Showing posts with label Matt Kenseth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Kenseth. Show all posts

Not the Usual Suspects

Posted by Genna | Posted in , , | Posted on 5/16/2009

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Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that our recent race winners aren’t the ones you’d normally expect to see running up front and winning? Sure, we expect to see Jimmie Johnson challenging for the lead at Darlington but did we really expect to see him challenging Mark Martin for the lead? I know I really didn’t expect that!

I think its pretty refreshing, actually, to see guys like Newman and Martin up there. Here are two guys that no one expected to be running so well in their first year at a new team. Then you have your surprising Daytona 500 champion, Matt Kenseth.

It’s also been fun to watch the rookies this year. Brad Keselowski won his first race in only five starts in Sprint Cup. That maybe be our biggest surprise yet but then again, maybe his talent was grossly underestimated. He had a fantastic 7th place finish at Darlington, a track not well known for being kind to rookies. Joey Logano finished 9th at both Talladega and Darlington.

How about Kurt Busch? I don’t think he’s run this well in years and now he’s sitting behind Tony Stewart and points leader Jeff Gordon in third place.

I honestly expected this to be another season where I’d sit back and expect one of three winners to be in Victory Lane but so far, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch have only won a combined total of 4 races out of the 11 we’ve run this season.

This is how NASCAR should be! This is fun and exciting and its become less of the Kyle/Jimmie/Carl show this year. There are cars and drivers out there that a year ago weren’t competitive at all and you see them now running top ten, top five, and really contending for wins.

So here’s to an exciting 2009 season and hopefully victories for some other “little guys”.

NASCAR’s 5 Most Underrated Drivers

Posted by Genna | Posted in , , , , , , | Posted on 2/24/2009

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Its a known fact that NASCAR commentators, fans, and media tend to focus on “certain” drivers that may or may not be good but they cause a lot of drama and talk. Now I’m pretty certain I don’t need to mention any names- we’re all pretty aware of those drivers I’m talking about.

 

You know the ones I mean too. The ones that are handsome, have famous last names, talk a lot of crap about a certain tire company, and cause a lot of talk when they take out other drivers *you know the ones with the famous last names*.

 

But what about those guys that finish well all the time, contend for championships, and don’t cause all the drama? What about guys that consistently finish in the top 10 and 5 and are all around drama free guys. But nobody wants to hear about those guys?

 

Well I’ve compiled a list here of the top 5 drivers that I think are the most underrated NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

 

5. Clint Bowyer

2007- 3rd in points
2008- 5th in points
46 career top 10’s
17 career top 5’s
2 career wins
15.8 average finish

In his short career in NASCAR, this driver from Emporia, Kansas has achieved a nice looking resume. On top of his cup stats, he currently stands as the defending Nationwide Series Champion. Look out for him in 2009, it could well his breakout year.

 

4. Jeff Burton

1993- ROTY
1997- 4th in points
1998- 5th in points
1999- 5th in points
2000- 3rd in points
2006- Victory at Dover in September was first victory since October 2001 at Phoenix. The Dover win vaulted Burton to the top of the Chase standings, a position he held for four weeks
212 career top 10’s
117 career top 5’s
21 career wins
15.9 average finish

Jeff’s come back year in 2006 was one for the books. He broke a nearly 5 year winless streak with a dominating win at Dover and finally found himself in the Chase for the Cup and back in contention for the championship. He’s never won one, but have no doubt that he will break the curse and go on to win at least one, maybe more, in his career.

 

3. Greg Biffle

2005- 2nd in points
2008- 3rd in points
79 career top 10’s
48 career top 5’s
14 career wins
17.1 average finish

Something that bugs me and undoubtedly many others is the way Greg is always referred to as a “dark horse”. Why is that? The media likes to pretend guys like Biffle are worse drivers than they actually are but this guy won the first two races of the Chase and went on to be a serious contender for the championship, finishing 3rd overall in the standings. Watch out for this guy- he will be a dark horse no more this 2009 season.

