Hits And Misses After Six Races
by Michael Daly-Staff Writer
04/04/2008

In sports certain games become statement games, and certain performances become statement performances. In racing it isn't any different, but the opposite is also germaine to the conversation, for racing also has plenty of misses. The first six races of the 2008 Winston Cup season have seen plenty of hits and misses, and a look at some of them is worth a look:

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

For Rick Hendrick's fleet, the hits have been solid performances all around, and the inclusion of NASCAR's obvious superstar in Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a boon to the team in terms of attention and merchandising.

The misses have been the team's lack of wins so far in 2008, which has caught almost everyone by surprise. Not that Hendrick cars have been out to lunch anywhere - though at Daytona they came fairly close to lunch status - but the superteam's lack of wins has caused considerable commentary.

ROUSH FENWAY RACING

The hits, in both senses of the term, keep on coming here. The positive hits lay in wins by Carl Edwards and an authoritative return to prominence in the sport.

The misses lay in several areas, beginning with Carl Edwards' cheating penalty to go with some inconsistent performances in Jack's fleet and his public battle with Michael Waltrip over a missing sway bar. Suddenly the best and worst of Roush have been on display in a hurry.

RCR ENTERPRISES

There has been one big hit so far in Jeff Burton's win at Bristol, but that hit has been outweighed to some extent by inconsistent performances elsewhere, notably at Daytona. Kevin Harvick remains a strong competitor but is still winless since the 2007 Daytona 500, and there seems no answers right now to getting RCR's flagship Chevrolet back to victory.

JOE GIBBS RACING

Toyota's lead team is the manufacturer's big hit. The supreme irony here is that the supposed #1 car has yet to win this year, while the flagship #18 (at the Atlanta 500) and the newcomer #11 (the Virginia 500) have both won. Tony Stewart has made more headlines on his radio show and in the garage area than on the racetrack, where his best run came at Bristol in leading 267 laps but ended in one of his most mediocre finishes, 14th.

DEI

There are just three hits here - top tens by Mark Martin, Aric Almirola, and Martin Truex Jr. The misses remain Paul Menard and the general subpar quality of the organization - most graphically shown by the fact the entire DEI fleet has led only one lap.

PENSKE RACING

The big hit of Daytona has become the miss of the Daytona Curse. It hit Kevin Harvick last year and now has infected Penske Racing, as Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch have combined for just one win and one other top ten in six races.

GANASSI-SABCO RACING

One top ten between three cars is a sign of a team that isn't advancing its game, though Reed Sorenson has that one top ten and has been a surprise so far. Juan Montoya has shown some improvement the last few races after a slow start, while Dario Franchitti looks lost in stock cars.

YATES RACING

The amazing aspect here is this woebegone effort has two top tens so far. The alliance with Roush Fenway is reaping zero benefit; all it's done is give Roush extra test dates.

GILLETT-EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS

The hit is the four top tens Kasey Kahne has managed in six races. The misses are Elliott Sadler's poor efforts and Patrick Carpentier's worse efforts.

DIETER MATESCHITZ

The hit has been creditable efforts by Brian Vickers at Daytona, Fontana, and Atlanta. The big misses have been the ill-advised Jacques Villeneuve experiment and the continued inconsistency of the effort.

MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING

A huge miss from the start, little good cane be said here.

GENE HAAS

No hits to speak of, the organization is pretty much the Arizona Cardinals of NASCAR - the team where careers go to die.

PETTY ENTERPRISES

The blow of losing a primary sponsorship in General Mills after 2008 may be offset by a merger with Medallion Financial; this would be a major hit for the organization after enduring nearly a decade with nothing but misses. The belated benching of Kyle Petty at Texas for young up-and-comer Chad McCumbee illustrates a part of what was hurting the team. Nonetheless, some productive efforts have come from the #43, and a potential infusion of outside revenue will help turn a miss to a hit.

Such are hits and misses after six races.

Questions? Comments? Contact Michael Daly at stp43fan@hotmail.com

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