NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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SPENCER: Recommendations For Drivers’ New Year’s Resolutions
There are several NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who need to make New Year’s Resolutions...
Jimmy Spencer  |  Posted January 05, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
It’s that time of year when we all vow to lose weight, eat healthy, get more sleep or something else that supposedly will better our lives.

NASCAR drivers and teams also make their own New Year’s Resolutions in a way, aiming to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup and/or win the championship. The problem with this is that everyone’s goals are the same and they don’t address some underlying issues we’ve seen with particular drivers and teams.

So, I took it upon myself to set New Year’s Resolutions for several of the top drivers. Here’s a look at what they SHOULD have resolved to do in 2011:

Denny Hamlin
My New Year’s Resolution is to become mentally tougher. I cost my team the championship last year when I mentally folded like a lawn chair the last two weeks of the Chase. I will get Jimmie Johnson out of my head in 2011.

Kevin Harvick
I intend to keep making close friends on the track like I did with Kyle Busch at Homestead. I was tired of his crap, so when he cut right in front of me, I just kept on driving and spun him out. I hope to make new buddies like Kyle in 2011.

Brad Keselowski
I will not, I will not, I will not step on Carl Edwards’ toes again. I learned my lesson back at Atlanta. So much for my schoolyard bully days...

Carl Edwards
I need to work on being more subtle with my on-track paybacks.

Kyle Busch
As you can imagine, I have more than one New Year’s Resolution, but my main one is to better protect my middle finger in 2011. I know I’m No. 1 and you know I’m No. 1, but NASCAR just doesn’t get it. So, I’ll keep my middle finger tucked away before they, or another driver, break it off.

Clint Bowyer
I will give everyone in the fab shop at RCR a new tape measure. We don’t need a replay of Loudon and our track record with appeals isn’t too good.

Jeff Burton
I will run away the next time I see Jeff Gordon coming toward me. The other Jeff doesn’t play as nice as I thought he did.

Joey Logano
I will not pick on the ladies (DeLana Harvick) anymore. I also will not put my finger in Ryan Newman’s chest again because it might get broken next time. And I will try to wipe this perma-grin off my face.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won a Sprint Cup Series race since June 2008. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
I’m going to run out and buy myself a new road map showing me how to get to Victory Lane. My old map must be outdated.

Juan Pablo Montoya
I will try not to kiss the wall at every track we go to this year. I got a little too up-close-and-personal with most of them in 2010. You can’t say I wasn’t driving hard, though.

AJ Allmendinger
I will try not to take out my last remaining teammate. I am down to only one, Marcos Ambrose, and he just happens to be one of the nicest guys in the garage area. I suppose I should stay away from him when Pocono rolls around.

Tony Stewart
I had another politically correct, well-behaved year last season, so if I can keep up the choir boy act, I just might be able to run for president of NASCAR.

Kasey Kahne
I need to work on making better excuses when I don’t want to finish a race. Some people didn’t believe I really was sick when I couldn’t get back in the car at Charlotte in October but then participated in my charity run the next morning and left Richard Petty Motorsports a few days later. Come on – who wouldn’t trust this face?

Jamie McMurray
I’m going to see who else I can prove wrong in 2011. Jack Roush made a big mistake when he let me go at the end of the 2009 season. I think he would have liked those three wins I got with my new team last year. Maybe David Ragan should take a page out of my book – you never know if being fired could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Martin Truex Jr.
I’m going to make better use of my sponsor this year by using more NAPA parts on my race car. We had so many failures in 2010, so I’m thinking maybe a few extra parts will keep us out of the DNF column.
Jeff Gordon was fastest in the final Talladega practice. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Jeff Gordon
I’ll continue to prove to everyone just how much of a veteran, elder driver I really am. Signing AARP to the No. 24 Chevrolet this year is a great start.

Jimmie Johnson
I want to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt’s records of seven championships. Oh wait, I have to get six consecutive titles first, which shouldn’t be a problem. And if you doubt this possibility, maybe you’re the one who should be making a New Year’s Resolution.

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on his “Getting Primed with Jimmy Presented by Kilz Primer” segment on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
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