Rea White: Top Cup drivers look to end winless drought in 2010
Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick has a 107-race winless skid in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
// David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season brought three first-time winners and showcased the return of others, such as Mark Martin and Jamie McMurray, to victory lane after rather lengthy absences. Could the 2010 season offer more of the same?
Count on it.
There are a host of drivers eager to return to victory lane after missing out in 2009 - and some for even longer.
This season could be the year of the comeback, a season when drivers who weren't as sharp in 2009, or for the past two or three years, once more head to victory lane. It could easily be one of those years when the victories are spread across a wide swath of teams and drivers.
Just look at those eager to once more see the inside of the winner's circle after missing out for quite a while. Look for all of these drivers to challenge for wins once more in 2010:
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya made NASCAR's Chase For The Sprint Cup in 2009, but he has only one career victory. His lone win, at Infineon Raceway in 2007, came 92 races ago.
Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan Newman returned to top form in 2009 after joining his new team, making the Chase for the first time since 2005 at Penske Racing. Newman, though, still seeks a win with the organization. His last victory came in the 2008 Daytona 500, 71 races ago.
What is it about winning the Daytona 500? Kevin Harvick won there in 2007, but the Richard Childress Racing driver has since been absent from victory lane. It's been 107 races since Harvick won that event.
Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle last won at Dover International Speedway in September 2008, a stretch of 44 races. That's not so long by some standards, but the driver and his Greg Erwin-led team came within half a lap of a win in 2009 when they ran out of gas.
RCR's Jeff Burton made the Chase three consecutive seasons, from 2006 through 2008, before falling off pace in 2009. He last won at Lowe's Motor Speedway in October 2008, a streak of 41 races.
RCR's Clint Bowyer joins the list as well. He finished in the top five in the standings in 2007 and 2008, but his struggles in 2009 left him winless and outside the Chase. Bowyer's last win came in May 2008 at Richmond, a streak of 62 races.
Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards enjoyed a series-leading nine victories in 2008. But the last of those came in the season-ending race that season, putting him on a 36-race winless streak.
Each of these drivers should be a valid contender for wins in 2010 and could help spread the victories across the series.
And they are not alone.
JTG Daugherty's Marcos Ambrose, Roush Fenway Racing's David Ragan and Furniture Row Racing's Regan Smith continue to hunt their first series victories. Ambrose has been a continual threat at the road courses and a surprising challenger at some of the ovals as well. Ragan enjoyed a stellar 2008, when he finished 13th in the standings, before falling off pace in 2009. With crew chief Donnie Wingo, he could challenge for his first win in 2010. And Smith is a strong restrictor-plate racer - and in the minds of many a driver who has already won at Talladega Superspeedway after he led the field across the finish line before being assessed a penalty, in 2008.
Each of these drivers should be challenging those who were the regular frontrunners in 2009 for wins in the coming months.
How many race winners could there be in 2010?
It's hard to tell, but it's a safe bet that it could be more than in 2009, a season in which 13 drivers won races but only five won more than two.
A lot of drivers accustomed to winning and challenging for the title now find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to victory.
Look for that to change for many of them in the coming months.
