Kevin Harvick (29) and Clint Bowyer (33) have helped boost the performance of Richard Childress Racing in 2010. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Hard to believe, but fully one-fourth of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season is complete. And with nine of 36 races in the books already, that means it’s time for SPEEDtv.com’s midterm report card.
There are some basic requirements: In order to receive a grade, a team has to be in the top 35 in Cup owner points, or in the case of a multi-car team, have the majority of its cars in the top 35. Grades are assigned to teams as a whole, so the rankings are based on a collective body of work, not just one driver. Grading is done on a curve, with preseason expectations figured into the mix: If a team has significantly outperformed or underperformed against its own expectations, that will figure into the rankings.
With the above in mind, here goes:
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING - Grade: A+ Last year, RCR was a mess: None of the four team drivers made the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jack Daniel’s left as a sponsor and Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress were locking horns. The future looked very bleak indeed. But now, after an organizational restructuring, all three RCR drivers are in the top 12 in points — though Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton barely. Harvick is giving Jimmie Johnson everything he can handle and is a close second in points. Clearly, this is the most improved of the NASCAR power teams.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS - Grade: A Hard to fault NASCAR’s perennial powerhouse, with its drivers Jimmie Johnson (first), Mark Martin (sixth), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eighth) and Jeff Gordon (10th) all solidly up there in the points. Johnson is the only one of the four to win a race this season, though. Friction between Johnson and Gordon remains as puzzling as it is problematic, but as the old saying goes, if you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. And until that happens, Hendrick is the favorite to win another title.
JOE GIBBS RACING - Grade: A Hmm ... Kyle Busch is fifth in points, Denny Hamlin has won twice and finished in the top five in three of the last four races, and Joey Logano is the most improved driver in the series. In other words, things are in a very good state of affairs again at JGR. The challenge now is to be as good down the stretch as the team is right now.
ROUSH FENWAY RACING - Grade: B+ Greg Biffle is third in points and Matt Kenseth fourth, with their RFR Fords showing improved pace from last season, although they still lag behind the Hendrick, JGR and RCR cars ever so slightly. Carl Edwards is 13th in points, but doesn’t have a single-top five finish yet this season, a disappointment given his explosive 2008 season, when he led the series in victories. David Ragan still hasn’t done much.
EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SABATES - Grade: B Welcome to team bi-polar. In his second tour of duty with Chip Ganassi, Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500 and finished second at Talladega. But he also has five finishes of 24th or worse in just nine races. The story is nearly identical for Juan Pablo Montoya, who has two top fives in his last three races, but also has five finishes of 26th or worse. To borrow from Montoya’s vernacular, when this team doesn’t suck, it’s awfully good.
