In a word, yes. Earnhardt finished 25th in the standings in 2009, while his other three teammates (Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon) finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Even part-timer Brad Keselowski won a race in 2009 and consistently outran Earnhardt when he was in the racecar.
I like to bash Junior as much as anybody, but if he is capable of being a Chase contender, this is the year to do it. Everyone, except Earnhardt and Tony Eury Jr., knew that Eury was not the right choice as Crew Chief for the 88 team and last year’s embarrassment gave Rick Hendrick the chance to replace Eury with Lance McGrew.
There is nobody in the sport better at putting people in a place to succeed than Hendrick, so who am I to disagree? Earnhardt and McGrew have had an entire off-season to get on the same page, and with Hendrick Motorsports’ money, people and technology, it shouldn’t take long before the 88 car is back up front.
So where will Jr. finish in 2010? He is not a legitimate Championship contender, but there is no reason that team should finish 25th in the final points standings. I see Junior winning two races this season, including one restrictor plate race (possibly Daytona), and ultimately finishing the season somewhere in the 11-15 range in the final points standings.
I know what you’re saying, “Way to go out on a limb there. Will he or won’t he make the Chase?” I will say whether Jr. will make the NASCAR playoffs this season…just not right now. Be sure to check back later this week when I post which drivers will make the 2010 Chase for the Cup.
What do you think about Earnhardt’s chances in 2010? Am I spot on or so far off I should be banned from ever writing about NASCAR again? Make sure to comment on this article and post your thoughts about the 88 team in 2010.
Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for Question #9, where we select our winner of the upcoming Daytona 500.
Tough to say where he’ll finish.
There’s definitely room for improvement obviously and I’m guessing there will be some with Junior. But I’m also thinking that we’ll see improvement from some of the other guys who performed below expectations last year. RCR will likely be better as a whole. Truex will probably rebound some, I’m thinking. Probably won’t make the Chase, but has the talent and team to at least be in the hunt. McMurray might perform a little bit better now that he’s back with Ganassi and is no longer the 4th guy at Roush. I think we should see improvements from last year’s rookies, as well, in Logano and Ambrose. Keselowski looks like he could play a factor too with his talent and current team, and may be able to crack the top 20 in points.
Along with Junior, I think there’s a number of guys who could perform better than last year, and with the exection of maybe Reutimann, I’m not sure he falls in the standings to make the room for them all. Vickers, maybe? His finish to the season may mean a dip is in order. But, with him and his team’s improvements last year, I could still see him finishing somewhere in the neighborhood of 14th to 18 place or thereabouts.
16th to 20th for Junior? Save for the one year when he finished 5th, he really hasn’t performed all that great for the last five years now…12th, 16th, 19th, 25th place point finishes. And with the way last season ended with him struggling as much as he did earlier in the season, I don’t see a big reason to think a huge rebound is in his cards for this year. Rick tried making it work for Junior then too when he made the changes, and it turned out that it didn’t for whatever reason(s). Like some say, maybe Junior just doesn’t have the passion or commitment to racing anymore.
Haha, I agree Chaser. If Jr. spent more time worrying about the racecar and less time at the bar we may see an improvement in his performance.
There seems to be no where to go but up. However, equipment and crews are not going to give Junebug back his mojo. Like the rest of the NASCAR world I have no idea what demon possesses him, but I hope Mr. Hendrick put him on a psychologist’s couch during the off season.
I really think Rick Hendrick made it a priority in the offseason to make this team better and shifted many of his resources to the 88. Hendrick Motorsports is way too strong for a repeat of ‘09.
Maybe the new wing will help him but i think he has a bad attitude toward this car and will continue to struggle. I’m sure he’ll be better than last year, how could he do any worse? I’m thinking he finishes around 15th in pts.