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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
JENSEN: Let’s Go Racing
Some random thoughts during a pretty much useless off-week as Mother Nature continues to waterboard the entire Eastern United States...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted March 16, 2009   Harrisburg, NC
SPEED.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED)

Some random thoughts during a pretty much useless off-week as Mother Nature continues to waterboard the entire Eastern United States:

• Most of us in the motorsports media watched in horror over the off-season as teams merged, laid off people by the hundreds, reduced their car counts, consolidated or just went out of business. It was a terribly troubling time and there are still a fair number of teams in need of funding.

But you know what? The product on the race track hasn’t changed a whit, certainly not enough for the average fan to notice. The only real change is that different teams and drivers are battling to crack the top-35 in owner points.

I still haven’t decided whether that’s good or bad, but despite the tough times, there is no shortage of teams showing up at NASCAR Sprint Cup races this week.

• Last year, only four teams qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. As we head to Bristol Motor Speedway, where the points surely will be shuffled again, nine different teams are in the top 12 in points: Roush Fenway Racing (three cars), Richard Childress Racing (two), Hendrick Motorsports, Penske Championship Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Red Bull Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.

Obviously, one doesn’t expect that to continue all year, but having a lot of different teams represented high in the points is both nice to see and very good for the sport. Of the newcomers to the top 12 who weren’t there last year, the two most likely to stick in my mind are Kurt Busch at Penske and Tony Stewart. Busch has been wicked fast so far, Stewart much more consistent than expected.

• No one has emerged as a clear championship favorite yet. Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch appear to have their respective programs back on track after disappointing 2008 seasons, with Gordon leading the points and Busch third. Splitting the two former champions is the quiet-but-ruthlessly-efficient Clint Bowyer.

Most people would say Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson have had disappointing starts to their seasons, yet Edwards is fourth in points and Johnson just 18 points out of the top 12. Either of them could instantly go on a hot streak, as could the phenomenal Kyle Busch.

• At the other end of the points, kudos to TRG Motorsports, currently 34th in NASCAR Sprint Cup owner points, best of any of the new start-up teams. Unbelievably, Mark Martin is 35th in owner points heading into Bristol, after which the guaranteed starting spots in future races will go to the top 35 in 2009 owner points, not last year’s points.

Behind Martin and looking to move up are Aric Almirola (9 points behind 35th), Scott Speed (-30), Paul Menard (-48) and Travis Kvapil (-72). Speaking of Kvapil, it’s looking increasingly likely that Bristol will be his last race because Yates Racing doesn’t have additional sponsorship after that. Also in short-term danger of having his team closed down for lack of bucks is Almirola.

• We are about to head into two of the most enjoyable weekends of racing in the entire season, with old-school short tracks Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway on the calendar next. Although Bristol has been a little bit kinder and gentler since being repaved a couple of years ago, it’s still great fun, as is Martinsville.

There will be lots of beating and banging and plenty of P.O.’d drivers both weekends, which will be entertaining, for sure. And for as much legitimate criticism the new-generation car has drawn for being too aero dependent on big tracks, it races very well on the short tracks, where its sturdiness is evident.

• Between the comments Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been making in recent weeks and the storm of e-mails and message board comments flooding the Internet, Earnhardt Nation is not happy these days and Junior may be feeling some heat as a result. I’ll be very interested in seeing how the rest of the season will play out from his perspective.

• Lots of folks seem upset that Lowe’s Motor Speedway has chosen wrestling legend Ric Flair as its point man for the upcoming 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. Get over your own bad selves, folks, Flair is the perfect pitchman for a non-points race that’s supposed to be loose and fun and wild.

• Last but not least, while a weekend off is always welcome — after all, there are only four off-weekends in the 42-week odyssey that is the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season — it will be good to get back to the track. See you at Bristol.

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

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor 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

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