A Final 2002 Team Preview
The 24 Hours of Daytona are upon us, and with this race
the wait for the stock car portion of Speedweeks gets radically shorter. So as
several Winston Cup drivers run twice around the clock at Daytona, their main
show looms. A final look at the varied teams entered in this year’s season:
CHEVROLET –
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – #5 Terry Labonte – #24 Jeff
Gordon – #25 Jerry Nadeau – #48 Jimmie Johnson
The present rulers of NASCAR racing, Hendrick Motorsports
added Herb Fishel protégé Jimmie Johnson to a fourth full-time team with Lowe’s
sponsorship. During the Winston Cup preview Hendrick denied showing favoritism
toward Gordon, a denial as disingenuous as we’ve seen in years. Gordon now has
four titles and is the obvious favorite for 2002. Jerry Nadeau lost the Dixie
500 on fuel mileage and improved his number of top-ten finishes over 2000, so
his momentum from 2000 appears likely to continue. Labonte’s lone 2001 highlight
was fifth at the Atlanta and he managed only three top tens in the season;
improvement is necessary, and soon. Johnson, a Winston Cup rookie groomed by
Fishel from his 1998 ASA debut through seasons with Herzog Motorsports in Grand
National, managed three Cup starts in 2001 while bagging a debut GN win at
Chicagoland and eighth place in GN points; Johnson will finish races without
problem, but a lack of aggression won’t be enough to win at this level.
RAD ALLIANCE –
RCR ENTERPRISES – #29 Kevin Harvick – #30 Jeff
Green – #31 Robby Gordon
ANDY PETREE RACING – #33 Mike Wallace – #55 Bobby
Hamilton
EARNHARDT INC. – #1/#81 Kenny Wallace – #1 Steve
Park – #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. – #15 Michael Waltrip
All three teams survived 2001. All three teams prospered
with wins in 2001. The loss of aero expert Louis Duncan likely won’t slow them
down any.
Steve Park presumably will return to the #1 cockpit at
some point in 2002, so present driver Kenny Wallace will shift at that
eventuality to a #81 team. When Park returns the odd man out will likely be
Michael Waltrip, who wore out his welcome so fast it became a topic on FOX’s
Totally NASCAR magazine show and Mikey’s crew scoured Charlotte in October for a
replacement driver. Dale Junior went from party animal to team leader (in more
ways than one) and seems certain to challenge hard for the 2002 title.
Kevin Harvick cooled somewhat over the final run of 2001,
and much attention will be paid to his interaction with Grand National foe Jeff
Green and racing bad boy Robby Gordon. Green won the pole at Bristol and
finished ninth at Homestead; Robby Gordon clicked at several late-season races
and won the upset of the year at New Hampshire, so if hot heads don’t prevail
RCR has a three-gun weapon for 2002.
Andy Petree brings up the rear of sorts, despite bagging
two victories, his first as a team owner. His #33 is slated for Mike Wallace and
should a sponsor arrive Mike and Andy look to have something good going;
Wallace’s career was in effect saved by stellar efforts as a lame duck in Roger
Penske’s ex-Jeremy Mayfield #12. APR teammate Bobby Hamilton won at Talladega,
was crashed out of a near-sure win at Martinsville, and was the stoutest
challenger to Junior at the October Alabama 500; a lack of consistency hurt
badly but at least one win seems a sure bet for this team.
MORGAN-MCCLURE MOTORSPORTS – #4 Mike Skinner
Years of procrastination on a second team have taken a
fatal toll for this team, and one has to wonder about Mike Skinner’s confidence.
His determination shouldn’t be an issue – the chance to show that he can win at
this level is motive enough to race hard. But the McClures have in effect been
left behind by GM and the sport, to the sport’s detriment.
