
Among the things I didn’t expect has to see the gang over Roush- Fenway just hanging on around the borders of the top 12. Some predicted Carl Edwards would be a championship contender after being the wins leader in 2008. As we speak, Cousin Carl is winless and rumbling along in 9th. What about Matt Kenseth? The guy was a beast out of the chute with a pair of season opening wins, and the 2003 champion has fallen all the way to 12th. Were it not for a hustle effort to finish 13th in Richmond, Kenseth almost fell out of the top 12 last week. Then there’s Greg Biffle. One week, he looks like the Cat In The Hat’s best driver. Then the next week, Biff is hanging by a tie-down. David Ragan and Jamie Mc Murray haven’t made the progress many expected from them.
Oh sure, there’s still plenty of season left. And there’s no denying this top flight team is faring better than the crew over at RCR- where Kevin Harvick has gone MIA and Clint Bowyer seems to have lost his groove.
At the same time- it just seems like there’s something wrong with this picture.
Coming over from the stick and ball world, I can tell you the science of identifying a hitch doesn’t seem quite so simple in the world of motorsports. By that I mean, if Tiger’s off, you can figure he’ll be watching film, breaking down his swing and spending some extra time working on fixing what he finds. In baseball, it’s the same kind of deal for Ichiro. If a pitcher like the Braves’ Tim Hudson is off, he’ll be working with a pitching coach going over mechanics and location.
What do you do if you’re Edwards, Kenseth or Biffle? Trying to get a handle on the sudden reversal fortunes to me is like trying to get a handle on a raging bull. Roush has the same manufacturer, the individual teams are still largely intact and none of these guys are old enough for age to be a factor.
Admittedly, the Sprint Cup tour has just come through a very challenging portion of schedule. This group is primarily comprised of mile and a half guys. I thought they would have fared better on the short tracks, but then I’m not sure there’s a short tracker here in the same vein as a Kurt Busch. The plate tracks? Those are a crap shoot. I don’t read too much out of anything that happens at places like Daytona or Talladega. It’s just been a weird stretch of schedule, and it hasn’t been especially kind to RFR.
Is it just bad luck? Maybe it’s just that the other teams have caught up. I really don’t have answer.
Perhaps Darlington could change all that.
Greg Biffle has won back-to-back races on the “Track too Tough To Tame” back in 2005
and 2006. He won a pole here last year and had a beast of a piece until and engine problem killed his run. Kenseth has 3 straight top 7 finishes. Edwards has 2 top 5s and 4 top 10s in 5 Darlington races. In 8 starts at the “Lady In Black”, Jamie Mac has 3 top 10s.
The 2009 Southern 500 may very well prove to be the silver bullet this group needs. Nobody’s running away with the points right now as 254 points separate first-place Jeff Gordon and 12th place Matt Kenseth. Mc Murray and Ragan have hills to climb- but if ever there were a time where a driver could turn it around and still make a difference, it’s now.
It’s “go time” for Roush- Fenway. If not, the race for the chase could have a very different look this year.
PHOTO CREDITS- Darlington at sunset by mas fina. Biffle burnout by Walter G. Arce. To see more, click on the hyper links, or visit flickr.com.
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Right on traget as always. Dw said it best about Matt’s change of fortune, he came out good and the odds are they tried something and the others found out what it was, now they are all back to square one. Do not know if that is true but is makes sense I think.