Racers Fall Below Season Expectations

There are some excellent racers that have left quite an impression during the 2009 Sprint Cup season following thirteen races. Making NASCAR news is a small group of hot drivers. The Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman have surpassed any expectations established in the preseason. Michael Waltrip Racing driver David Reutimann is having a defining season, as he recently scored a victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. There is little separating him from the top twelve.

Part-time Sprint Cup racer Brad Keselowski is another first-time winner in 2009. He was victorious at Talladega driving for Phoenix Racing, and independent team owned by James Finch.

There were other pleasant surprises, including the improvement of Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish Jr over their 2008 season performances.

Now, there have also been disappointments on the circuit, both with drivers and teams that have had less than stellar records.

Popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr nabs the first position on the list of disappointments for 2009. When Earnhardt Jr joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, he was, by far, the best racer out of the team’s four drivers. However, as the season progressed, other teams caught up, and Earnhardt Jr began to lag behind. Neither he nor Tony Eury Jr have managed to recapture the power of the early months of the 2008 race season. Consequently, Rick Hendrick has replaced crew chief Eury Jr with Lance McGrew. McGrew will be the interim crew chief for Earnhardt Jr.

Despite his efforts, Earnhardt Jr has struggled to carry his burden; in the midst of his weak performance, this burden seems like too much to handle. NASCAR’s fan favorite driver must improve quickly in order to rid himself of all of the negative press.

Kevin Harvick qualified for the Chase for the Championship in every season from 2006 to 2008 and won six races in that span. Nevertheless, he finds himself in the middle of his least productive season since his sophomore slump in 2002. It looks like a fourth Chase for the Championship just isn’t in the cards for Harvick, who hasn’t had a victory on the track since the 2007 Daytona 500.

Harvick is not the only driver from his stables mired in bad driving streaks. His Richard Childress Racing teammates have faded since last year, most notably Clint Bowyer. Despite a great start to the 2009 season, Bowyer has not managed to reach the top ten in the seven races leading up to the Pocono 500. Even with Jeff Burton’s consistent record, the overall performance of the team is definitely down . Casey Mears encountered a sluggish start to the season, but he has scored two top ten finishes in the last four races.

Roush Fenway Racing driver David Ragan ranks high as another disappointing performer, rivaling even Earnhardt Jr and Harvick. It seems the NASCAR news is getting grimmer. Ragan was perhaps the most improved driver in 2008, but he has fallen back into mediocrity. With a thirteenth place finish at 2008 championships, NASCAR news and racing analysts were forecasting that Ragan would join the ranks of drivers competing in the Sprint Cup championships. Unfortunately, for Ragan, he only scored one top ten finish in the first thirteen races. There must be some issue with the team.

Ragan’s teammate Carl Edwards won a Sprint Cup series-high nine races in 2008. After thirteen consecutive losses, Edwards has not been able to do his signature celebratory back flip. Regardless of the fact that Edwards is currently numbered among the top twelve in the championship ratings, most insiders were expecting more from him and others in the No. 99 group.