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| David Ragan/AP Images |
NASCAR drivers are approaching a milestone race and have to step up to qualify for upcoming races.
By Carly Signor
NASCAR is now five races in and approaching its sixth at Martinsville. Why is this important you ask? Because at Martinsville, the drivers in the current top 35 in points are the ones locked into the race. Up until now, the top 35 at the end of last season have been the ones locked in. This could put some recognizable drivers in the very dangerous position of having to qualify on time for upcoming races. Most notable: David Ragan in 31st, Kasey Kahne in 27th, and Kurt Busch in 23rd.
These drivers have a lot in common. They all joined new teams this season, won a race last year, and are all outside of the top 20 in points at the moment.
David Ragan is the worst off of all of them. After claiming his first win of his career in last year’s July Daytona race, Ragan went on to finish 23rd in points. This year, he joined Front Row Motorsports but it has been a very rough first few weeks. The best he has finished is 21st. He also finished a disappointing 43rd (last place) in the Daytona 500, a race he came very close to winning last year.
Kasey Kahne’s one year stay at Red Bull last year proved to be successful. He claimed a victory at Phoenix and finish 14th in points, just outside of the 12 car Chase for the Sprint Cup field. This year, he became the fourth driver at one of NASCAR’s powerhouse teams: Hendrick Motorsports. But his start is far from how he would have wanted it. He finally scored his first top-15 of the year at Fontana last weekend after the race was called with 71 laps to go due to rain.
Kurt Busch and Penske Racing split last year after a behavioral issue that happened at the season finale at Homestead-Miami. Busch finished the season with two wins and an 11th place finish in the Chase. He is now driving for James Finch and claimed his first top-10 of the season with a 9th place finish at Fontana.
Enough with the disappointment, there also are several drivers who started 2012 with fantastic runs. Most notable: Greg Biffle in 1st, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 3rd, and Martin Truex Jr. in 5th.
These drivers also have a lot in common. They all finished in the top 20 last year, and they have season-plus long winless streaks.
Greg Biffle missed the Chase last year but has started this year off with a bang. After finishing in third for the first three races of the season, he finished 13th at Bristol, but rallied back to a sixth place finish at Fontana.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 7th in last year’s Chase and is determined to make the Chase again. With a second and third place finish at Daytona and Fontana, respectively, Jr. has yet to finish outside of the top-15.
Martin Truex Jr. came in 18th place in points last year. This year, he lead an impressive 3rd, 4th, and 5th place finish by his team, Michael Waltrip Racing, at Bristol and hasn’t finish farther back than 17th.
These drivers have a lot in common. They all joined new teams this season, won a race last year, and are all outside of the top 20 in points at the moment.
David Ragan is the worst off of all of them. After claiming his first win of his career in last year’s July Daytona race, Ragan went on to finish 23rd in points. This year, he joined Front Row Motorsports but it has been a very rough first few weeks. The best he has finished is 21st. He also finished a disappointing 43rd (last place) in the Daytona 500, a race he came very close to winning last year.
Kasey Kahne’s one year stay at Red Bull last year proved to be successful. He claimed a victory at Phoenix and finish 14th in points, just outside of the 12 car Chase for the Sprint Cup field. This year, he became the fourth driver at one of NASCAR’s powerhouse teams: Hendrick Motorsports. But his start is far from how he would have wanted it. He finally scored his first top-15 of the year at Fontana last weekend after the race was called with 71 laps to go due to rain.
Kurt Busch and Penske Racing split last year after a behavioral issue that happened at the season finale at Homestead-Miami. Busch finished the season with two wins and an 11th place finish in the Chase. He is now driving for James Finch and claimed his first top-10 of the season with a 9th place finish at Fontana.
Enough with the disappointment, there also are several drivers who started 2012 with fantastic runs. Most notable: Greg Biffle in 1st, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 3rd, and Martin Truex Jr. in 5th.
These drivers also have a lot in common. They all finished in the top 20 last year, and they have season-plus long winless streaks.
Greg Biffle missed the Chase last year but has started this year off with a bang. After finishing in third for the first three races of the season, he finished 13th at Bristol, but rallied back to a sixth place finish at Fontana.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 7th in last year’s Chase and is determined to make the Chase again. With a second and third place finish at Daytona and Fontana, respectively, Jr. has yet to finish outside of the top-15.
Martin Truex Jr. came in 18th place in points last year. This year, he lead an impressive 3rd, 4th, and 5th place finish by his team, Michael Waltrip Racing, at Bristol and hasn’t finish farther back than 17th.
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