Some of the big names in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series can now finally breathe a sigh of relief.
With the first five races of the 2009 season now over, the top 35 drivers in the owners points standings can now finally count on making a start in every race throughout the rest of the season.
It should come as no surprise that the Jeff Gordons and Jimmie Johnsons of the world are comfortably in the top 35, actually first and ninth in owners points, but other big names had their work cut out for them to get into the safety of the top 35.
Mark Martin was actually on the outside looking in coming into Sunday’s Bristol race, before finishing sixth to jump to 31st in the standings. The same holds true for Ryan Newman, who squeaked into the top 35 after a seventh-place finish on Sunday to improve to 27th in owner points.
Rookie phenom Joey Logano is also in the top 35, albeit just barely as he is in 34th place.
Quite possibly the biggest surprise to the top 35 list may be David Gilliland, who was just out of work a couple weeks back after losing his ride at Yates Racing due to the team’s inability to find him a primary sponsor.
Team owner Kevin Buckler snatched Gilliland up and gave him a chance, a chance that Gilliland has repaid by entering Week 6 in the coveted 35th place.
Those not in the top 35 include Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Aric Almirola (36th place), Paul Menard (38th) and Travis Kvapil (39th).
Surprisingly, Menard and Kvapil are former teammates of Gilliland’s at Yates, where a number of media outlets have reported that Kvapil has just recently lost his ride, as well, for lack of sponsorship. Menard’s ride is safe, though, for the rest of the season, as his sponsor, Menards, is the family business and has been with him for some time.
ON TAP
This week the Sprint Cup heads into Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, and no one may be happier about the latest stop on the schedule than three-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson and current championship points leader Jeff Gordon.
The Hendricks Motorsports teammates have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success at the half-mile paperclip-shaped oval, with Johnson winning four of the past five races there and 13 straight top-10 finishes since finishing a disappointing 35th in the April 2002 race at Martinsville, Va.. He’s also got seven straight finishes of fourth or better and a driver rating of 124.7 there, just 0.7 of a percentage point better than Gordon, who’s been similarly successful there.
BY THE NUMBERS
Kyle Busch’s victory in last weekend’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was his 14th of his career, which is amazing enough, but even more amazing may be the fact that Busch is still only 23.
According to NASCAR Web site jayski.com, only 58 of the Sprint Cup’s 2,215 races have been won by drivers under the age of 25, at least that is what is believed as the true age of a number of NASCAR drivers from the early days of the sport that are unavailable.
Gordon leads all drivers with 15 wins before the age of 25, while Busch’s older brother Kurt is tied for third with Richard Petty with seven victories apiece before hitting the quarter-century mark.
Gordon’s mark should fall too, and relatively easy at that, should Kyle Busch keep up his recent regular-season domination. Busch doesn’t turn 25 until May 2, 2010, giving him the rest of this season and the first half of next season to eclipse the mark.
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Rank…Driver…Points…Behind
1.…Jeff Gordon…794…---
2.…Kurt Busch…718…76
3.…Clint Bowyer…715…79
4.…Kyle Busch…709…85
5.…Carl Edwards…665…129
6.…Kasey Kahne…639…155
7.…Tony Stewart…633…161
8.…Denny Hamlin…631…163
9.…Jimmie Johnson…627…167
10.…Matt Kenseth…610…184
11.…David Reutimann…607…187
12.…Kevin Harvick…584…210
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