DODGE
RAY EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS – #9 Bill Elliott – #19
Jeremy Mayfield – #7 Casey Atwood
2001 marked Elliott’s return to victory lane after seven
years and Evernham’s return after two; the Homestead win gave Elliott the morale
boost needed to stay at this level for quite some time to come. Jeremy Mayfield
was screwed badly in his final year at Penske Racing and has that extra
motivation that produces wins. As a rookie, Atwood showed form but Evernham
decided to switch him to a satellite effort co-owned with Jim Smith, a move that
may pay off in the end for both. The strongest Dodges in Daytona testing, REM
appears likely to pick up where it left off in 2001
BILL DAVIS RACING – #22 Ward Burton – #23 Hut
Stricklin
While too inconsistent for a title run, BDR hardly
struggled; Ward Burton won the Southern 500 and posted nine other top tens en
route to 14th in points, while then-teammate Dave Blaney bagged six top tens.
New teammate Hut Stricklin bagged a stellar top ten at Michigan in Junie
Donlavey’s Ford and usually drives good enough for numerous such finishes, so
both BDR Intrepids will come out running to win.
GANASSI/SABCO RACING – #40 Sterling Marlin – #41
Jimmy Spencer
The undisputed king of the Dodges, Marlin had a career
season in 2001 and Jimmy Spencer had a career-rejuvenating year himself in 2001
with Travis Carter. Spencer’s famed aggression will help Ganassi’s second team
in 2002 while Marlin capped 2001 with second at New Hampshire and will pick up
from there.
PETTY ENTERPRISES – #43 John Andretti – #44
Buckshot Jones – #45 Kyle Petty
The workhorse in building and developing the Dodges in
2000 paid dearly in their Cup program the last two seasons, and three key
changes – team manager/VP Robin Pemberton, aero expert Richard Buck, and new
engine supplier Mike Ege Racing Engines – showed early promise in a strong test
at Las Vegas, one of Kyle’s weakest tracks. A surprisingly aggressive preseason
testing regimen also shows seriousness in getting back to competitive status.
The Petty team, despite their well-known struggle in 2001, did show legitimate
form a number of times last season and seem certain to surprise quite a few this
season.
MELLING RACING – #92 Robert Pressley
Among several teams suffering from the sponsor pinch,
Melling Racing landed a sponsor for Daytona, and Robert Pressley brings an
aggressiveness lacking in former driver Stacy Compton; should Daytona be
fruitful, a sponsor may enable them to run the full season.
BAM RACING – #49 Shawna Robinson
Entered in 24 races, Robinson has received decidedly
disproportionate hype. The #49 team is admittedly outgunned at this level, but
could show production with someone else as a driver.
FORD
ROUSH RACING – #6 Mark Martin – #16 Greg Biffle –
#17 Matt Kenseth – #97 Kurt Busch – #99 Jeff Burton
Roush Racing had a disappointing season, albeit only by
the standards of their 1997-2000 seasons. Mark Martin’s slide in 2001 brought
about a crew chief switch with rookie Kurt Busch; Mark did manage three top
fives and twelve other top tens. Busch’s rookie Cup season was a marked contrast
to his 2000 whirlwind in the Trucks and seven Cup races – to be blunt, in 2000
Kurt Busch was, as Darrell Waltrip once said of Ernie Irvan, "the kind of
guy that can hurt you." But in 2001 that all gave way to greater discipline
and polish, and the arrival of veteran Jimmy Fennig shows greater improvement to
be pending. Three top fives (notably at Indianapolis) would have been easy top
rookie honors five years ago, but the past three seasons have seen eight wins by
rookies; Busch’s season isn’t anything to be ashamed of, though. Matt Kenseth,
the previous top rookie, was less consistent than all expected, and rumors of a
departure from Roush swirled; while for now put down, such rumors may reappear
should the team begin to struggle again; a strong showing at the Las Vegas test,
though, indicates improvement is around the corner. Jeff Burton led the Roush
brigade with two wins, but he was also subject of trade rumors during 2001. He
also was at the forefront of the safety issue. Greg Biffle will run seven Cup
races in 2002 with an eye toward the full 2003 season. Biffle dominated the
Trucks in 1999 and to a lesser extent in 2000 and was among the stoutest runners
in 2001 Grand National, a sign of good potential at the Cup level.