 

2. Mark Martin

Mark Martin
1989- 3rd in points
1990- 2nd in points
1993- 3rd in points
1994- 2nd in points
1995- 4th in points
1996- 5th in points
1997- 3rd in points
1998- 2nd in points
1999- 3rd in points
2002- 2nd in points
2004- 4th in points
2005- 4th in points
396 career top 10’s
243 career top 5’s
35 career wins
13.4 average finish

They call him “the Kid” but Mark Martin is far from it. He’s an old veteran to NASCAR but he’s lost none of his edge. In 2005, Martin ran his last full season and finished an impressive 4th place in points. Not bad for an old man who was pushing 50. Now he’s running full time in a Hendrick car with teammates like Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson. With that kind of power under the hood and teammates that have the impressive resumes those guys have, how can he not be in position to win some races, even that elusive championship?

 

1. Matt Kenseth

2000- ROTY
2003- Won championship
2006- 2nd in points
2007- 4th in points
164 career top 10’s
90 career top 5’s
18 career wins
14.9 average finish

You could say Matt came out number 1 because that’s the only finish he’s known this year so far but there is far more to it than that. The boy can drive. I’ll be the first to say I hated to see him win Daytona on a rain call but given those extra 49 laps or so, I believe he could have won on his actual merits instead of the way he did win. It was all luck of the draw, that one was. But Sunday’s race at California was no luck. That was pure, raw talent. Watch for more of it this coming season.

The Great American Joke

Posted by Genna | Posted in , , , | Posted on 2/16/2009

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It started off looking hopeful for my guys and even for some other guys out there but seriously. What. Was. That.

You know it stopped raining an hour after the race was called? Stupidity. I probably sound really bitter and maybe I am but man…that just sucked.

I honestly haven’t felt THIS bitter about the outcome of a race since the 2007 Daytona 500. I personally found it to be a pretty stupid race. I tend to get accused of only saying that about races that my drivers don’t win but I can’t complain about Tony’s 8th place finish. I even said that Talladega was a stupid race and Tony won that one.

Daytona 2009 was just one stupid race. And I sure hope that Daytona isn’t a sign of things to come on 2009. Of course that’s what I said last year and look at the year my boys had. Sure I can’t totally complain about Biffle’s back to backs at NHIS and Dover and 3rd place overall finish in the Cup Standings. But just look at Tony. He finished 9th overall in the standings, one of his worst Cup points finishes since he began racing in cup, and had only one win and that at Talladega.

At least I have this much to say. Tony went out in style. He won one of the big ones at Dega and led a few laps at the season closing Ford 400 before a late race pit stop cost him the lead and therefore the race. All of this after a disappointing 3rd place finish at Daytona. Normally 3rd at Tona wouldn’t be disappointing but that last lap pass by Newman and Busch for the lead is what did him in. So close, yet so far.

But back to Daytona. If its any indication of how my guys will do this year, then it could be a real up and down year. Only one finished inside the top 10 today, with my other two Mark Martin (16th) and Greg Biffle (20th) barely finishing in the top 20. And lets not even bring up Newman’s luck this week.

As for the rest of the field, well that’s what made it such a stupid race. Junior’s obvious desperation to get back on the lead lap caused him to race Vickers far too hard too early on in a run bringing out the caution. Stupid move by Junior. That boy just ran out of patience and I can’t say I blame him, BV has been known to cause some pretty substantial race controversy (case in point being his first win at Talladega in the 2006 fall race). And Mr. Vickers was none to happy with his longtime rival, Dale Jr. after their on track scuffle which brought out the caution and took out more than 10 cars.

Who ever would have thought that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would have been the one to cause the Big One at Daytona?

And then. There was. The rain.

In 50 years there was never a Daytona 500 that got rained out. It just had to be this, Mark Martin’s last year, that it happened.

It probably sounds like I’m not happy Matt won. I am. I love Matty! But to win that way it must really suck. To me a rained out race isn’t much of a win but hey, Matt broke that streak and it was nice to finally see the man show a little emotion!

And on another side of things, rumors are flying (especially after Katie Kenseth’s appearance in Victory Lane tonight) that she’s pregnant and according to a popular rumor site (which I’m sure any avid NASCAR fan knows about), she is now 5 months pregnant! So congrats to Matty K on your Daytona 380 win and on baby Kenseth to be! I wonder how Ross Kenseth feels about all of this?

If the rumors are true, I wish them and baby Kenseth to be all the best! And I can’t wait to see Matty going down pit road with his little new baby!
And hey, how about that AJ Almendinger in the Petty car today? Quite a finish for old Walldinger, huh? I bet Richard Petty is happier than Jack Roush tonight!

Anyway, I know I sound bitter and upset and I am. But its not been a good year. Thank you for reading all my silly rantyness.

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