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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
SPENCER: What To Watch In 2010
The teams all have rebuilt over the off-season, so it’s time for us to start from ground zero and highlight what we should be keeping an eye on this year...
Jimmy Spencer  |  Posted February 01, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
At long last, the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is upon us. It’s Daytona, baby!

Anyone who knows me or has watched me on SPEED knows how excited I get when we’re gearing up to roll into Daytona. Teams have been working feverishly all winter long and everyone has a clean slate beginning this week.

Who cares who last year’s champion was? It’s all about looking ahead to the 2010 season and who the next one will be. Who will win the Daytona 500? Who will rack up the most victories this year?

The teams all have rebuilt over the off-season, so it’s time for us to start from ground zero and highlight what we should be keeping an eye on this year.

Some drivers and teams are in desperate need of good runs this year – Elliott Sadler, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr. and the Richard Childress Racing teams are the first ones that come to mind that struggled in 2009 and need to reposition themselves as contenders in the new year. The owners, sponsors and fans won’t continue to accept mediocrity and these guys have to pony up and come out of the box strong.

Will fan favorites Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick still be with their respective teams this time next year? I seriously doubt it but we should know more within the next few months.

Sentimental favorite and last year’s points runner-up Mark Martin recently said he’s in the best physical and mental shape of his life. It doesn’t bode well for the competition if he’s more of a threat now than he was in 2009. Will he finally take the championship?

Stewart-Haas Racing was extremely impressive in their first season last year, placing both teams in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup, and rumors soon abounded that they were looking to start a third team. Will this be the year? We’ll know more later in the summer but my money is on “yes.”

Penske Racing now stands as the lone Dodge team. Will that hurt their performance? The young and aggressive Brad Keselowski has moved over to that organization and Kurt Busch now has a new crew chief in Steve Addington, his little brother’s former head wrench. Then there is former open wheeler Sam Hornish Jr. at Penske. He has shown as much potential as most Cup drivers I’ve seen in a while but hasn’t had the results to back it up. Hornish must start putting up some good numbers this year.

Will the Ford teams stage a resurgence this year? I sure hope so. I think the world of Roush Fenway Racing’s drivers and hated to see them so far in the hole last year. If that stable can turn it up a notch or two this season and put Ford back at the front, it will be good not only for that manufacturer but for the sport as a whole.

And speaking of being in a hole, Richard Childress Racing completely fell off the radar last year but showed glimmers of major improvement as the season drew to a close. Will they be able to capitalize on the things they discovered three-quarters of the way through the 2009 season or will they be stuck in neutral?

And probably the most asked question the past few months: Can anyone dethrone Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team? Yes, it is possible and I think this will be the year. It’s time for Johnson to lose that horseshoe he’s been carrying around for so long. There’s no doubt he is one of the best drivers in series history but he also has had incredible luck to go along with that talent. Look for some stiff competition from the Joe Gibbs Racing camp in the coming months.

We’ll begin to see the early answers to all these questions and more as we roll into Daytona this week for the Bud Shootout and the following week for the Gatorade Duel at Daytona and the Daytona 500.

But the answer I’ll most be looking forward to early in the game is how much whining and complaining we’ll hear from drivers at Daytona concerning NASCAR’s decision not to police the bump drafting. Some will love the new policy while others will hate it. But we’ll get into that next week.

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it as an analyst on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane 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.

Watch Live & Exclusive Coverage of Daytona Speedweeks on SPEED™!
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