ROBERT YATES RACING – #28 Ricky Rudd – #88 Dale
Jarrett
Jarrett lost the 2001 title on NASCAR’s ban on bump stops,
a ban that slid him from the point lead to a distant fifth. The bump stop ban
also killed Ricky Rudd’s title hopes, as he collapsed in the final quarter of
2001 from second to fourth. Six wins between them are a stellar season, and the
elevation of Todd Parrott to team managerial duty is a natural step up.
PENSKE SOUTH – #2 Rusty Wallace – #12 Ryan Newman
NASCAR’s open-air teardown of Rusty Wallace’s engine
during 2000 finally caught up to the team in 2001 as the brute power advantage
they held disappeared. Wallace won at Fontana and led the most laps at both
Richmonds, but was grossly inconsistent at times, especially with dismal
showings at both New Hampshire events. Billy Wilburn replaces Robin Pemberton as
crew chief, a natural change given Wilburn’s years with Wallace. Ryan Newman
appears to be the favorite for Rookie of the Year, winning the World 600 pole
and finishing second to Jeff Gordon at Kansas. An engineer by trade, Newman
should fit in well in the technical side of the equation.
CARTER-HAAS MOTORSPORTS – #26 Joe Nemechek – #66
Todd Bodine
The collapse of Kmart threatens their season, and brings
back memories of Travis Carter’s team ten years ago – his sponsor collapsed and
his team was shut down in late spring.
CAL WELLS/PPI RACING – #32 Ricky Craven
Cal Wells’ CART team won in 2000, and promptly folded. In
2001 Wells’ primary Winston Cup team won, but his second team folded, never a
good sign for the team in general. Ricky Craven’s career reached its biggest
goal with a Winston Cup win, but the lack of test dates with only one team will
hurt – that is, unless Craven tests like mad at any non-Winston Cup track he can
find, a growing trend among Cup teams.
WOOD BROTHERS RACING – #21 Elliott Sadler
Nostalgia ruled at Bristol as the Wood Brothers #21 edged
Petty Enterprises’ #43, and Elliott Sadler grabbed his first career Winston Cup
win. A strong top five at the Firecracker 400 also highlighted a respectable
season for a proud team with one of the sport’s richest heritages. The tandem of
the Woods and Elliott Sadler has clicked and will be competitive in 2002.
JUNIE DONLAVEY RACING – #90 Rick Mast
Survivors – that is what this tandem consist of. As such,
there isn’t much to expect, though Donlavey’s Ford posted a stellar top ten at
the Michigan 400.
PONTIAC
JOE GIBBS RACING – #18 Bobby Labonte – #20m Tony
Stewart
The addition of aero expert Louis Duncan should help this
team, as the Pontiac body style, now entering its seventh season, is obsolete,
and a new body – presumably based on the Bonneville – is not due until next
year. 2001 was still a good season, with five wins between the fiery Stewart and
the more taciturn Labonte, and more of the same is in order for 2002.
MORTON-BOWERS-VALVOLINE – #10 Johnny Benson – #36
Ken Schrader
Benson’s career was resurrected in 2000, despite chaos
with sponsors and a change in team owners. That momentum continued in 2001 but
did not result in a victory, a striking shortfall for a driver long due for a
win. Teammate Ken Schrader didn’t have much to crow about in 2001 and likely
won’t have much to crow about in 2002.
A. J. FOYT RACING – #14 Stacy Compton
The Foyt team showed genuine muscle at several points in
2001 with Ron Hornaday, but largely fell apart during the season, and despite a
strong test speed at Daytona, the more conservative Stacy Compton lacks the
aggression needed to win at this level. Still, Compton has the potential to turn
his smoothness into a winning combination, though Foyt admittedly is out of his
element as a stock car team owner.
And so the countdown to the inauguration of the 2002
racing season continues…………..