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CUP: Lots Of Overachievers In 2009
Written by: Tom Jensen   
11/28/2009
Charlotte, NC
 
There were a lot of people not named Hendrick or Johnson who overachieved in NASCAR in 2009. Not all of them made the headlines regularly, but one way or another, they all made contributions to their teams or to the sport.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racings' Juan Pablo Montoya (Right) finished eighth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup but was within reach of first place most of the 10 races. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

Here are five of NASCAR’s overachievers for 2009:

1. CHIP GANASSI — When the 2009 season began, many pundits wondered if Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, the hastily arranged shotgun marriage between team owners Chip Ganassi and Teresa Earnhardt, would even make it to the track every week, let alone run competitively. The two teams ran different brands are cars, were based in different cities, had different engine programs, vastly different corporate cultures, etc., etc.

And yet, EGR’s Juan Pablo Montoya was one of the few drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup who truly pressed the Hendrick gang. EGR didn’t win the 2009 championship, but no team came further from the start of the season to the end. And I suppose Teresa Earnhardt deserves honorable mention for apparently staying out of Ganassi’s way.

“We work every day at this business and try to get the most out of what we have whether it's our drivers or our crew chiefs or engineers or people in the shop, we try to get the most out of everybody,” said Ganassi. “I mean our team is of the size that we need to get the most out of everybody on a regular basis to sustain ourselves especially in the last couple of years.”

2. BOBBY HUTCHENS — At Stewart-Haas Racing, driver/co-owner Tony Stewart naturally is the guy who gets the lion’s share of the media attention. But Competition Director Bobby Hutchens, who joined the team after two decades at Richard Childress Racing, was one of the keys behind building a championship-caliber organization almost overnight.

“There are parallels between the two companies,” said Hutchens, who when he started at RCR was one of the sport’s first college-educated engineers. “Back in those days, everyone was a racer. They did it because they loved racing and loved winning. We have people here at Stewart-Haas who are racers. We’ve assembled a group that eats, sleeps and breathes racing day in and day out. I think a lot of people have gotten away from that recently and it has become more of a job and more about making a buck than it was about bringing the trophy home. Our group at Stewart-Haas is similar to those RCR teams – a group of people who love racing and want to succeed.”

3. KEVIN HARVICK — OK, Harvick and the rest of his Richard Childress Racing squad had a subpar year in the Sprint Cup Series. Fair enough. But as co-owner of Kevin Harvick Inc. with his wife DeLana, Harvick had a stellar season. KHI established itself as the dominant team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and finished fourth in owner points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. That kind of success doesn’t happen by accident.

Ron Hornaday Jr. won a record fourth Truck Series championship driving for KHI, one of the biggest moments of 2009. “There's a lot of personal relationship between Ron and myself and it's very gratifying to see him be able to
win,” Harvick said. “That means as much to me as winning the races or winning the championships is to see Ron happy and winning races and winning the championship. You know, the personal relationship is more important than, you know, anything else.”

4. KASEY KAHNE — From the start of 2009 and continuing to this very day, few teams have existed in such a state of total chaos as Richard Petty Motorsports, which still has not concluded its long-pending “merger” with Yates Racing. And if that deal does go through, it will be the team’s fourth different major organizational structure since mid-2007.

And yet, Kahne actually won two races and made the Chase in 2009, a fairly remarkable performance if you think about it. That said, Kahne has made it fairly clear that 2010 likely will be his last with the team.

“It’s up to them what happens,” Kahne said of his RPM team. “They do their thing and I’ll do mine. All I can do is make myself better at driving race cars and communicating with (crew chief) Kenny Francis. If I do that, I’ll be happy next season.”

5. MARCOS AMBROSE — Competing in his first full year of Sprint Cup racing with a single-car start-up team, the two-time Australian V-8 Supercar champion finished 18th in points. His JTG-Daugherty Racing team was also one of the few organizations in the sport to attract new sponsorship money, which is a plus.

“We’ve got sponsors locked in for 2010 and will continue to grow, continue to improve on the race track with results and I’m getting more confident,” said Ambrose. “I feel like we can really contend next year for race wins. I feel like I’m ready to make a challenge to try to make the top-12 in points. We have a long journey ahead of us, but I feel like we’re moving forward at a rapid rate in the Cup Series and we’re excited to be doing it.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com! Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel
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