Once again it's time for another of our contributors to voice her picks for the 2010 Champions. Today Summer shares her insights and tells us who she thinks will be hoisting the trophy in Homestead in November. Be sure to let her know what you think in the comments section below.
2009 saw three historical championship battles take place. Whether it was Jimmie Johnson’s four-peat, Ron Hornaday Jr.’s five-race win streak, or Kyle Busch wiping out nearly all of Sam Ard’s records, there were many records being broken during the season. Now, as we head into the beginning of the 2010 season, many are wondering what to expect come Homestead.
Here are my predictions for the 2010 major NASCAR championships:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2009 saw three historical championship battles take place. Whether it was Jimmie Johnson’s four-peat, Ron Hornaday Jr.’s five-race win streak, or Kyle Busch wiping out nearly all of Sam Ard’s records, there were many records being broken during the season. Now, as we head into the beginning of the 2010 season, many are wondering what to expect come Homestead.
Here are my predictions for the 2010 major NASCAR championships:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
While the obvious choice here would be Jimmie Johnson, he has to lose a championship eventually. They can’t continue this reign forever, and eventually the competition is going to catch up.
Their stoutest competition seems to come from within their own stable. Hendrick Motorsports finished 1-2-3 in the standings last season, and Mark Martin even seemed to be a stronger title contender than Johnson in the early Chase races.
Jeff Gordon, though he finished 3rd in points, never really seemed to be a “title” contender. Consistent finishes kept him toward the top of the standings, but the 24 team never showed signs of being any better than either of their teammates.
Denny Hamlin showed signs of strength against the HMS camp from about midseason on. Routinely he would go up against the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin and outdo them. However, it wasn’t enough. Though Joe Gibbs Racing showed that they had the potential to keep up with HMS with Hamlin and Busch, it was never enough to actually pose a serious threat to the championship.
Tony Stewart led a majority of the regular season points standings with HMS equipment. Though his performance fell off come Chase time, he and teammate Ryan Newman weren’t expected to make the Chase with a new team anyway. Expect Stewart and company to turn it up a notch come Daytona.
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion: Tony Stewart
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Their stoutest competition seems to come from within their own stable. Hendrick Motorsports finished 1-2-3 in the standings last season, and Mark Martin even seemed to be a stronger title contender than Johnson in the early Chase races.
Jeff Gordon, though he finished 3rd in points, never really seemed to be a “title” contender. Consistent finishes kept him toward the top of the standings, but the 24 team never showed signs of being any better than either of their teammates.
Denny Hamlin showed signs of strength against the HMS camp from about midseason on. Routinely he would go up against the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin and outdo them. However, it wasn’t enough. Though Joe Gibbs Racing showed that they had the potential to keep up with HMS with Hamlin and Busch, it was never enough to actually pose a serious threat to the championship.
Tony Stewart led a majority of the regular season points standings with HMS equipment. Though his performance fell off come Chase time, he and teammate Ryan Newman weren’t expected to make the Chase with a new team anyway. Expect Stewart and company to turn it up a notch come Daytona.
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion: Tony Stewart
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Kyle Busch ran away with the 2009 title. While there are rumors going around he could run the full schedule, it’s not likely and it doesn’t look like it will happen. Same with Kevin Harvick.
That leaves Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards gunning for the title. While there are other drivers running the full NNS schedule, none of them have shown enough promise to pose a serious threat to either of these drivers. However, with Keselowski switching to a new team it may be difficult to unseat Edwards.
2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion: Carl Edwards
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
That leaves Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards gunning for the title. While there are other drivers running the full NNS schedule, none of them have shown enough promise to pose a serious threat to either of these drivers. However, with Keselowski switching to a new team it may be difficult to unseat Edwards.
2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion: Carl Edwards
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Ron Hornaday Jr. was virtually unstoppable throughout the NCWTS season. Matt Crafton was his closest competitor in terms of points standings, and he was 187 points shy of the championship with no wins. Crafton shows the consistency needed to win the championship, but lacks the victories.
Todd Bodine had a promising season with a couple victories and a good number of top 10s. However, Bodine seemed to have a “checkers or wreckers” type of race every weekend which may have kept him from finishing higher in the standings or challenging for the championship.
Mike Skinner had three victories and was the only one really able to (barely) keep pace with Ron Hornaday Jr. He was just consistent enough to be a potential threat, but the 33 team was just too good.
2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion: Mike Skinner
Like what you see from Summer? Tune in throughout the 2010 season as Summer brings us five questions before and after each race weekend. You can also follow @SummerDreyer on Twitter for updates.
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The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and may not reflect Skirts and Scuffs or its other contributors
photos courtesy of NASCARMedia
Great choices Summer! Stewart has a real shot at it given how much success he had in 2009. Remarkable what that team accomplished.
ReplyDeleteSummer, I love how thoroughly you analyzed a few contenders for each title. Great insights and great picks. I definitely think Stewart will be a contender this year.
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