 | | Yeah, it was that kind of a first half for the No. 8 team. Credit: Autostock |
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
July 12, 2005
11:16 AM EDT (15:16 GMT)
Blown engines, blown tires and the vagaries of weather and ill-timed cautions can all have varying effects on teams' fortunes. But there are still enough solid indicators that, after half of the 2005 Nextel Cup Series season -- and with only eight races remaining to the Chase for the Nextel Cup -- that assigning grades is not only possible. It's demanded. So without further delay, here's one professor's take on the first half of the season:  |  | | Greg Biffle |
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A+
Greg Biffle Biffle and his team might be second in the point standings, but they have stood head and shoulders above everyone when you consider what was seriously expected of this team. With the most wins (five) and most bonus points, Biffle and his No. 16 Roush Racing Ford crew are making a strong case for his third NASCAR national championship. A
Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart Johnson has shown during the past two seasons that a championship is not an "if" proposition, it's a case of "when" for the driver of Hendrick Motorsports' No. 48 Chevrolet. In the grading scheme, the only whisker that separates him from Biffle is that Johnson's excellence -- which includes two wins, a pole and the second highest bonus total -- is expected after two consecutive runner-up finishes in the points; and he has two DNFs. Stewart is on a tear that for sure will reward Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 Chevrolet team with its second consecutive run into the rumble for the Cup championship, as Stewart came to the midpoint of the season with two consecutive wins, an alarming (for the competition) string of top-fives and commendable numbers in most other stats. And, he scored a Chicagoland top-five after being knocked out in a crash in practice -- definitely tough stuff. |  | | Rusty Wallace |
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A-
Rusty Wallace, Carl Edwards Wallace is doing his legacy proud in his final full-time season, as he continues to ride his No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge on the leading streak of consecutive races finished while also logging top-12 finishes in eight of his last nine races. Wins and laps led have escaped him, but fourth in the points is heady territory for the popular veteran. Edwards has had some bitter setbacks, including three consecutive races with accidents to end his first half -- but the bottom line is, with fewer than 35 career starts, the Missouri youngster has won twice and is a top-10 contender in the standings -- while also contending for the Busch Series title. B+
Elliott Sadler, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett Consistency has gotten Sadler to where he currently sits in the standings (fifth) and at least one win would've easily elevated Robert Yates Racing's lead driver into the "A" bracket. A lack of top-fives and bonus points will hurt the driver of the No. 38 Ford if it continues in the Chase, but for right now he's right where he wants to be. Martin could easily have a victory or two in what is his last season driving Roush Racing's No. 6 Ford -- and at the midway point of the season his competitiveness, grit and determination are what gains him his grade despite being winless and not leading a lot of laps. Jarrett probably has been the most pleasant surprise of the season in a celebration of veterans alongside some of the best young talent in the sport. While his rise into the top 10, which fell into 11th after Chicagoland, earned him his consideration, Jarrett and new crew chief Billy Wilburn need to hike up the performance of the No. 88 Yates Racing Ford to achieve a spot in the Chase. |  | | Ryan Newman |
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B
Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Jeremy Mayfield, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch Newman needs to win, plain and simple, because that is what is expected of the leader of the "Dodge Boys." This grade is hard to assign and probably hard to swallow -- because the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge is not having a bad campaign -- but going winless with two DNFs and having half as many bonus points as the dominant Biffle leaves Newman's team with some ground to make up before the Chase begins. McMurray is even more a tale of consistency than Sadler, as the driver of Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 Dodge has struggled to lead laps -- but conversely, has thrived near the front of the field, at least in the top 10. McMurray has only one DNF, but failing to lead more -- or to win his second career race -- continue to hold him back; though it did nothing to prevent him from getting his next deal, with Roush Racing for 2007. If Mayfield had hit his stride a couple of races earlier, he'd be graded a level or two higher, for sure. As the second half begins he is aimed to more easily make the Chase than he did a year ago. Mayfield came on in the last three races of the half to get into the top 10 and if his consistency continues, look out for Evernham Motorsports' leader. |  | NEXTEL CUP | |
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Kurt Busch gets graded largely on potential, as some stupefying bad luck has kept him from really achieving the potential of his No. 97 Ford -- the defending Cup championship car. A pair of DNFs unbalances Busch's lone victory but the mettle of his team shows in the fact that it reached the halfway point eighth in the standings. Gordon's season has been perhaps the most mystifying in his career. The likeable veteran has scored three victories and a creditable number of bonus points, but has an astonishing five DNFs as his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet staggers towards the Chase. Sometimes the 24 has been taken out by misfortune, but too often this season the team has made a thorny bed. Harvick is trying mightily to bounce back from failing to make the 2004 Chase -- along with the rest of his Richard Childress Racing teammates -- and is doing fairly well despite a variety of mechanical failures. Harvick does have a win and a Bud Pole, which more than offset his mechanical maladies, at least at this point. Kyle Busch is having a very credible season for a teenager in his first real exposure to Cup racing. The defending champion's younger brother has a Bud Pole and has shown amazing speed at most venues -- but has been taken out to the tune of two DNFs -- though not always the fault of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver. |  | | Matt Kenseth |
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B-
Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip Disappointing is the only way to describe the season former Cup champion Matt Kenseth is having. Since he won the final Winston Cup championship in 2003, Kenseth has struggled to regain that title winning form with his No. 17 Roush Racing Ford, and that track continues in 2005 -- though the final race of the first half, a dominant performance at Chicagoland that left him in second place, erases some of the sting of three DNFs. Waltrip has suffered through the agony of having enough good runs to score seven top-10 finishes in what many are painting as a "make or break season" for the driver of DEI's No. 15 Chevrolet -- but five DNFs have knocked him far enough back in the points that making the Chase is definitely a big question mark. C+
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joe Nemechek Disappointing -- agonizingly, categorically disappointing has been Earnhardt's season after it began with high hopes spawned by a crew swap with teammate Waltrip. Until a half-ending string of two strong runs -- and a Chicagoland victory -- Earnhardt hadn't led a lap this season save on restrictor plate tracks -- and even there a bare minimum. That's very much under-performing. If Nemechek could close the deal this season, he would be a lot higher in both the grade book and the standings, but despite some magnificent races and legitimate chances to win at least twice, Nemechek has a couple DNFs and only a handful of top-10 finishes. Expect better in the second half from this MB2 Motorsports group, which thought enough of the driver of its No. 01 Chevy to extend his contract. |  | | Jeff Burton |
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C
Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, Ken Schrader Burton's tenure in Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 Chevrolet began glowingly, but has leveled off at an alarming level, with a lack of laps led or top-10 finishes. Without either, making the Chase is going to be a long shot for the veteran who is considered to be one of the garage area's leading sages. Kahne doesn't have Newman's proven track record, so what amounts to some very good highs, specifically his first career win after a fistful of second places, and a couple more Bud Poles are more than offset by five DNFs. Far from struggling to get into the Chase, as he did a season ago, Evernham Motorsports' junior pilot is struggling now to simply stay in the top 20. Vickers is another promising youngster who came out of the Busch Series with a championship pedigree but has struggled to achieve anything resembling that success in Nextel Cup. No wins, no poles, three DNFs and precious little in the way of results leave a lot of room for second half improvement. Schrader, once again is praiseworthy for racing hard, smart and getting the most of what his BAM Racing team, which has relatively limited resources to run its No. 49 Dodges, has to offer. |  | | Sterling Marlin |
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C-
Sterling Marlin, Casey Mears, Scott Riggs, Petty Enterprises, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, the "Bubble Boys" Sadly, Marlin is heading out of Chip Ganassi Racing's full-time employment as a Nextel Cup driver with barely a whimper, as the DNFs continue to mount with very little in the way of results and a minimal number of laps led. The likeable veteran deserves better. Something ain't right at Ganassi Racing as Mears should definitely be running and finishing better than he's shown so far in 2005. He's struggled to contend consistently, but the promise he showed through much of 2004 leaves a lot of hope for this former open-wheeler. Riggs has shown a lot of flashes, like a Bud Pole and a number of other good qualifying efforts. But he has had a hard time putting up decent results with his No. 10 MBV Motorsports Chevrolet and has an inordinate number of DNFs. So much more was expected of Jeff Green and Kyle Petty this season, after their No. 43 and No. 45 Dodges made some advances last season. Despite usually qualifying better than a year ago, decent results for the pair have been few and far between. Bliss is another driver who has looked a lot better than his stat sheet shows. Bliss is still racing hard, as his contact with Jeff Gordon at Chicagoland shows, but unfortunately it only resulted in another ill-timed DNF. It's a typical rookie season in a very tough league for former Craftsman Truck Series champion Kvapil, whose results show that Brendan Gaughan might not have been as bad as given credit for when Penske Racing released him as driver of its No. 77 Dodge. The final group of drivers in this group has worked as hard as anyone, but they are fighting a seriously uphill battle. Mike Wallace and Morgan-McClure Motorsports probably deserve the most credit for making every race, despite racing a good part of the half out of the locked-in top 35. Scott Wimmer has done well to remain in the top 35 for the first half in Bill Davis Racing's No. 22 Dodge, while Jason Leffler in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Chevrolet and Bobby Hamilton Jr. in the No. 32 PPI Motorsports Chevy have gone the wrong way. Robby Gordon deserves a lot of credit for starting up an operation in a difficult day and time to do so -- and four consecutive strong qualifying runs at the end of the half may show some light at the end of the tunnel. Owners Chris Edwards; Bob Jenkins; Ray McGlynn; Kirk Shelmerdine; Cindy Shepherd and the ageless one, husband Morgan; Jeff Stec and John Carter and Roger Craven have all proven that guts still matters as they attempt to field under-funded cars in the face of overwhelming odds. |  | | Bobby Labonte |
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D
Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Dave Blaney If Labonte was leading laps and contending for wins -- and crashing and blowing up -- he'd deserve more mercy. Unfortunately, he had seven DNFs before 17 races were in the books and he'll be lucky to make the top 15 by the end of the season. His Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Chevrolet team has shown more consistency as the first half ended, though. The poor, veteran Rudd is sharing a canoe with Labonte, another driver who rightfully expected so much more from this season. Rudd's No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford has run well at times, but has led precious few laps and challenged hardly more. Luckily, Michael McSwain is hard at work on the team's fleet and Rudd can be a second-half charger. Blaney's promising start in RCR's No. 07 Chevrolet is another union that has had disappointing results -- though some of its outings did make it look like Blaney and crew chief Philippe Lopez might get their season untracked. The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. | 
