Driver rosters for the elite teams in NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series in 2009 are largely the same as last season.
But many fans might need a program to keep track of the NASCAR drivers among the sport’s second-tier teams for at least the first few races. That’s because of a widespread shuffling of drivers during the winter, in part the result of the teams’ mergers and cutbacks in the face of the slumping economy.
Yet despite all the changes, the same stock car racers who vied for the title in 2008 are expected to be the main contenders again this season, starting with reigning champion Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson won NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup playoff to capture his third consecutive title, tying a 30-year-old record set by Cale Yarborough.
“All teams that made the Chase will be back, and they’re the ones we’ll be racing,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver, also remain at Hendrick.
But even the Hendrick team made one change as veteran Mark Martin replaced Casey Mears, with Martin hoping to finally win his first title at 50. Mears, in turn, moved to Richard Childress Racing and he takes over driving the No. 07 Chevrolet that had been driven by Clint Bowyer.
Bowyer will now drive the No. 33 car for Childress, whose other drivers continue to be Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton. All three drivers made last year’s Chase.
Another powerhouse team, Roush Fenway Racing, will have the same lineup of Ford drivers as in 2008: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan and Jamie McMurray.
Edwards won a series-high nine races last year — including the rain-delayed February race at Auto Club Speedway — but finished 69 points behind Johnson for the championship. Biffle was third.
Among the other Cup teams, it has been a merry-go-round of changes.
Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart left Gibbs to be an owner/driver at his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
So Gibbs elevated rising star Joey Logano, 18, to take over the No. 20 Gibbs Toyota. He’ll join Gibbs’ two other relatively young drivers, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.
Busch set the sport on fire during the regular season last year with eight wins. But he faltered early in the Chase with mechanical failures and finished 10th in the standings.
“Luck happened to bite us at the wrong time,” Busch said. “During the middle part of the year sometimes it was too easy to win a race. Then you could kind of see the luck wearing away and then, eventually, it was gone.”
Stewart, meanwhile, will drive the No. 14 Chevrolet for his new team. He also recruited Ryan Newman, last year’s Daytona 500 winner, from Penske Racing to be his other driver. That prompted Penske to hire David Stremme to take over the No. 12 Dodge and join teammates Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr.
Elsewhere, Dale Earnhardt Inc. merged with the team of Chip Ganassi Racing, and the combined team will field at least three cars in the Cup series this season.
Juan Pablo Montoya stays in the No. 42 Dodge for the new Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. EGR also will have Martin Truex Jr. and Aric Almirola.
Another merger occurred when Gillett Evernham Motorsports acquired Petty Enterprises, the team led by seven-time champ Richard Petty. The new team renamed itself Richard Petty Motorsports and its Cup drivers include Kasey Kahne, a two-time winner last year; Elliott Sadler; and Reed Sorenson driving the No. 43 made famous by Petty.
– – –
5 NASCAR drivers to watch
Tony Stewart: The temperamental two-time champion left Joe Gibbs Racing to be co-owner/driver of his new team, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart drives the No. 14 Chevrolet and the question is obvious: Can he oversee a new team and still be competitive in the car?
Carl Edwards: If anyone can stop Jimmie Johnson’s title streak at three it would seem to be Edwards, the Missourian known for his back flips after each win. He had a series-high nine victory flips last year.
Kyle Busch: NASCAR’s bad boy has much to prove this season after collapsing during the Chase last year to finish 10th in points. Busch might not match his eight wins of last season, but the Gibbs driver is still a favorite to win his first championship.
David Ragan: The low-key Roush Fenway Racing driver narrowly missed the Chase last year but earned broad respect among his peers. Look for him to qualify for the Chase this season and win his first Cup race in the No. 6 Ford.
Scott Speed: Starting his first full season in the Cup series, the former Formula One driver will pilot the No. 82 Toyota for Red Bull Racing. Whether he can win this year is debatable, but pay attention when he’s interviewed because it’s likely Speed will say something interesting.
— Jim Peltz, Los Angeles Times
