PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Which Sprint Cup driver will be the biggest surprise to make the Chase?

By SceneDaily.com Staff

Monday, February 08, 2010

Martin Truex Jr. is expected to challenge for a spot in the Chase this year.

LaDon George
NASCAR Illustrated

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21 Comments

As the Chase enters its seventh year, who will be the biggest surprise to make the Chase this year?

Will it be a driver who has made the Chase before but isn’t supposed to make it in 2010? Or will it be a driver making his first appearance in the Chase?

Juan Pablo Montoya and Brian Vickers were big surprises last year, making the Chase For The Sprint Cup for the first time.

Who will be the biggest surprise to make the Chase this year?

Kenny Bruce says:

KASEY KAHNE

Everyone is expecting Kahne to merely idle through the season as he prepares for a likely departure from Richard Petty Motorsports. But it would be a mistake to write the 29-year-old Kahne off. He and crew chief Kenny Francis could be one of the top five driver/crew chief pairings in the sport.

Kris Johnson says:

MARTIN TRUEX JR.

He's with a new team at Michael Waltrip Racing but Truex teamed with veteran crew chief Pat Tryson sounds like a potent combination.

Jeff Owens says:

No One

There will be no shocking surprises this season. Matt Kenseth will return to the Chase, as will at least one Richard Childress Racing driver – probably Jeff Burton.

Kahne will also return to the Chase and have a big year after the switch to Ford, but none of that should really come as a surprise.

Bob Pockrass says:

MARCOS AMBROSE

NASCAR fans from Down Under will go crazy.

JTG Daugherty Racing's Marcos Ambrose is nearing the end of his first full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. (LaDon George / NASCAR Scene) Ambrose really was the 2009 rookie of the year. Granted, he didn't qualify for the award but he had not run a full Cup season and finished the best of any of the first-year drivers.

He finished 18th in his first full year on the circuit, and should be a candidate to finish in the top 12 in his second year. Always a threat on road courses, Ambrose will become more of a threat on ovals this year.